Saturday Sermonette - Wait for It!

O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. Psalm 63:1

Sometimes I think God invented the saying, "Wait for it." We mere humans are an impatient lot. We want answers and actions n.o.w.

But--Lent is the season for waiting, even more than the norm. Holding our breath won't make Easter week (or Resurrection week) come any faster. I'm so thirsty for the Resurrection!

I'm thirsty for more than the Resurrection. I'm thirst and hungry for the Day of Atonement. If I'm right in my thinking (and the dear Lord knows that once it a great while I hit the hammer right on the head of the nail), I think that is when the Lord will return. Atonement happens every year on the tenth day of the seventh month--and No, that's not July 10. We're talking about the Jewish Calendar. The month of Tishri happens on various dates between September and October, depending on the year.

The reason I'm thinking this is because Jesus was sacrificed on Passover. After He rose from the grave, he hung around with the disciples on earth until Pentecost (also called Shavuot) (Feast of Weeks or Harvest or Oaths)--another Jewish holiday.  I'd be willing to bet he was born during another holiday--maybe the First Fruits Holiday, the beginning of the Passover Week. It begins on Good Friday. Another possibility would be the Feast of Trumpets, sometime in September.

The Day of Atonement is when all of the Israelites who were truly repentant of the sins they'd committed (and who hasn't sinned, anyway?) would come to the temple and present their sacrifice to be forgiven. Not that we still need to do that--we're forgiven the moment we ask, because Jesus is our forever sacrificial Lamb.

It seems to me that God still celebrates the old holidays.

And so, I will continue to wait for that last trumpet to sound--unless He comes for me before that. Either way is just fine with me.

You?

Lord, thank You for remembering your rag-taggity sheep still here on Your earth. We will wait, patiently or not, for You to come claim us. And we will love You, honor You, serve You, and worship You until (and after!) that happens. Amen.