RBV: I Corinthians 11:28

I wrote this essay, “Pre-Passover Traditions,” for the March 18, 2022, CGG Weekly.

“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”
—I Corinthians 11:28

The life of a Christian revolves around the annual holy days that God instructs His people to observe in Leviticus 23. While most nominal Christians do not celebrate the biblical holy days, except for a version of Pentecost, we recognize that Jesus, His apostles, and the first-century church all kept them. In addition, nowhere in Scripture does God give any authority to change or dispense with them. Other churches have taken that authority on themselves, but the church of God has not.

So, our year begins in the spring with Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Ministers prepare us for Passover’s arrival with instruction on examining ourselves, as the apostle Paul did with the Corinthians (II Corinthians 13:5). In his earlier epistle, he had criticized the congregation for their shameful treatment of brethren at their get-togethers (I Corinthians 11:17-22). He warns them that such unchristian behavior can make them “guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” (I Corinthians 11:27). He prescribes self-examination—and subsequent repentance—to return them to a humble state and worthy of taking the Passover (verse 28).

Because this process of instruction, self-analysis, and repentance occurs every year, we have cultivated habits and traditions to help us to focus on Christ’s work and its resulting gracious effects on us. Rather than use a one-size-fits-all, ecclesiastically approved method, each member develops his or her own way of dealing with the spiritual focus required to make the most of the run-up to the Passover. This personal touch, honed over years of experience, can do wonders to put us in the proper frame of mind.

Of course, probably everyone reads specific passages of Scripture (like Psalm 22 or Isaiah 53) or even entire books (like the gospels) to focus on Christ, His work, and His suffering and death for our redemption. Some people will add in viewings of The Ten Commandments or The Gospel of John, not for any theological instruction or stimulation, but merely to put them in the proper mood. A few do journaling, while others put themselves through a regimen to help them battle a particular sin. Each individual has his or her own way of dealing with self-examination.

A personal tradition that has helped me for many years is listening to George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. (I prefer the complete oratorio performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Cambridge Singers, conducted by John Rutter.) As a Classical music fan, I listen to a great deal of it throughout the year, but unlike many, I prefer listening to Messiah before Passover rather than during the Christmas season, as has become traditional among many nominal Christians. While it touches on Jesus’ birth (“For unto us a child is born” from Isaiah 9:6 and other songs), a greater part deals with His ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection, which better reflect the themes of the spring festivals. In fact, Handel originally wrote the oratorio for the Easter season.

Messiah’s libretto (“little book,” the text of a musical theater work) is a collection of verses taken from the Bible—with a surprising number from the Old Testament—and arranged to tell the Messianic story. As Andrew Mellor writes in his article on the oratorio, “[Handel] created a piece based on three concepts: the story of the nativity and its prophecy; that of the crucifixion and redemption of mankind; and a commentary on the Christian soul and its victory over death.” Its unique arrangement of biblical texts—done in collaboration with Charles Jennens, an aristocrat, musician, and poet—caused a bit of a stir at the time (1741-42) due to its original view of the well-known redemption narrative.

Thinking about the scriptures sung by the soloists and chorus, enhanced by the emotions the music evokes, makes for compelling study and meditation sessions. Obviously, the oratorio puts Jesus Christ at its center, singling out various parts of His work for emphasis. It begins with Isaiah 40:1-4, where the Messiah’s coming is proclaimed with words of comfort—that He comes as the solution to humanity’s ills:

Comfort ye, my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low: the crooked straight and the rough places plain.

A few songs later, using Malachi 3:1-3, the libretto pulls no punches that His effect on people will not at first be “comfortable”:

The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts. But who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner’s fire. And He shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

After telling the story of Christ’s birth and ministry throughout the rest of Part I, Handel quickly moves to Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion at the beginning of Part II:

Behold the lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He gave His back to the smiters, and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; He hid not His face from shame and spitting. (Isaiah 53:3; 50:6)

Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. And with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way. And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

The libretto then continues to Christ’s death, resurrection, and glorification. Handel masterfully balances the teaching of Scripture against the emotions it should evoke in us, and these, in combination with his engaging tunes, produce memorable lines that we can contemplate throughout the day. For, as Paul teaches in Philippians 4:8, these are among the true, noble, just, pure, lovely, reputable, virtuous, and praiseworthy things we should be meditating on, especially at this time of year. For me, at least, it is a pre-Passover tradition that is both helpful and enjoyable.