Remember the “Holy” in the Holidays

 

            By the time you receive this newsletter, you probably will have already celebrated the first of the fall/early winter holidays, Halloween.  Notice how the word “holy” is included in the words: holi-days and Hallow-een.  Yet to come are the holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.  The holidays are days “set apart” (the biblical meaning of holy) from normal days for a special purpose.  In our society we often set apart the holidays for family celebrations, generally centered around a special meal.  While family and food are certainly important aspects of the holidays, are we forgetting what truly sets these days apart, the “holy” in the holidays?

 

            In Deuteronomy 16 Moses reminds the Israelites of the three major holidays that the LORD God set apart for feasting: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, in remembrance of their exodus from Egypt; the Feast of Harvest, in celebration of the firstfruits of their labor in the fields; and the Feast of Ingathering, upon the gathering in from the fields the fruits of their labor (Exodus 23:14-17).  These feasts were to be celebrated at the place the LORD would choose, that is, the temple in Jerusalem of Judea.  The feasts were also to be accompanied with sacrificial offerings to the LORD, part of which would serve as a meal for the celebrants: “[The men] shall not appear before [me] empty-handed.  Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you” (vv 16-17).  The feasts were to be “family” celebrations, with the entire household eating and rejoicing before the LORD—“you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns” (v 14).  The LORD set apart these holidays not only for family and food, but especially for remembrance and worship of God, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, the Holy One of Israel.

 

            As you celebrate the holiday season with family and friends, I also want you to remember the “holy” in the holidays, the reason for the season.  Like the Feast of Ingathering, our Thanksgiving Eve Service at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 26, will give thanks to our Lord God, the giver of every good gift, for all His benefits to us, including the good weather and bountiful harvest of the past growing season.  Like the Feast of Unleavened Bread, our Christmas Eve Service at 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 24, will rejoice in the inexpressible gift of Jesus Christ, our Savior, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.  Like the Feast of Harvest, our New Year’s Eve Service at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 31, will celebrate the firstfruits of our salvation, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and rejoice in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of everyone who trusts in Him.  In other words, through taking part in our worship services, we hope you will be reminded of the main reason we celebrate these holy days and remember the “holy” in the holidays.