RevWrites - April 12

Holidays. Australia is the Land of the Long Weekend. Easter is a major holiday. Did you know that the word holiday comes from old English Holy Day? People used to celebrate certain days each year in the Christian Calendar that were Holy Days. Easter and Christmas are obvious ones.

It’s interesting that as Australia has become more materialistic and more secular, so holidays have become more important and Holy Days less important. There’s even a concerted effort in the media and education to rename the traditional holy days.

But how do we, as God's people, celebrate holy days? Does the Bible have anything to say?

First, there seems to be nothing in the New Testament about Christians keeping special days. Every day is special and is to be lived “for the Lord.”

Second, Paul slams the Galatian Christians for “observe(ing) days and months and seasons and years.” Now that they believe in Jesus the Christ he is amazed that they can “turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world” and is perplexed that they want to be “slaves … once more.”

So the New Testament doesn’t seem, on the surface, to have all that much to say about what we might do at, say, Easter. So what should we do on Good Friday, for example? Well, as we all have a holiday we have freedom to use it any way we like. And as there are no special days in Christianity, then we have freedom to use it as we like.

But is that all there is to consider? Surely the fact that we are to live every day for the Lord, then holidays give us extra opportunities. We might simply see it as a holiday. It’s a break from the normal routine. It’s time for us to do what most Australians do – relax, go out, spend it on myself. But most Australians aren’t Christians. So to behave like them might be missing the opportunity. So how might we use Good Friday? Obviously meeting with our Christian friends to celebrate and remember Jesus’ death is a good thing. So that’s clearly on the agenda. Then there’s the rest of the day.

There’s special events in St Andrew’s cathedral that are worth going to in the afternoon and evening. Reflecting on Jesus’ death on Good Friday in a focused and intentional way is a good opportunity and a good way to spend a holiday.

Some people use the whole Easter break to go to Easter Convention. Great way to use a holiday! But what about Connect09? How about inviting neighbours to a BBQ? Nothing wrong with using Good Friday or Easter Day to connect with our neighbours. They might even connect with God after we connect with them!

I think what I’m suggesting is that we need to develop ways of using holidays that reflect the fact that we are Christians. Sure, we have the freedom to act like average Australians. But we’re not average Australians. We’re God's people! So, think and pray about how we might be distinctively God's people on days that we’re given as holidays. In many ways it should be easier to live holidays as for the Lord. If you’d like to be stimulated to think a bit more about holidays, you might check out Philip Jensen’s article at:

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/ministry/theology/advancing_atheism_at_easter

Neil