Lessons from the Feast: What Really Matters
God Loves You (the most important lesson)
In the months before my father died, I would go with my youngest son, JJ, who was 6 years old, and give Grandpa a big hug and a kiss before bed. This had been my nightly ritual from my earliest childhood. But, in his last months, my usually undemonstrative Dad , perhaps as a way of saying goodbye if that night were to be his last, said every evening, “Always remember I love you. ” It was something that has stuck with me…
Alone at the Feast (turning loneliness around)
There I was at Ambassador College in Bricketwood, England, and not feeling my normally confident, cheerful, nerdy self. I wasn’t happy and perhaps I was in denial about the source of my trouble…There I was living my “dream,”… The campus had a wonderful rural, small town atmosphere that was just what I was looking for and I was already busily engaged in and enjoying classes and work. But something was amiss…
Adventures to Share(learning new things)
Sometimes the traveling to or from the Feast can be a great adventure with many lessons learned…What was exhilarating was to know that here, so far away from anything familiar, I had brethren who were rejoicing in God’s Holy Days … They were “family” sharing in the profound meaning of the Holy Days that God had established as a yearly reminder of His deliverance and presence in our lives. We were sharing this great spiritual adventure…
Feast Firsts(exciting opportunities)It was the first day of the Feast and I was sitting wrapped in blankets and wheezing to the music over the web, instead of sharing in the joy of singing hymns with a ballroom full of brethren. So who wouldn’t feel a little sorry for themselves? But the minister’s admonition was to give and rejoice at the Feast, so how was I going to do that…
Shine the light(setting a godly example)As a teen everything about the new feast site in the Poconos was “supersized”. I’ve wondered if it was this way for the adults and concluded, yes! This was quite a convention even for modern standards. I wondered how many times in the history of God’s people since the temple was destroyed had such large groups come together to praise God. Perhaps those golden years of the Church of God when the membership was growing rapidly to finally reach over 150,000 baptized adults were unique…
Family Feast(family togetherness)Students in Sabbath class asked me if there was a story in the Bible about the Feast that they could act out as a play. So, we looked into the scripture and read about the Feast in the book of Nehemiah. The story we read started with Nehemiah, a eunuch in the palace and cup-bearer to the Persian King, getting word of the state of affairs in Jerusalem from his brother. It distressed Nehemiah greatly, to the point that even the king noticed that his cupbearer and trusted servant, was troubled about something…
Rejoice at the Feast(joy of celebrating with God)Sometimes keeping the spirit of joy during the feast can be a hard thing… Along with the excitement sometimes the Feast was just plain hard work with little thanks. Can’t you just picture our ancestors as they prepared to leave Egypt and packed for that big “feast” experience in the wilderness. It all had to fit on the donkey cart and a lot of things just would not fit. Decisions had to be made…
