March 20, 2015
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

The Rhythm of Celebration

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Opening Prayer

Mighty God, when I think of the splendor of Your kingdom made possible through Jesus Christ, I am lost in wonder and worship.

Read Leviticus 23:1-14

[1] The LORD said to Moses, [2] “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the LORD, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies. [3]The Sabbath “‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the LORD. [4]The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread “‘These are the LORD’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: [5] The LORD’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. [6] On the fifteenth day of that month the LORD’s Festival of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. [7] On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. [8] For seven days present a food offering to the LORD. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.'” [9]Offering the Firstfruits The LORD said to Moses, [10] “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. [11] He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. [12] On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the LORD a lamb a year old without defect, [13] together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil-a food offering presented to the LORD, a pleasing aroma-and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. [14] You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

Rituals are like signposts: They can point us to the rhythms of our faith and walk with God.

When communities celebrate they have a day or so off from work (think July 4), and Israel was no exception. Its calendar was punctuated by regular festival days that marked the rhythm of time and pointed to deeper lessons about their God. Today’s reading introduces the first few festivals, with the rest of the chapter detailing the full round of annual celebrations.

The weekly Sabbath (3) is mentioned first. Tragically, the day designed to liberate people from the tyranny of working seven days a week and enable them to have space to reconnect with God later became an instrument of pious oppression. The Sabbath principle is built into creation (Gen. 2:2,3) and reminded Israel they were no longer in slavery and should never enslave others (Exod. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15). God knows that we need a balanced rhythm of work and rest.

The first annual celebration is the Passover (4,5). Its priority emphasizes its importance as it re-enacted the meal Israel ate before being delivered from Egypt–through God’s powerful intervention and by blood sacrifice. Our equivalent is Easter. What a celebration that should be! Passover merged into the festival of Unleavened Bread (6-8). During this week’s holiday, bracketed by “a sacred assembly,” they lived on flat bread–flat because yeast, symbolizing corruption (1 Cor. 5:8), had been removed from their houses. It reminded them of their diet as they fled Egypt and of God’s provision for them. The earliest agricultural festival occurred when the grain was first harvested (9-14). Israel immediately presented some to God, a liturgy accompanied by burnt and grain offerings, to recognize that God had provided all their food and had the first call on their prosperity. Now Christ has risen for us as the first-fruits of a new creation (1 Cor. 15:20).

Apply

How is your work/life/worship balance? By comparison with Israel, are our festivals tame affairs? Is there a way of making them more significant?

Closing prayer

Loving Father, make me aware of my blind spots, my lack of balance in my life. Stabilize and strengthen me in my daily walk with You.

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