We'd appreciate you allowing the use of cookies. They are anonymized while allowing us to see how the site is used.

Devotion.al

Tag: power

  • Communal Sacrifice

    Exodus 12:1–20, Nehemiah 8:1–18, Psalm 133

    The Exodus story, specifically the first Passover, always comes up around Easter. Which makes perfect sense, as Holy Week revolves around Passover, along with the seemingly obvious linking of Jesus being the ultimate Passover lamb (i.e., the sacrifice needed for Passover). All the Israelites were going to sacrifice a lamb for a household. This was a large communal thing. One could (and did) ignore it at their peril.

    Communal is something done or shared in a community, such as a church. An action done by everyone creates a powerful effect. In the US, we’ve forgotten a lot of communal activities, much of this having to do with our culture of independence. We miss a lot. It is why communal celebrations such as Communion and Baptism are so important to the life of the church. There is something also very powerful—and community building—in sharing a meal together.

    “If the household is too small for a whole animal, that person and the neighbor nearest his house are to select one based on the combined number of people; you should apportion the animal according to what each will eat.” (Exodus 12:4)

    There are 2 important observations in this verse. The first is how important and sacred this sacrifice is. Sacrifices mentioned later do not have this built-in focus on not wasting the sacrifice; just properly disposing of it. This one mentions not wasting it as part of the sacrifice itself. It is to be part of the consideration when choosing the lamb to be sacrificed. There is a shared burden for neighbors to make sure that each other has enough, but not too much.

    The second observation is that by setting this boundary, extra emphasis is added to the communal nature of this specific sacrifice. This sacrifice and celebratory observation of Passover is not to be done in isolation.
    Isolation—the internet notwithstanding—allows us to not learn from others, not to be in community with others, and not love others. When the Israelites return from exile, we read (Nehemiah 8:1-18) that the Israelites learned, mourned, and celebrated in community. Upon learning that there was supposed to be another festival—the Festival of Booths—they gather together (community) and celebrated it. Our celebrations, our learning, our mourning are (generally) more powerful in community, rather than in isolation. Fellowship and unity grow. Yet, we still tend toward isolation.

    Psalm 133 sums it up:

    How good and pleasant it is
    when brothers live together in harmony!
    It is like fine oil on the head,
    running down on the beard,
    running down Aaron’s beard
    onto his robes.
    It is like the dew of Hermon
    falling on the mountains of Zion.
    For there the Lord has appointed the blessing—
    life forevermore.

    1) Do you find yourself tending more toward isolation rather than community? Why?

    2) If you are an introvert, how will you allow yourself to be drawn and actively seek community? If you are an extrovert, how can allow and encourage people to join the community without overwhelming them?

    3) What other communal rituals (including secular ones) can you think of? What power do they have in people’s lives, and why?

  • Long Roads Together

    Genesis 22:1–18, Isaiah 45:11–17, Matthew 4:1–11

    Genesis has many passages in it that Christians, Jews, and non-believers stumble over. Often it is our own pride, and sometimes it is us looking back upon those “backward and ignorant” people, with all our knowledge and obviously “better” culture. This passage in Genesis (22:1–18) is often one of the hard ones, as God calls upon Abraham to sacrifice his only son of his wife Sarah. This appears problematic as God later condemns such human sacrifice. It is to result in the death penalty. Yet, God still calls for it. The easy answer is that God was “just” testing Abraham. God already knew that a ram would be provided. If so, to us it is a cruel test. To Abraham and the cultures around him, it was still cruel, but it was part of god worship (note, not God worship). We also have to understand that Isaac was the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham regarding descendants. God requested that Abraham kill the very legacy (so it seemed) that God had promised.

    The harder answer, but perhaps more Christian answer is that Abraham was foreshadowing God the Father. God made a request of Abraham, the God the Father would completely fulfill generations later. God would sacrifice the Son for all of humanity. God’s only Son. The Son, part of the Trinity, would be born as man, so that mankind would become the legacy intended if sin had not come. As Isaiah speaks from God, righteousness stirred up. The holy city (a place of relationship with God) rebuilt. The exiles (those separated from God) set free, but not by money or exchange of goods. Then Isaiah says that Israel will be saved by God. The only true savior is God. With God being the savior, salvation is eternal. God becomes incarnate. God is with us (Emmanuel).

    Even as God with us, Jesus walks our road. The temptations that Jesus faced in the desert are common to mankind (survival, security, pride/power). Since Jesus walked with us and Jesus is God, humanity and God became united in a way that Abraham could never have imagined, and Isaiah couldn’t fully comprehend. Even we really cannot fully comprehend it, and we (through the church) have had a long time to figure it out.

    1) During his temptations, Jesus says, “Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God,” quoted Deuteronomy 8:3. If Jesus is the word (John 1:1–3), and Jesus is the bread, how does that cause you to rethink Jesus’ answer?

    2) God called on Abraham to sacrifice his legacy. How can God call on us to sacrifice our legacy for an even greater legacy?

    3) How can we discern when God is asking us to sacrifice our legacy, versus calling on us to sacrifice our pride?

  • Practice Feasting

    Deuteronomy 14:22–26, Acts 2:36–42

    Feasting in the presence of the Lord is a strong theme in all the Jewish feast times. Feasting in God’s presence provides a physical reminder that it is by God’s grace and power that there is something to feast with. It also reminds us that God is God. It keeps us balanced so that we do not think that the feast is because of ourselves or our works.

    That something so basic and essential to living (food) is considered a vital part of righteous worship, should help us to not dismiss it. While we may joke about church potlucks, in many respects such gatherings are feasting in the presence of the Lord. While overeating is not good, eating together is.

    When the early “church” of Acts eats together, we’re talking about all sorts of people. While they all were Jews (at this point, with some Gentile converts), that doesn’t mean they all got along. There were fishermen, tax collectors, Levites, merchants, soldiers, guardsmen. In other words, there was a cross-section of Jewish society. They made it a practice of breaking bread together. There is a context to this breaking of bread. These people listened to the Apostles’ (we’d say the New Testament) Teaching (sermons and preaching), to fellowship (more than meet and greet at the door), and prayer. It is all four elements together that were practiced.

    1) Have you ever made the decision to avoid the sermon or other teachings? How about fellowship? How about breaking bread together? How about prayer?

    2) This is not to be a guilt trip, but a time of reflection. Why did you avoid 1 or more of these practices? Is it a regular thing? If so, what can you do to restore this 4-fold practice into your life?

    3) In Acts 3:41, Luke notes that about 3000 people were added to the church. Just like today, a place where 3000 people could gather to hear/learn, fellowship, break bread, and pray is pretty hard to find. How do you think the early church did it? How can that inform the practices in your life?

  • Passing On Legacy

    Psalm 78, Judges 17:1–13

    “We will not hide [the miracles of the past], but will tell a future generation…” Except what are we telling?

    This is a very personal question for anyone. There have been generations of self-defined Christians whose entire families have walked away from the faith. It may be because the church is full of broken people. That certainly is the case. However, that cannot be the only cause. Many of the families “grew up” in church. Many “met Jesus” at a young age. That is the “fire insurance” tendency of people.

    Verses 7 and 8 are the crux of it. We share the legacy of God’s story so that they know (information) and live out (relation). The American church has done a great job of information, but often only stops at a surface relation with Jesus. So much of church life was keeping up appearances. It had to wear out eventually. Once the pretty shell wore off, the ugliness showed through, and people left. The church struggles to this day with the ugliness that often shows through, and strange things happen.

    The story in Judges itself is strange. A mother curses the person (we infer) who took her money. When her son confesses, she blesses (?) him. Then in an already confused situation, they use “church” language, which apparently makes it better (?), and make an idol. So, Micah (the son) builds a family “temple” and assigns his son as priest. This is in the context of Israel. The idol is bad. Only one family is supposed to be priests, and Micah’s family is not part of it. Then a person from the right bloodline (Levite) walks by and is hired to be the priest. As there is no mention that this Levite is a descendant of Aaron (the “true” priests), it just gets better and better. Then, oddly, Micah (a father with apparently adult sons) tells the Levite that he (the Levite) will be his spiritual father.

    During the time of the book of Judges, there was definitely a soul of independence that believed the “other” was not family (even if of Israel, too), and people could do as they wished. It was controlled anarchy. In the US, we have well over 1200 denominations (not counting all the non-denominational—which have some sort of affiliation—churches). Sounds vaguely like controlled anarchy, too. As we watch big churches and even bigger denominations struggle with leaders who do bad things, we should be able to sympathize with people who wonder if we Christians really do have a single religion. Based on some behaviors, we could even wonder if the church has a bunch of people like this Levite, who has the credentials but is all about the money (or power).

    1) Why is it important to sympathize with the perception of the church by those outside of the church? How can such perceptions hinder sharing about Jesus? More importantly, how can they help to share about Jesus?

    2) This story (which actually has a second part) is very much about people not being under the authority of a king? Can you think of the Jewish/Israelite reason for this? How can this inform how we interact with each other inside and outside of the church?

    3) Denominations pass on legacies of beauty and dedication. Denominations can also pass on legacies of pride and power. How are denominations used by God? How can denominations be dangerous to the mission of God?

  • Revealing Unity

    Numbers 16:1–50, Romans 16:17–20, 1 Corinthians 1:10–17

    Most of us have heard John Dalberg-Acton’s quip, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” What is most often missed is Acton’s “tends”.

    David Brin takes a slightly different tack, “It is said that power corrupts, but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power.”

    Lastly, Robert Caro’s take might be the most significant for us, “We’re taught Lord Acton’s axiom: all power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I believed that when I started these books, but I don’t believe it’s always true anymore. Power doesn’t always corrupt. Power can cleanse. What I believe is always true about power is that power always reveals.”

    Korah wanted more than he had. Whether he wanted power, prestige, or influence, is unclear. Who knows, maybe he thought he could earn holiness by being the chief priest. Regardless, his entire family was given a duty in regards to the holy things of the temple. It was still an honor, but as some many of us struggle with, it wasn’t the honor he wanted. The undercurrent of this is power. At this point, the religious leader was the people’s leader. It’s not clear whether Korah convinced people to follow, or that they gathered somehow. The reality is that they did gather. Scripture says that they rebelled against Moses, but as the story unfolds into the relation that as they were rebelling against the leader chosen by God, they were rebelling against God. Without question, Moses was chosen supernaturally by God, and there were multiple events that testified to that. It was abundantly clear. However, in our day-and-age is it the same?

    How our leaders are chosen is different than such an obvious outward sign of God’s hand. It is through prayer, wise thinking, discernment, and much counsel that good leaders are chosen. However, we are all human. Leaders make mistakes. Followers make them too. Two of the biggest obstacles to unity are not necessarily tied to the leadership position itself (for who wants the blame), but the influence and power of the leader, then there is jealousy and envy. This is human reality. Human selfishness often hides behind the call of doing the best for others, but truly only serves the self. When Paul talks about divisions in Romans, there are obviously people stirring up trouble. That’s got to be dealt with. Most people expect the leader to do it, yet it is not the leader’s responsibility, it is the responsibility of everyone. There is mutual accountability and responsibility in the community. Yet, people will still be people, and divisions will occur.

    In Corinth, we read of divisions of which person they follow. While most of us would say, “I follow Jesus,” is that true? As the Western World runs away from Christianity (sometimes with good reason), while the Middle East and Eastern Worlds actively oppose Christianity, the Church has to come to a form of unity. The Church for far too long has been separated for good doctrinal reasons, but the reality is that every denomination and unaffiliated congregation will have to come to some sort of agreement with one another. As long as the church eats itself, it cannot feed the world the Bread of Life.

    1) Where do you see the greatest unity in your personal life? Where do you see the greatest division?

    2) Where do you see the greatest unity in the world around you? Where do you see the greatest division?

    3) For each of the above, what can and will you do to build unity and heal division?

    FD) People usually separate from others when they are hurt emotionally. What can we do to help?

  • People Dynamics

    Exodus 6:1–13, Psalm 37:1–24, 1 Corinthians 3:18–4:5

    “I want you to walk up to your estranged family (who just so happens to be the world power at the moment) and tell them to release their biggest labor force.” Hmm. We are so accustomed to Moses’ story that we often will miss pieces of the story. Everyone in your family gets along, right? Even the distant cousins, right? Of course not! Sometimes the biggest and longest lasting fights and painful relationships are within families. When the family is a family of power and influence (such as Egypt was), the significance of family relationships or battles becomes much larger than just interpersonal relationships. On top of that, Moses was only an adopted child, and he was adopted from the Hebrews he’s being sent to lead out of Egypt. No pressure. What crazy person would dare oppose one of the most (if not the most) powerful militaries in the world? Who’d (basically) walk up to the leader to basically thumb his nose at him? No one. It’s just not normal!

    Moses’ reality was that he would have to oppose his powerful adoptive family who wouldn’t be happy with him. He’d also have the tension within his extended biological family, many of whom wouldn’t trust him because he was from Pharaoh’s house and he had run away years ago. This just wasn’t a good place to be. When in the middle of these two tensions, we have to give Moses credit, he kept a balanced head, no matter much either “side” would have driven him crazy.

    When we deal with opposing tensions we can all have a tendency to lose it a bit. We can lose our temper, our positivity, our humor. We often end up fighting ourselves first. While we may not be currently upset or caught between evildoers, as the psalmist is concerned about, the agitation is often the same. We can be caught between two “goods”, two “bads”, and even between a good and a bad. Where we turn when in a place of tension, tells us where our heart is focused. If we turn to work, money, alcohol, drugs, and such, we can soften the tension for time, but only put it off. Our families often receive the brunt of our tension, but they generally cannot deal with it either. That leaves us with God, who can handle it all. Or, at least that is how it should be. Instead, we often try to hand off our decisions, responsibilities, or consequences to others, especially those we perceive as smarter, wiser, or more powerful than ourselves. That is the wisdom of the world.

    We are often reminded of the craziness, futility, and just plain wrongness that pervades humanity, yet for some reason, we insist on its wisdom. We look around the world wondering what’s wrong. The world around us is the expression of human wisdom. It is not that God’s wisdom is not there, but human “wisdom” is so common it seems as if God’s wisdom is not there. This is why Paul says the (worldly) wise should become fools. For when they see their human wisdom as foolishness, they can finally become aware of God’s wisdom. And this brings us back to Moses. According to the world, he was a fool. He was in awe of (often “feared” is used) God, which is the beginning of true wisdom.

    1) Lent is often viewed as foolishness by many. Why give up the good stuff? What is the Godly wisdom of giving up the “good” stuff?

    2) It is often easy to “know” the story of Bible characters. What happens if you put yourself in their place? Does that change your perspective of them and their story?

    3) Wisdom and knowledge can be passed on. We focus a lot on wordly wisdom, as we want our legacy (children, grandchildren, etc.) to be successful in this world. However, worldly wisdom is often at odds with God’s wisdom. How have you dealt with that? How can you help others deal with it?

    FD) Who do you ask for guidance when you have 2 good (or bad) decisions to choose from?

  • Hearts In Worship

    Psalm 50, Isaiah 58, Matthew 6:1–18

    Humankind is always trying to figure God out. Humankind will often take a human role/position and apply it to God. It is not wrong to do this, in scripture we see, “Lord of lords.” There is an explicit understanding that no matter how great or powerful any person of influence or power is, God is more so. As the culture and governments change, so did the way God was viewed. For example, in the Roman Empire and well after the fall of the Roman Empire, God was viewed as an emperor. In the Reformation, God was viewed as more of a judge. John Wesley and others viewed God as Father, which is odd, as God the Father was a phrase used while God was viewed as emperor. Yet, God the Father, as the Wesleys understood God the Father, was a loving, caring, and self-sacrificing father. Despite this change, much of the church’s (and thus the people’s) interaction with God is still God as Emperor and God as Judge. This really comes into play when we read things such as Psalm 50, God as Judge.

    The intro (vv. 1-6) set the stage for who God is, some symbolism to correctly identify God, and his command. The tendency is to see devouring fire and judge as bad. The devouring fire, though, is good and purifying (burns away the surface layer), and also reflects the context of this psalm regarding worship, where the sacrifice was burned to make amends to, covenant with, and praise God. When it comes to judge, it is the same word that is also used to contend, plead the cause, vindicate, govern. The best translation is still judge, however, as we dig deeper, it isn’t to condemn. Lastly, God calls heaven and earth. From a legal viewpoint (back to judge), heaven and earth are witnesses regarding the People of God. So, what is causing the issue?

    Wrongly worshipping God. The implication of the verses is that the purpose of the sacrifices is to feed God. This is a logical leap, as the cultures around the Israelites believed exactly that about their sacrifices to their gods. God tells the Israelites that he could eat whatever he wanted if he needed to. First, they are all his (as he made them). Second, because he knows them all and where they are. Then we move on to the Thank Offering. Why? That God tells them to do a thank offering tells us that they missed this vital sacrifice that was part of the Law, but more importantly, should have been part of their hearts. Thanking God had disappeared. While not mentioned in this psalm at all, it probably meant that the Israelites weren’t performing Fellowship Offerings either. What does this tell us? That the Israelites had indeed turned God into judge and did the “right” things to appease God. This, again, takes from the cultures and religious practices from those around them.

    God then goes and addresses those whose hearts don’t even get the whole God thing at all. These are the people that do all the “right” things, but unlike the ones previously addressed, don’t really care whether they do right or wrong. They do wrong and all they care about is avoiding punishment. We’ve all known people like this, who will say the right things to avoid the consequences of their behavior. These are those people. Doing the act doesn’t avoid the punishment, it actually adds to it.

    Lastly, in this psalm, at the end of these two sections, there is promise. People in right relationship with God (which still doesn’t mean they are perfect) will be saved. Not to belabor the point, Isaiah 58 and Matthew 6:1–18 is all about our hearts in worship, and what God does in and for people in right relationship. In his song, “The Heart of Worship,” Matt Redman says/sings:
    When the music fades

    All is stripped away
    And I simply come
    Longing just to bring
    Something that’s of worth
    That will bless Your heart

    Much of our life is filled with adding more and more. Our schedules are full. Our lives are busy. Church services go from one thing to another in a flow. We consume more and more food, drink, energy, data, but in so doing shove God out of our lives. Lent calls upon us to remove things from our lives, not to punish ourselves (as some people claim), but to remind us that God is truly all we need, and all God wants is all of us.

    1) Have you ever been overwhelmed or underwhelmed by a church service? Can you figure out why?

    2) Do you strive to do more things to please people? How about God? Does today’s scripture change your perspective?

    3) There were 3 primary sacrifices in Levitical Law/life: remediation of sin, Thanksgiving, Free Will/Fellowship. What seems to be the primary goal of sacrifice? Which of the 3 do most people focus on? Why?

    FD) What’s the simplest thing you can do to worship God today? What’s the simplest thing you can do to give thanks to God? What’s the simplest thing you can do to be in fellowship with God?

  • Spirit of Ashes

    Spirit of Ashes

    Isaiah 58:1–12, Psalm 51:1–17, Matthew 6:19–21

    Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent, the reflective Christian journey to the cross. One of the symbolic pieces are the ashes themselves. The “official” tradition is that the ashes are from last year’s Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is the day that observes Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem with the pomp and circumstance of a ruler. This jubilation is crushed that same week with his crucifixion. The ashes, therefore, are a somber reminder of earthly pride, joy, and power crushed. Often they are a reminder of our own prides and joys and their short-term nature.

    In the “spirit” of ashes, the following is a modified form of the Book of Common Prayer’s Burial liturgy:
    In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God oursleves—our very beings; and we commit our bodies and lives to serve your kingdom on earth; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord bless us and keep us, the Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious to us, the Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace.

    It seems strange and morbid to share a passage from a burial rite, yet an integral part of Ash Wednesday is our mortality. Another part, the part which we often focus on during Lent, is our frailty. By frailty, we mean sin and the weaknesses inherent to the human condition. What we may “give up” during Lent is a reflection upon what we believe is one of our biggest “frailties” at the moment, meaning it can change.
    The importance of understanding our finiteness, our mortality, is summed up in Jesus’ words regarding the storage of treasures. The earthly stuff is stolen or rots. It doesn’t last. Only treasures that we store in Heaven last forever. Those treasures are people.

    1) We are all “given” treasures that we are responsible for that are not our children, grandchildren, or other family members. Who are those treasures in your life?

    2) Why is important to remember the quickness of life when as we approach the cross in our spiritual journey?

    3) What do you value: time, money, things, people? All of these have value. Which has priority?

    FD) On Ash Wednesday a cross of ashes is put on our forehead. Why ashes? Why a cross?

  • Legacy of Enemies

    Psalm 35:11–28, Exodus 35:1–29, Acts 10:9–23

    Sometimes the greatest evidence that we are doing well is those that oppose us. Another way of perhaps saying that is that the measure of one’s success is the quality of one’s enemies. Some scholars have claimed that part of the reason why David had so many power struggles was the jealousy of others that we don’t read about.

    Whether it was the counselors of Saul or (later) David’s son Absalom, some scholars believe that there must have been more than Saul and Absalom in the picture. Many times there are those that we are no looking at that are truly the ones guiding things…the power behind the throne, so to speak. We could think of such people positively, as there were and are many counselors who believe their greatest success is the successful leader. On the other hand, there are those who hide behind the leader, using the leader as a distraction from themselves, so as to hide their deeds in the shadows.

    These last ones are in the same spirit as those about whom David laments. David has cared for them. Lamented for them. Prayed for them. How did they repay the care? By piling on when David was down. Not only did they mock him, but they also made it worse by saying bad things about him. They celebrated his misery and misfortune, they who had benefitted from his love and care. As David looked forward, he relied on God to see him through it all. David’s legacy was at stake, and his response was to turn to God. David, like all people, wanted personal success, yet understood that his true legacy relied upon the faithfulness of God.

    Moses understood that everything relied upon God. While in the desert, God called upon the Israelites to give to something greater than themselves. Through Moses, God called upon the Israelites to give from their hearts so as to make a temple to their God, a symbolic reminder that their God was among them. If you’ve ever read the list of items required to make the tabernacle, it’s easy to see how monumental that list was. It also speaks to where the hearts of the Israelites were at that moment. They had escaped slavery with much of the Egyptian wealth. For the most part (there are always exceptions) they freely gave of this newfound wealth to the creation of this temple, rather than hoarding it. Instead of holding on to what would make them individually rich, they gave to something that made them collectively richer than material goods. Yet, if they had just piled all of that stuff at Moses’ feet, nothing would have happened. Instead, people of skill (particular skills of varying types) were required. God just so happened to have blessed some people with those very skills. Out of the collective goodwill, in addition to skills of certain people, and through the faithful leadership of Moses, something greater than they could have imagined came into being. How could a bunch of slaves tasked only to make bricks make something as intricate and amazing as the tabernacle? Through God.

    This amazing event that helped to define a people for generations also captured the hearts of the people, and not in a good way. They had become so ingrained with the outward appearance that when God did a new thing, they were still blind. People important to the seemingly insignificant were so blinded by the wrong legacy that they could not see the truth that was never hidden by God. It had been wrapped so tightly and so much by human will and tradition, that God’s love could not be seen through it all. When Peter had his vision, he too was still captured by the traditions passed down. It was not that God’s law was wrong or ever invalid it was just that the deeper (and Truer) truth could not be seen. God is love. Peter had to have an experience that challenged the legacy he had been handed that God was a God of (rigid) Law. Peter had to have an experience that showed God meant what he said to Abraham, “you will be a father to the nations.”

    1) Legacy is important and must be part of how we frame our lives. However, we must be careful to hand off a good legacy. How can we work to make sure we leave a good legacy?

    2) What makes a legacy good or bad? What makes a legacy live-giving or not?

    3) What are your thoughts about what legacy you will leave behind?

    FD) What family traditions were (or are being) passed down to you?

  • A Day Off Or A Day For

    Psalm 99, Deuteronomy 16:1–17, 1 Corinthians 10:23–11:2

    If you look at the calendar of any country, you will find a number of secular (i.e, non-religious) observances. Sometimes these to get mixed into religion, and some are just odd. Today, for example, has the following “observations”: Day of Unplugging; Pig Day; Employee Appreciation Day; Salesperson Day; Horse Protection Day; Fruit Compote Day; Plan A Solo Vacation Day; World Compliment Day; Refired, Not Retired Day; Dress in Blue Day; Wedding Planning Day. Whew! Did you know so many things/people were “observed” today? That doesn’t even include the week or month observances that March 1st occurs in. Yikes!

    Our word holiday—as you might have guessed—is a conjoining of holy and day. Just the conjoining of the two words creates a problem. In the British Commonwealth (the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Canada, etc.), holiday has come to mean vacation. That came into being as holy days were the days people didn’t work. It became associated with leisure rather than God. Even in the US, we use the word holiday to note a day off (except for Holidays, when we mean all the observances starting with Thanksgiving through New Year).

    As the Israelites are about to enter the Promised Land, certain days are being set aside as Holy Days. Some of these Holy Days are non-working (Sabbath) days, but they are not all required to be. What is common across all of them is that God is part of the day. In fact, God is the focus of each of these days. What elevates them over the “normal” Sabbath day is the purpose of their observances, whether it be Passover (salvation/escape from Egypt), bounty of the harvest (that God blessed them), or remembering the wilderness wandering (God lead and took care of them in the wilderness for 40 years).

    Why we remember is as important as what we remember. As we quickly approach the season of Lent (Ash Wednesday is March 6th), it is easy to dismiss holy days as either a mindless or fruitless activity. This is especially true with Lent, as many people use Lent to stop/pause an activity (Facebook, certain foods, etc.) that they need a healthier relationship with anyway. This is not to dismiss these actions (for they can be very good), but to understand the why. Lent is a time of reflection intended to identify with Jesus’ 40 days in the desert, to set our minds to look to the cross, and Good Friday. In other words, it’s about Jesus, Jesus, and Jesus (respectively).

    Why do we remember Holy Days? For the same reason the Israelites were to…God. What do we remember? What God has done, and how God has done it. As a Jew, Paul was very much aware of the power of Holy Days and traditions (Lent is both a group of Holy Days and a tradition, for example). Paul valued them as part of his identity, and also part of his formation. While Gentile Holy Days were minimal (versus Jewish ones), there were still plenty of secular days of observation, and they all mattered.

    1) Have you ever been bored by a holiday? If not, how do you stay excited and engage with a holiday? If you have, how will you become engaged again?

    2) Does recalling or focusing on the fact that a Holy Day (holiday) is about God change how you view them?

    3) Holy Days and their rituals can be empty of any value or meaning if you let them. What will you do to maintain or put value and meaning back into them?

    FD) What is you favorite Holy Day? Why?