Family Day

I hope everyone enjoyed your first ever “Family Day”. I know many staff had to work and I am sure you enjoyed thinking about the “stat pay”. I had the day off and it was strange to know that this was the first of what will likely be an ongoing yearly event. I found myself thinking before everything I planned to do with friends and loved ones “I wonder if this will become a tradition?” I even felt some hesitation to make any big plans because I was thinking, “will I want to do this every year?” Most of the calendar holidays have traditions around them. Every May long weekend we go and open up my in-laws cottage. I celebrate New Years Eve with the same group of friends. My wife and I alternate planning celebrations for our wedding anniversary. Christmas Eve with the in-laws, Christmas day with my parents. All of these traditions must have started somewhere, some year for some reason. Some we remember, some we just do because we always have.

This got me thinking about a lot of religious traditions. I wrote two weeks ago about Lent and how discovering the heart behind this ancient tradition has been meaningful for me. Think of all the other traditions; Sunday morning, Sunday lunch, Christmas concerts, church picnics. Think of the traditions in the homes where you work. All great traditions but have we lost sight of why we do them?

I am glad to say that my relationship with my extended family is pleasant and I don’t dread any of the occasions that we get together but I must admit that sometimes I don’t feel like it in the moment. I have heard horror stories from others who dread family get-togethers because of dysfunctional relationships. In Isaiah 1 God is at this point with his people:

Isaiah 1:14 (NIV) Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.

God is not pleased that His people keep meeting Him in traditional ways but are far from Him. The first part of the book of Isaiah tells of a people that no longer care for God or each other. God cares about the relationship not the ritual. Ask God to meet you in the religious activities you do. We have a rich history of religious traditions the danger is that we may forget to include the God of History.

Isaiah 1:11-14 (NIV) 11 "The multitude of your sacrifices-- what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. 12 When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? 13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations-- I cannot bear your evil assemblies. 14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.


Mark Wallace