Holy Holidays
'And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy...'
I am currently visiting my sister and her family, who live just outside the beautiful city of Orleans, in France. Orleans sits on the magnificent River Loire, at the heart of a fertile region. The Loiret was the ancient hunting ground for French monarchs, who over centuries built the chateaux for which the region is famous. It is still a much-loved holiday destination.
Historically, holiday seasons have come about as a result of workers resting from the demands of agricultural labour, or a recognition of the need for human beings to have time out from the mechanistic demands of industrial and manufacturing labour and service. There is also the rhythm of the academic year, which sees teachers and students released from the routine of learning and assessment. Holidays provide an opportunity to lay down the burdens and routines of daily life so that we can rest, as well as do what we want to do rather than what we have to do.
So it is interesting to go back to Genesis and see that God himself was the first to take a holiday: 'God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done' (2:3). God did not need to lay down the burden of his work, but he did set the template for a 'holy day' to enjoy the fruits of his work with his creation, including people.
Of course, we cannot now read Genesis 2 other than in the light of Romans 8, where Paul declares that 'the whole creation has been groaning' as a result of the rupture in the relationship between God and his people. In this time between Christ's first and second comings, there is a tension in our work. It is significant in reflecting God's creative work. At the same time it is distorted and does not have the same quality now as God's original good work of creating the universe and everything in it, which he enjoyed simply for its own sake on the seventh day of rest.
Nevertheless, in the light of our status as women and men reconciled to God through Christ, we can approach holidays as being an opportunity to actively create time to explore how our work positively reflects God's original creative work in spite of the challenges of modern life, and to enjoy the results of our work in renewed hope. It is this hope that enables us to return to our work with a view to our service there being willingly offered in gratitude to God, and to honour his original intention for us to live in perfect relationship with him.
Sally Orwin
The problem for christianity is that God blessed the seventh day not the first day of the week, this is one of the fractures that man in the form of the catholic church has imposed on christians. The bible is very certain that the people who will be ready when Jesus comes again are those that keep the commandments including the 7th day sabbath. God did not bless the 1st day of the week, he provided the last day of the week for man and Saturday was the only day he blessed.
Date:
2010-06-20 20:42:30
Author:
Janette Gulleford