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| Nelson Plasencia, Elder (and family) |
The next few weeks in the calendar
present to us a number of Holy Days rooted in the Bible (Leviticus 23:23-44).
Starting the evening of September 4th and extending through
September 6th, our Jewish friends celebrate Rosh Hashanah or
the New Year.
While the modern observance has lost much of the biblical
overtone, the date itself was set by God to be observed and memorialized
forever. Ten days later is the holiest day in Jewish tradition, the Day of
Atonement and five days later is the last of the Fall Feasts of Israel, the
Feast of Tabernacles.
A common greeting during this New Year celebration is “May your name be
inscribed (in the Book of Life) for a good year”. Many Jews believe that when
God opens His book during this time that He determines over the coming days who
will live and who will die and thus the reason for well wishers that the
person’s name be inscribed in the Book of Life for another good year. Before
the book is believed to be closed, many people engage in penitential acts of
good works with the hope of gaining God’s favor
Rosh Hashanah is also known as the Feast of Trumpets because God
commanded that it be memorialized by blowing (Lev 23:23-25). Rabbinical
tradition maintains that the priests were to blow the ram’s horn shofar.
The themes of repentance, redemption, relationship, awakening, and preparation
are found during this season.
As we seek to become a community of
believers in Jesus that think biblically, may we learn from God’s word about
approaching a Holy God. May we also embrace the opportunity to engage in
self-examination as we anticipate His coming: “For the Lord Himself will
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the
trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive
and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord
in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thes 4:16-17.
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