Thought for Today
Genesis 40:20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants, and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.
Deuteronomy 16:6 . . . except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. (NIV)
Mark 6:21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee.
“A 250th anniversary is commonly referred to as a quartermillennial. Another term that can be used is semiquincentennial, which directly means half of 500 years. For example, the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence is called the United States Semiquincentennial.” (Copilot Search)
I always think of birthdays and anniversaries as what I call ‘barbell’ events. Those are events that are most important in their earliest years and their latest years, but that are much less noted in the middle years. Of course, early late or in between, ‘dumbbell’ might be more appropriate if you ever forget to acknowledge certain birthdays or anniversaries.
This year is a very special year for our nation. I’m sure that as the year progresses, we will hear “semiquincentennial” on every tongue and read it in numerous articles . . . if any of us can figure out how to pronounce that word.
Special celebrations have been long in the planning. Some celebrations have already occurred, noting events that led up to the Declaration of Independence. We had a commemorative reenactment of one such event at First Parish Church in Newbury in September; and, all of the area churches have rung their bells several times in 2025 to commemorate events.
I have read stories in the newspapers and heard reports on the television news about plans being made for celebrations in Washington, D.C. this year. There have been reports about plans for a military parade. I’m sure that many towns will have special July 4th celebrations.
Celebrating birthdays and anniversaries is a good thing, at least to the extent that the event being celebrated is a good thing. Irrespective of the faith tradition, every religion of which I am aware has certain liturgical holidays. For Christians, some of our liturgical holidays have even been coopted by society in general and have become general celebrations. Maybe the most obvious is Christmas. In the U.S.A. Christmas has become a weeks long period of ostentatious materialism spanning the time from Thanksgiving to December 25th. Even in areas that never see snow, shopping malls and stores broadcast ‘festive’ tunes about dreaming of a white Christmas. Whether we shop online or in stores, everything is ‘On Sale.’ Even the story of “no room in the inn” has now added participants like the Little Drummer Boy to broaden the commercial appeal.
Easter this year is Sunday, April 5th. For Christians throughout Christendom, all across our globe, followers of Jesus, the Christ, will celebrate Easter . . .except, of course, for those who follow the Orthodox calendar. For them, Easter will be the following Sunday.
As I begin to plan for our congregation’s own Easter celebration, I cannot help but wonder, which is most important, the specific date or the event being celebrated? For our nation, is July 4th more important than every day in this 250th year? Our celebration should be because we have established ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’ and that land and home has endured a very uncivil Civil War, 2 world wars and numerous armed conflicts. We have, and continue to have political divides and debates. Political parties have arisen and dissipated, come and gone, and our nation has continued unabated. The issues that have and continue to divide us also unite us in our dealing with those issues through debate and discourse and through the rule of law.
The same is true for Christianity. We have faith traditions, denominations that differ in various ways we worship the same God. Even our celebration of the seminal event, God’s affirmation in Jesus’ Resurrection, can occur on differing calendar dates. Yet all of Christendom is united in that event, the Resurrection. ”We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,” as we sing together They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love.
Stay safe, let the song of your life witness to your faith, trust God,
Pastor Ray