22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.
As the Hebrews get instructions on the specifics of the Passover, they get instructions on how to apply the blood of the unblemished lamb was to be applied to the doors of their houses. If they did this, their lives would be spared. I think I would pay close attention to the details when I was being told! If my life depended on it, I would pay attention. When soldiers go through training to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, they are given a deadline. They know that by a certain time on a certain day they will be jumping out of the plane. There is no negotiation. There is no room for compromise. They will be jumping. That deadline, that sense of urgency causes them to pay attention to the instructions. In just a short while, what they learn will save their lives. So often in life we have no sense of urgency. We think and live as though we always have tomorrow. Some people don’t make out a will, or buy life insurance, because they want to run and hide from the inevitable. When soldiers get ready to go to a combat zone, part of their processing includes dealing with death and what happens if it happens to them. They have to determine who will handle their funeral arrangements and who will get their money. So many civilians have no idea the immediacy of death for soldiers. We live with it every day. Around our units are the memorials of those who have died on previous missions. We walk down the hallways and see the plaques telling their histories. We see the trees planted in their memory. The Hebrews have a visual reminder of the death, that bowl of blood. They dip some sticks in the blood and sprinkle the doorframe. Messy business. Splatters of blood. This is not a neat and clean celebration. And the blood stains the objects it touches so that they are reminded of the sacrifice throughout the year. What reminders do we have in our lives of the sacrifice of another person for us? Do we pray for our servicemen and women who are serving us, protecting us, dying to keep us safe from people determined to kill us? Do we put our hands over our hearts when the National Anthem is played? Do we stand at attention when the flag passes? How do we honor others?
The Arnold Journey 