PASSOVER / THE LAST SUPPER / EUCHARIST INTRODUCTION PRESENTED BY Our sixth graders are happy to share their day with you. Today we would like to present to you three very special meals. One began more than 3000 years ago, the second took place the day before Jesus died, and the third we celebrate every week when we go to Mass. I would like to introduce to you (Class name) We begin with 2 nd graders in the bleachers. The three tables - Passover / Last Supper / Altar will be set up. At the beginning the Last Supper and Altar table will be covered, only the Seder table will be exposed and in the center. THE PASSOVER AND SEDER MEAL MATERIALS: Table set for Seder Meal (7 places set and 7 chairs) Tablecloth Plates and Cups Candlesticks and Candles Matzo White cloth bag (we will probably use napkins) Narrator 1 Narrator 2 Narrator 3 Mother Father Child 1 Child 2 Child 3 Child 4 ROLE ASSIGNED SIXTH GRADER
SCRIPT NARRATOR 1 (standing to the side of the Seder table; Family is standing off to the side. We will have a microphone for you to use): The first meal we want to tell you about is the Jewish meal called the Seder. This is a special meal that the Jewish people have during the feast of Passover. For the Jews Passover is a celebration of the Exodus. The Exodus occurred when the Jewish people, led by Moses were freed from slavery in Egypt. It is a feast of freedom and celebrates God's wondrous acts that helped set them free. For thousands of years, Jewish families have joined together to celebrate this freedom. This year, the feast of Passover, and the Seder takes place at the same time as we Christians celebrate Easter. The meal is more than just a memory. They are to celebrate the feast as though they had been alive at the time of the Exodus. Through the rituals of the meal, the Jewish people of today not only remember the past but also relive it. The meal ends with the hope for the coming of the Messiah. (Have the family sit down at the table) The Seder Meal contains both food and blessings that have many parts and meanings. We will not be showing you the Seder from start to finish, but we would like to share with you four special things: The candles, the bread, the wine, and the prayers. NARRATOR 2: (While narrator is speaking, Mother lights the candles while pretending to recite prayers) Candles are lit for the Seder. This is done by the Mother of the house and symbolizes that it is the mother who brings the light to the family. (While narrator is speaking, Father takes the matzo, breaks it in half, wraps it and hides it behind his back) In the center of the Seder table, three large pieces of matzo or unleavened bread, are placed in a white cloth. The father will take the middle matzo out of the cloth, break it in half and hide both pieces. (Children get up, look around, and find the matzo) At the end of the meal, the children search for and find the broken pieces of matzo.
(Family will act this out silently while the narrator speaks) These are brought back to the table, broken into smaller pieces and eaten together as a family. This special matzo is called the Afikomen. NARRATOR 2: At four times during the meal, the family drinks wine from their cups as they relive their flight from Egypt. During these rituals a prayer of praise is recited several times NARRATOR 3: The first cup is for the promise to deliver the Israelites from slavery. Father holds up his cup while Narrator speaks Family takes a pretend sip of juice then says all together: FAMILY: Blessed are you, Lord God, King of the Universe, Creator of the Fruit of the vine. NARRATOR 3: The second cup is for the ten plagues that God cast upon the Egyptians to help free the Israelites. Father holds up his cup while Narrator speaks Family takes a pretend sip of juice then says all together: FAMILY: Blessed are you, Lord God, King of the Universe, Creator of the Fruit of the vine. NARRATOR 3: The third cup is the cup of redemption that stands for the blood of the lamb the Israelites put over their doors to have death pass them by. Father holds up his cup while Narrator speaks Family takes a pretend sip of juice then says all together: FAMILY: Blessed are you, Lord God, King of the Universe, Creator of the Fruit of the vine. NARRATOR 3: The fourth cup is the cup of blessing and praise thanking God for their deliverance from Egypt and the creation of the people of Israel as God s chosen ones. Father holds up his cup while Narrator speaks Family takes a pretend sip of juice then says all together: FAMILY: Blessed are you, Lord God, King of the Universe, Creator of the Fruit of the vine.
NARRATOR 2: During the opening part of the meal, a child will ask the father four important questions about their deliverance from slavery: Each child takes turn saying LOUDLY CHILD 1: Why is this night different? CHILD 2: Why do we eat matzo bread instead of regular bread? CHILD 3: Why do we eat such bitter vegetables? CHILD 4: Why do we dip our vegetables in saltwater? NARRATOR 2: We would like to invite you to our sample Seder tables where you can learn more about the meal and the answers to he four question the children ask their fathers. Each second grade class needs two tour guides from the sixth grade. The tour guides will lead the 2 nd grade class through each station (the tour guides move with the class, they do not stay at one station). The remaining 6 th graders can divide up between the 5 2 nd grade classes and journey through the stations with them. 9:00 CLASS TOUR GUIDE 1 TOUR GUIDE 2 9:00 Velazquez/Gomes 9:00 Rogers / Mason 9:00 Weir / Amoroso 9:00 L Hommedieu / Shera 10:45 CLASS TOUR GUIDE 1 TOUR GUIDE 2 10:45 Morales / Barrett / Horvath 10:45 Cordell / Kirtley 10:45 Jester / McPartland 10:45 Barrett / Baskin / Molter 10:45 Muir / Wuerth
TABLE 1 Materials: SAMPLE TABLES Four cups labeled with the words on each cup 5 trays with small paper cups of grape juice. Sign with blessing Setup: Juice will need to be poured into small paper cups. Four cups need to set around the table Set up sign Activity: Pass out the cups but have the children just hold them! Ask the children: Let s remember the meaning of the four cups One Freedom Two Deliverance Three Redemption Four Praise At the end, lead them in the prayer: Blessed are you, Lord God, King of the Universe, Creator of the Fruit of the vine Thank them for visiting TABLE 2 Materials: Trays of pieces of parsley Cups with saltwater Signs with questions Activity: Say: At this table we will answer the two questions: Why do we eat such bitter herbs? The bitter herbs remind us how hard the Jewish slaves worked in Egypt. Why do we dip our vegetables in saltwater? The saltwater reminds us of the tears of sadness that the Israelites shed while in bondage, and the parsley is a reminder that they always had hope for the coming of a deliverer who was Moses, and that new life would begin when they were free people.
These foods are actually eaten in small portions during the Seder meal. Would anyone like to try them today? TABLE3 Materials: Trays of broken matzo Large cloth wrapped matzo in center Signs with questions Activity: Say: At this table we will answer the question: Why do we eat matzo bread instead of regular bread? TABLE 4 Materials: Matzo bread is made without yeast. Yeast is what make our regular bread rise and be soft and fluffy. When the Israelites were freed they had no time to bake the bread because they left Egypt so quickly. They even took the dough and baked it under the hot sun as they traveled in the desert. This bread is a very important part of the Passover celebration. Would anyone like to try them today? Pillows CD player with traditional music Activity: Say: At this table we will answer the question: Why is this night different from all other nights? We lean on pillows to remind us that we are now comfortable and now we are free. So Relax, close your eyes and think about all the blessings God has given us.
TABLE 5 Materials: Traditional foods of Passover Trays and small potions of : Brisket Haroseth Egg Activity: Say: At this table we just want to show you some traditional foods that are eaten during the Seder meal. Feel free to read the signs that explain why this food is important to the Jewish people and we have sample if you would like to try some. Let the kids look at the food and sample them if desired. While 2 nd grade visits sample tables, in the Aux. Gym, the Seder table is moved to the side and the Last Supper table is put in the center and uncovered. The Seder table remains uncovered and set.. After the classes visit sample tables they return to lobby for Last Supper presentation
THE LAST SUPPER 2nd graders come back into the gym and sit in the bleachers based on their class. The table for the Lord s Supper will be set with Burlap placed over a white cloth, rustic plates and cusp, candles that are lighted before the presentation begins. Jesus will sit in the center of the table with his four-five disciples surrounding Him. In a line by the microphone will be other disciples that will speak, then after they are finished have a seat at the table. ROLE Jesus Silent Disciple 1 Silent Disciple 2 Silent Disciple 3 Silent Disciple 4 Speaking Disciple 1 Speaking Disciple 2 Speaking Disciple 3 Speaking Disciple 4 Speaking Disciple 5 Speaking Disciple 6 Speaking Disciple 7 ASSIGNED SIXTH GRADER DISCIPLE 1: Soon, we will be celebrating the Mass of the Lord s Supper. This Mass takes place on the Thursday before Easter. This Mass re-presents the night that Jesus sat down with his disciples for the last time before he was crucified. Christian historians believe that the meal Jesus shared with his disciples was likely a Seder or other special Jewish meal. We do know that the Last supper and Jesus death and resurrection took place during the feast of the Passover. (This disciple now finds a seat at the table) DISCIPLE 2: The early Christians believed that the Passover was the fulfillment of God s promise to bring a Savior to the world. Jesus used some of the actions and blessings during the Seder meal to help us understand that He was the promised Messiah and had come to deliver us from sin. We d like to show you a few of these actions and how they point to Jesus as the Son of God. (This disciple now finds a seat at the table)
DISCIPLE 3: Remember that the Seder meal began with the mother lighting the candles (Silent Disciple 1 points to the candles) and bringing the light to her family. Mary, our mother brought the light of Christ to our family the family of God. (This disciple now finds a seat at the table) DISCIPLE 4: The three Matzo are placed in one cloth in the center of the table and God is the center of our lives (Silent Disciple 2 picks up the matzo bag/napkin and shows the three matzo). The 3 matzo in the one cloth represent God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. (This disciple now finds a seat at the table) DISCIPLE 5: This middle Matzo is removed, broken, wrapped in a white cloth and hidden only to be found again. (Silent Disciple 3 takes out the second matzo and hands it to Jesus ). After it is found, the father breaks into pieces and shares the pieces with his family. Remember, Jesus, the second person in the Holy Trinity was taken away by soldiers, was killed, and wrapped in white and placed in a tomb. He rose again on Easter Sunday. Some Christian scholars believe that it is the Afikomen that Jesus used when he broke the bread and shared it with his disciples saying, (This disciple stays standing and waits for Speaking Disciple 6 beofre sitting down) JESUS (LOUDLY): This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in memory of me (Jesus will break the matzo into pieces and pass them around the table) DISCIPLE 6: In the same way, it is believed that Jesus used the third cup of wine the cup of redemption when he said, JESUS (LOUDLY): This cup is God s new covenant, sealed with my blood. Whenever you drink it, do so in memory of me. (Jesus will raise the chalice and pretend to pass it around) DISCIPLE 6: The Jewish people called this the cup of redemption to symbolize their freedom from Egyptian slavery. Jesus used the cup of his blood to free us from the slavery of sin. (Now Speaking Disciples 5 and 6 sit down) DISCIPLE 7: After the Last Supper, Jesus went with his disciples to pray and was captured and crucified. Jesus died for us to free us from sin. He is the blood of the Lamb sent to deliver us from evil and when we eat His body and blood we are given the gift of eternal life.
THE EUCHARIST TODAY The disciples stand up and break into two groups. One group carefully lifts and moves the Last Supper table back while the other group moves the Altar table to the center. After the altar table is moved to the center, the Last Supper table is moved to the side so that the three tables are in a line with the Altar in the middle. The altar disciples lift up the burlap cloth to reveal the white cloth, place the candles on the table and the Book, chalice and paten creating an altar.) A short presentation (mostly verbal) by Rosemary will tie the three tables together. Let s take a moment to think about what we just saw. The first meal The Passover celebrates the Israelites freedom from slavery and their identity as the Jewish people. Throughout the Seder meal, Jews are reminded that God will always protect them and that one day all of God s promises will be fulfilled when the Messiah comes. The second meal The Bible tells us that Jesus celebrated the Last Supper during the feast of Passover which is actually seven days long. So we don t know if the meal Jesus had with his disciples was the very special Seder meal or another meal during Passover. We do know that Jesus wanted to tell of God s new promise to us and to show us that he was the Messiah. During the three holy days of Easter Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter we celebrate Jesus passing through death into new life. As Catholics, we revisit part of the Last Supper every Sunday during Mass. When we celebrate the Eucharist, the priest will pray over the gifts of bread and wine in what is called the Eucharistic Prayer. Part of this prayer includes the words of consecration: TAKE THIS ALL OF YOU AND EAT OF IT: THIS IS MY BODY WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU TAKE THIS ALL OF YOU AND DRINK FROM IT: THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND EVERLASTING COVENANT. IT WILL BE SHED FOR YOU AND FOR MANY SO THAT SINS MAY BE FORGIVEN. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME During this prayer we are brought together with Jesus in His sacrifice (it is not a magic moment we do not know exactly when the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ). We do not repeat the Last Supper Jesus died only once but His sacrifice is forever and will forever bring us our freedom from sin. During this prayer we hear the words Do this in memory of me.
That does not mean we are just to remember that Jesus died on Good Friday we are to remember that we are brought together with Him to do God s will as He did. When we sing AMEN at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer (the big long prayer) we are saying YES to live and love as Jesus did. We celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord every Sunday at Mass. We do not celebrate the Passover, but we should know that both meals celebrate God s saving Love and the call to imitate that love to others. This is why receiving Communion every Sunday is such a special gift. We are receiving Jesus his true Body and Blood not a symbol. We are going to take some time now to learn how to do this properly. If I could have my helpers stand before each 2 nd grade group: 6-10 other sixth graders are standing in pairs spaced apart for good viewing by the second graders. Rosemary will guide the visual example of how to receive Communion. We then need more sixth graders to help while the children practice - IN THE CAFETERIA.