Today is the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish
New Year. The festival begins at sundown today and will continue until Friday
at sundown. This is a time when Jewish people the world over will celebrate the
creation of the world. They will offer prayers of thanksgiving for life,
health, and blessing; many will make New Year’s resolutions. Some will use the
time to renew their consecration to God and ask for his forgiveness for
wrongdoing. They will seek to make amends for any wrong done to someone else.
For this season also marks the beginning of the Days of Awe in Judaism, a
period which begins with Rosh Hashanah and ends with Yom Kippur, the Day of
Atonement.
As I contemplated the Jewish New Year this afternoon
I realized how appropriate it would be for me to take time to join my Jewish
friends in celebrating Rosh Hashanah. There is so much going on in our world,
from hurricanes to terrorist attacks to earthquakes. I realize that God has
been very good to me and my family. I have a good job, a house to live in, two
vehicles to drive, and the list goes on. I have a host of family and friends
who love me and I am in relatively good health. So far I have been spared the
devastation from which so many are presently suffering.
This is also a time for me to pause and say a prayer
for others. I am no better than another. I cannot say for sure why some are
suffering so while I was spared. Though I am thankful that my home and
community have been spared this time, I must not take that for granted. None of
us is secure in this world and our only hope is in God. Perhaps I have been
spared tragedy so that I can be of help to someone else in need.
I also think it appropriate to use this time as a
time of repentance. It is easy to point fingers at the things that are wrong in
my country and my world. Rather than point fingers, I must allow God’s word to
judge my heart. What have I done to help the situation? Surely someone else’s sin
is no greater to God than my own sins have been. Perhaps I need to evaluate my
own life and see if I am living up to the standards I say I believe in.
Rosh Hashanah is a time of soul searching and
reminding ourselves that all we have comes from the Giver of Life. I find this
particularly beneficial now, coming just before the American holidays. In a few
weeks we will all be rushing around making “holiday” preparations. We will
spend a lot of time, and often too much money, on things that are not needed.
Many will buy extravagant gifts on credit, wishing in January that they had not
done so. Though we may enjoy the Christmas music and the lights, most of us are
just glad when the fast-paced holiday season is finally over. I often wonder
how many of us even stop to consider the religious meanings behind the holiday.
To many the holiday season is only a time for gaiety with little contemplation
for spiritual matters.
So I find it particularly useful to stop now and
reevaluate my own life. What is most important to me? Are my own relationships
in order? Am I at peace with God and in my own soul? Are there family matters
that I need to attend to? When my family gathers this holiday season will there
be peace or strife? What can I do to mend a broken relationship or right a
wrong? Above all, am I aware that Christmas is supposed to be a time for celebrating
the birth of the Prince of Peace? If there is a lack of peace in my heart
perhaps I should realign some priorities.
As a Christian I do not feel that I am bound to
celebrate any certain day above another. Yet I am free to celebrate any holiday
I wish, as long as it is for the right reason (Romans 14:5-6). So I have chosen
to reevaluate my own priorities during this time our Jewish friends call Rosh
Hashanah, the New Year. I make a renewed pledge to God to keep him first. I
determine to make the most of family relationship and cherished friendships
during the upcoming holidays. Above all, I choose to have a thankful attitude
for God’s continued blessings on my life. Would you join me in this time of
rededication to God? The benefits are more than you can imagine!
Blessings,
Pastor Jones