The holidays are coming!
The holidays are coming!
The holidays are coming!
Do you feel like that
announcement sounds more like a call to action from Paul Revere riding through
the streets than a call to greater rest, peace and joy? If holidays (I believe the etymology is
holy-days) are, by nature, times when we rest from our regular work and are
meant to make deeper connections with God and with those in our family and
community, why do so many of us make them times of frenetic activity and
frazzled nerves?
If you read through the Old
Testament you’ll see God wove many holidays (feasts and celebrations) into the
very fabric of life of the Hebrew people.
Some of these lasted a day, some a week or more. Besides the many special
holidays/feasts, God gave his people one day each week to be at rest and
connect more deeply with him and each other.
Sadly that day became the
most abused and shackled day of the week by the time Jesus walked this
earth. Instead of the freedom,
rest, and joy it was meant to bring, hundreds of extra rules and regulations
had made it a burden to conscience, a denier of justice, and and a
miscommunication of the nature of God and the peace found with him. As you read through the Gospels you’ll
note many times Jesus directly challenges the popular misconceptions about the
Sabbath that had grown up around it.
Those misconceptions
remain. I must confess I have
misunderstood and misapplied Jesus’ words on the Sabbath for the majority of my
life. His words, “The Sabbath
was made for man, not man for the Sabbath,” were meant to free people to
experience the joy of Sabbath once again.
I have often interpreted and used them to the other extreme: rejecting
the need for Sabbath in my life and thus depriving myself of one of the most
basic rhythms for which I was created in God’s image.
I know I am not the only
one. Busyness, overworking, and
overloaded schedules have become pervasive idols in our society, even, and
perhaps especially, among Christians.
To slow down, yes even stop regular activity (a “day off” to catch up on
all your other business is not a Sabbath), for one entire day each week and
extra time on vacations and holidays is often seen as lazy, self-centered, and
unproductive. Don’t believe me? Have you ever come back from a vacation
feeling like you need to recover from your vacation? I rest my case.
This is not how God made
us. This is not what he made us
for. Jesus was saying that the
Sabbath is meant to serve us, refresh us, heal our hurts, restore our weariness,
and help us understand the very nature of God’s grace toward us. As one theologian taught, “To fail to
see the value of simply being with God and “doing nothing” is to miss the heart
of Christianity.” He means grace.
You will be greatly tempted
during the holidays to just add to your schedule and (once again) miss the
purpose of holidays. I pray you
have the power to resist that temptation and take this season to connect more
deeply with God, your family, and community of faith. You’ll note we have plenty of things happening around here
during the holidays. They aren’t
meant to be a burden, they are meant to enhance your celebration of the story
above all stories: the life and work of Jesus our Savior. Take them in as they enhance your
connection to God and others. Rest
alone with God if you need to.
Above all remember that Christ entered this world in human flesh to save
you from your sin, make you a brother or sister in his father’s kingdom,
and bring you home to rest and rejoice with him for eternity. What a holiday that will be.
Blessings - Pastor Dan
