Today the last day of The Feast of Unleavened Bread/Passover which is a Special Shabbat (Sabbath) begins at Sunset. So today's website will have the sabbath prayers as we normally do on a Friday night. The feast celebrates the Israelites being freed from slavery in Egypt, they made bread to take with them on the Exodus but did not have time to let the dough rise (leaven). As it’s so closely related to Passover, the names of the two holidays are often interchanged. During Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Jewish people remove all leaven from their homes and eat unleavened bread, or matzah. Leaven in Scripture is often symbolic of sin because of the way it spreads, perpetuates itself, and puffs things up.

So once again what's the problem with leaven? It is a symbol of sin. Yeast is created by the natural process of fermentation, which is a type of decay. Were it not for the Fall of Adam and Eve, there would be no death and no decay, therefore no yeast. For Christians the connection with Jesus is that unleavened bread, the bread of affliction and suffering is the bread he chose to represent his body. Bread without yeast - representing a body without sin - without the curse of death. He was "a lamb without spot or blemish" for the ultimate Passover sacrifice (1 Pet. 1:19). Therefore, after He was laid in the tomb his body did not decay, some saints bodies have also been found as the Roman Catholics term it "incorruptable". There bodies upon disintering have been found completely intact, without decay. Jesus conquered death!

Paul's comment in our New Testament reading today suggests that means, we are to live in purity and separate ourselves from the corrupting influence of sin in our lives. Some think this means we must separate ourselves from the world completely but if you go live in a monestry or nunnery and shut yourself off from the world, you are disobeying God in not fulfilling the great commission to spread the gospel and in not loving your fellow man. Tempting as it may seem with the state of the world currently, shutting yourself away is not the answer, unless you are someone who needs to be locked away for the safety of others.

The world today is so full of greed, violence and idolatory! Sexual impurity is rampant, not only accepted but actively encouraged, no one with their eyes open can avoid the images and the majority of people are running the rat race of materialism and trying to drown out the voice of God with escapism, noise and the busyness of survival. They are running full tilt towards the black vortex of eternal damnation and don't know it. The world is screaming out for a saviour and if you don't tell them about Jesus who will? We have to be willing to embaress ourselves or even face actual danger to save the lost.

Many Jews over the feast of unleavened bread examine themselves to find areas where the yeast of sin and pride in particular has made them "puffed up". Christians shouldn't have too much problem with that - the first thing we have to do when becoming a Christian is acknowlegde that we like everyone else, except Jesus, have sinned and need a saviour. Living in the modern world isn't simple and we really need to pray constantly, relying on the grace of God and Christ's righteousness to get us home!