Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem
Scheduling a music recital in Boca Raton, FL, was "like cookin' bacon nekkid". No matter what I did, I was gonna get burned one way or the other.
First of all, it HAD to be during the School Year, because many of the children were signed up for CAMP, which usually started right after school let out. It meant a lean summer for me, because I would lose over 50% of my students. Naturally, if they were away at camp, they could not be in the recital.
If the Recital was in the Spring, but School still in session, the target date would be in April, since the Florida School year runs from early August to late April or early May, to adjust to the hottest months of Summer.
If the Recital was in April, it could NOT be during Passover, Holy Week, or Easter Weekend, because of the religious diversity of my students.
If the Recital were in May, it could NOT be on Mothers' Day, or I would be in BIG Trouble!
If Scheduled during the School year (which it was), It could NOT be on a Sunday, because the Schools held all their sports tournaments on Sunday, as the Jewish Athletes were presumed to not want to play on the Sabbath. Christian Athletes could go to church in the morning, and play the sport in the afternoon, but the Sabbath was all day long.
The last two recitals took place on Sunday afternoons in April that were NOT Passover, Not Holy Week, NOT Easter, and NOT Mother's Day. However, at the time, I was the Minister of Music at an outdoor church and was in charge of all the equipment.
So with my car crammed with the sound equipment for BOTH church and the recital, I set up for church, did the service, broke down the stage, packed my car, drove to Boca, set up the stage, and emceed the recital (with 15 eager pre-adolescent rock stars), broke the set again and packed my car, and went home.
And LOVED every minute of it!
This story is not to toot my own horn, but to show how important our Feast Days are to us. We bend and stretch our lives to fill these schedules, and sometimes bicker over which day to celebrate. Both Jesus and St. Paul encountered these arguments, and both of them were more annoyed at the bickering rather than the strict adherence to dates. In the second Chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus tells us that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. And Paul says this in the second chapter of his letter to the Colossians:
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. (NIV)
So where does that leave us? The Hebrews were Commanded to Keep the Sabbath, and there are many Scriptures that support this. There are Christian Denominations that keep the seventh day, rather than the first day of the week, and others that call Sunday "The Sabbath".
Perhaps the approach given by Jesus and Paul is to OBSERVE the Sabbath in our hearts, and in Spirit and Truth, and not to bicker about it. Legalism, Bickering, and self-righteous criticism defeats the whole purpose of a Holy Day of Rest!
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
Christ Is Risen. He is Risen Indeed.
God Bless America!
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS
