Take A Break and Give Thanks!
Reflections: In our Old Testament reading from Deuteronomy 16, we see the three great feasts the Israelites were to celebrate to remember all that God had done for them by delivering them from the Egyptians and the rich blessings He had given them. The Passover was specifically a time for remembering the deliverance God gave them, and they were to offer an unblemished animal at the place God would honor by His presence. Then, for seven days they were only to eat unleavened bread as a reminder of how quickly they had to exit Egypt. It was to be a reminder to their children, and their children’s children, of what God had done for them.
Likewise the Feast of Weeks, usually held in the springtime seven weeks from the time of the first harvest (concurrent with the Passover which is in the spring as well) was a reminder of what God had provided for them in the form of crops. Today in the church we call this “Pentecost”, which gets its name from “fifty days” or seven weeks from Easter, where we received the provision of the Holy Spirit. In conjunction with that feast was the Feast of Tabernacles, which was another seven days of celebrating and giving thanks for what God had given them. Notice in the seven days after Passover and in these feasts, they were to do no work!
God knew how easily it would be for people to forget what He had done, so He instituted these holy days for them to remember His great love for them shown in His great acts of mercy and power for them. Likewise in the church today, we remember seasons like Advent, Lent, and Easter to remember the central acts of God’s coming in the form of His Son to deliver us from our enemy, sin! Like anything else, while the seasons can be rote and ritualistic, God has given to them as a gift, just like the Sabbath day. In our modern day world of sixty hour work weeks and people working on their days off, these practices would be an excellent antidote for us as we cease striving and take time to remember what God has done for us individually and corporately!
Finally, we see Jesus defining what true faith, is in our Gospel lesson in Luke. The Pharisee Simon is trying to figure out (intellectually) what it means to follow Jesus. The woman who bought the expensive alabaster perfume had just shown what it means to follow Jesus. To give all you have, leave your old life behind, and put your faith and trust in Jesus by what you worship! She had shown by her actions where her heart was!
When we realize our sinfulness and what Jesus has done for us, no one will have to beg us to come to worship on Sunday, or share our faith with others, or live a life of service to him. It will come out the experience of receiving His forgiveness for our sins! Take a moment today and reflect on Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, and what He did when He went to the cross and suffered for you! We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all need forgiveness. Jesus gave his life for all of us! Whoever is forgiven much loves much!!
Psalm 82:1-4
A psalm of Asaph.
1 God presides in the great assembly;
he renders judgment among the “gods”:
2 “How long will you defend the unjust
and show partiality to the wicked?
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Deuteronomy 15:19-17:7
The Passover
16 Observe the month of Aviv and celebrate the Passover of the Lord your God, because in the month of Aviv he brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his Name. 3 Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste —so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt. 4 Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until morning. 5 You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the Lord your God gives you 6 except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. 7 Roast it and eat it at the place the Lord your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents. 8 For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly to the Lord your God and do no work.
The Festival of Weeks
9 Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. 10 Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you. 11 And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name —you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites in your towns, and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows living among you. 12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.
The Festival of Tabernacles
13 Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 Be joyful at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. 15 For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete. 16 Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed: 17 Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.
Luke 7:39-50 New International Version (NIV)
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” 40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. 41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
And you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth? Isaiah 51:13 (NKJV)
You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23
Almighty God, the entire world is under your care, but we are not in charge. Your word reminds us that you made all creation, and know our weakest, personal needs. Thank you. Amen.
Likewise the Feast of Weeks, usually held in the springtime seven weeks from the time of the first harvest (concurrent with the Passover which is in the spring as well) was a reminder of what God had provided for them in the form of crops. Today in the church we call this “Pentecost”, which gets its name from “fifty days” or seven weeks from Easter, where we received the provision of the Holy Spirit. In conjunction with that feast was the Feast of Tabernacles, which was another seven days of celebrating and giving thanks for what God had given them. Notice in the seven days after Passover and in these feasts, they were to do no work!
God knew how easily it would be for people to forget what He had done, so He instituted these holy days for them to remember His great love for them shown in His great acts of mercy and power for them. Likewise in the church today, we remember seasons like Advent, Lent, and Easter to remember the central acts of God’s coming in the form of His Son to deliver us from our enemy, sin! Like anything else, while the seasons can be rote and ritualistic, God has given to them as a gift, just like the Sabbath day. In our modern day world of sixty hour work weeks and people working on their days off, these practices would be an excellent antidote for us as we cease striving and take time to remember what God has done for us individually and corporately!
Finally, we see Jesus defining what true faith, is in our Gospel lesson in Luke. The Pharisee Simon is trying to figure out (intellectually) what it means to follow Jesus. The woman who bought the expensive alabaster perfume had just shown what it means to follow Jesus. To give all you have, leave your old life behind, and put your faith and trust in Jesus by what you worship! She had shown by her actions where her heart was!
When we realize our sinfulness and what Jesus has done for us, no one will have to beg us to come to worship on Sunday, or share our faith with others, or live a life of service to him. It will come out the experience of receiving His forgiveness for our sins! Take a moment today and reflect on Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, and what He did when He went to the cross and suffered for you! We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all need forgiveness. Jesus gave his life for all of us! Whoever is forgiven much loves much!!
Psalm 82:1-4
A psalm of Asaph.
1 God presides in the great assembly;
he renders judgment among the “gods”:
2 “How long will you defend the unjust
and show partiality to the wicked?
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Deuteronomy 15:19-17:7
The Passover
16 Observe the month of Aviv and celebrate the Passover of the Lord your God, because in the month of Aviv he brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his Name. 3 Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste —so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt. 4 Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until morning. 5 You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the Lord your God gives you 6 except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. 7 Roast it and eat it at the place the Lord your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents. 8 For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly to the Lord your God and do no work.
The Festival of Weeks
9 Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. 10 Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you. 11 And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name —you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites in your towns, and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows living among you. 12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.
The Festival of Tabernacles
13 Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 Be joyful at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. 15 For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete. 16 Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed: 17 Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.
Luke 7:39-50 New International Version (NIV)
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” 40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. 41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
And you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth? Isaiah 51:13 (NKJV)
You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23
Almighty God, the entire world is under your care, but we are not in charge. Your word reminds us that you made all creation, and know our weakest, personal needs. Thank you. Amen.
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