‘Tis the Season! (3)

“Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but thatyou yourself also walk orderly and keep the law.” Acts 21.23, 24

An excellent opportunity then…
It was important to Paul that he should be in Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks – for Pentecost. He was a Jew, after all, and there was nothing inconsistent with his Christian faith in his participating in this national holy day. Besides, the holy days of Israel had become even more fraught with transcendent meaning and significance since Paul had come to know Christ as the focal point of each one.

Moreover, with so many people from all over Israel gathering in Jerusalem, Pentecost would have provided an excellent opportunity for bearing witness to the “first fruit” of the Holy Spirit, Who is given to all who believe in Jesus. This is precisely what had happened at the first Christian Pentecost, so many years before.

Upon arriving, Paul learned from James that certain of the brethren had taken a vow of some sort and were thus participating with others in one particular aspect of the Pentecost celebration. The apostles in Jerusalem knew that Paul’s credentials were being challenged by those who insisted he was setting aside the Law of God, which, of course, he was not. So they urged him to join in this participation, in order to bear witness to everyone in Jerusalem that the charges against him were not valid. Paul agreed to this, even though doing so ended up with his becoming a prisoner for the sake of the Gospel.

…and now?
The holy day of Pentecost afforded an opportunity to enter in a special way into the saving work of the Lord, and to bear witness to others of that work; and Paul was willing to do whatever was necessary in order to make the most of that opportunity.

His example is instructive for us. In or day people are making it clear that they’re not all that interested in whatever our holy days might be able to teach them about the greatness and grace of God. They mainly just want some time off work to do something for themselves. They will abide whatever religious or spiritual messages come with the deal, as long as they’re not too intrusive and don’t make people feel bad about using the holidays for their own purposes.

But the holy days of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter provide Christians with excellent opportunities, both for deepening and renewing their own faith, and for reminding themselves and others that God is and that He is the Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Heb. 11.6). Like Paul, we need to discover ways of making the most of these holy seasons by encouraging others to consider their real meaning and purpose.

Those outside the Church, who have no faith in Christ, want the privileges and perks of the holy days without the spiritual purpose. They don’t want Christian symbols on their public property. Store owners insist their employees use only “Happy Holidays” and not “Merry Christmas” in greeting customers. Special sales, special sporting events, and all kinds of special holiday travel packages invite us to find in the holidays reasons and means to indulge ourselves, but they have nothing to do with honoring God, as each of the three major holy seasons was originally intended.

This is decidedly not what “Christmas” advertises, and it falls to those who know the meaning of this season to set the record straight.

Taking holidays captive
‘Tis the season, friends, to set aside time for holiness, and to use that time as much as we can for renewing our faith and bearing witness concerning the Lord.

No, the world won’t exactly welcome our ratcheted-up efforts at celebrating the Lord and calling others to count their blessings, consider Jesus, and cling to His cross for the forgiveness of sins. But that’s not the point. Unless we intend completely to forfeit our holy seasons, and to allow them to be taken captive for the purposes of crass commercialism and narrow-minded narcissism, we need to make the best use of these times as God intends, and as the name of the season suggests. Thus it might be that, not only will we find a deeper and more sanctifying experience of the things we believe, we might also bear powerful, credible witness to the One Who has led us to observe these holy days in the first place.

Next steps: Make a list of everything about the holiday season that holds the potential for bearing witness to the Lord. Share that list with some Christian friends. Pray for one another that you will make the most of your witness-bearing opportunities during this holiday season.

T. M. Moore

We’re taking a 3-week intermission from our series on The Disciplined Life to review three archive series on the meaning of Christmas. This week’s study, ‘Tis the Season, is part 1 of a 3-part series on Christmas, As Advertised, and is available as a free download.

Subscribe to receive our daily Scriptorium studies on the book of Revelation. Visit the website, www.ailbe.org, and use the subscriptions box on the home page. In today’s Crosfigell, the monk Jonas leads us to consider how we should respond to tests the Lord allows to come our way. Sign-up at the website to begin receiving Crosfigell three times a week.

Sign up for ViewPoint Leaders Training, free and online, and start your own ViewPoint discussion group.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.