Daily Devotional For Wednesday, Pt. 2, April 23, 2025
Good morning Southside. It is Wednesday and we are looking at traditions here in part 2 continuing from yesterday. Traditions can be good. We look forward to them and remembering and sharing memories from celebrating them in the past. We pass these on to our children and grandchildren. The danger is if we do these without knowing the real reason behind them. You may say, “Well, we do this tradition this way because my parents did it this way.” Okay, why did they do it that way?
Years ago I read the story about this mother who was preparing to bake a ham in the oven. Part of her preparation was to cut off both ends. When her daughter asked her why she did that, the mother’s response was, “Well, that is how my mother did it.” Some time later, both were at the little girl’s grandmother's home. When she saw her grandmother do the same thing with the ham, she said, “Grandma, I noticed you cut off both ends of the ham before you bake it. Momma does the same thing and when I asked why she did that, she said, “That is the way you do it. So, why do you do that?” Her grandmother said, “I really don’t know. All I know is that is the way my mother did it.” Sometime later, all of them went to see the little girl’s great-grandmother in an assisted living facility and the little girl asked her great-grandmother if she cut off both ends of a ham before baking it. She said she did and when her great granddaughter told her how she had asked her own mother and then her grandmother, all they could tell her was, “That’s the way my mother did it.” So, she asked her great grandmother why cut off both ends of the ham before baking it. Her great grandmother started chuckling and said, “Oh, that’s easy to answer. The baking pan I had was not big enough to fit the whole ham, so I just cut off both ends so that it would fit in the pan.”
Mystery of the tradition was solved but her mother and grandmother laughed as well because both of them had baking pans big enough to fit the whole ham. My point is that sometimes we do things, such as celebrate holidays, without even knowing the real basis behind why we celebrate them the way we do. And as with any tradition or holiday, we can corrupt it just like the Hebrews and Jews did in the Old Testament.
In the Mosaic Law, God required the Jews to celebrate three annual holy days or festivals:
- The first one is the Feast of Passover in the spring in either March or April depending on when the full moon is. This festival was to celebrate how the death angel “passed over” their homes if the lamb’s blood was on the doorpost, thus not killing the first-born and the first-born of all their animals. This was based on Leviticus 23:5 and was also called The Feast of Unleavened Bread. The religious leaders, especially the house of Annas and Caiphas, had turned this into a kind of Jewish Mafia extortion, all in the name of God. This is why Jesus cleansed the Temple twice for this.
- The second one is the Feast of Weeks Or Pentecost. It was also called the Festival of the Harvest based in Exodus 34:2. This was to celebrate the harvesting of the grain from the barley in the Fall. It was celebrated 50 days after Passover. Instead of celebrating God’s goodness to them, this festival became a time of boasting of their harvest results and a refusal to give God His required offerings. They became proud and disobeyed Leviticus 23:29. Over time the high priest disobeyed God on the requirements to enter the Holy of Holies (See Exodus 28 and Leviticus 8)
- The third one is the Day of Atonement. This festival occurred in the Fall. According to Leviticus 23:27-28, four things were to take place: First, there was to be a holy convocation drawing the people’s attention to the the altar of divine mercy. Second, they were to humble their divine souls (see Leviticus 23:27-29). Third, Jews were required to give offerings (see Leviticus 16 and Numbers 29:7-11). Fourth, they were to honor the prohibition of all labor. The Day of Atonement was considered a “Sabbath.” See Leviticus 23:32). Over time, they became proud and disobeyed Leviticus 23:29. Over time the high priest disobeyed God on the requirements to enter the Holy of Holies (See Leviticus 8 and Exodus 28).
As you can see, it does not take much for anyone, the Hebrews/Jews and us to get sidetracked with our traditions so that we are no longer bringing glory to God through them. Let me remind you from Scripture the one and only reason as Christians we should and how we should celebrate Easter. The Gospel of John records this in John 20:19-22:
“That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! ‘Peace be with you,’ He said. (20) As He spoke, He showed them the wounds in His hands and His side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! (21) Again He said, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you.’ (22) Then He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (NLT).
The question I have to ask is this: if we adulterate our two Christian holidays with cultural paganism, and then lie to our children as to another purpose in celebrating them, are setting our children up to lie to us in the future? If we always demand our children tell us the truth, why should we expect that from them if we lie to them? I have known children who were devastated to learn the folklore behind these holidays.
But a lie is still a lie. And the danger we risk is they may doubt later what we taught them about the Christian view of Christmas and Easter. One is about the birth of a Savior and the other one is about the Resurrection of a Savior. Maybe later in adulthood to these now grown children the may see Christianity having a dead Savior (1 Corinthians 15:12-13, a dead Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:14a), a dead Faith (1 Corinthians 15:14b), a dead Book (1 Corinthians 15:15) a dead Sacrifice (1 Corinthians 15:16-17), and a dead End (1 Corinthians 15:18-29).
The word “holiday” comes from two English words: “holy” and “day.” “Holy” means to be separate from something else so that it does not look like that something else. God is holy and we are holy. God is nothing like any other false god. We are to be different so that we do not look like our culture. Where this needs to be more visible and evident is in our celebration of both Christmas and Easter. Less I sound legalistic here, I am not telling you not to put up a Christmas tree or not do the hop-hop bunny egg thing. If you do these pagan activities, please make sure your family and you keep at the forefront why we really celebrate these holy days. In addition, seek wisdom from the Lord on this and He will tell you what and how to do this.
I make no apologies here – Easter is solely about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ – not about a bunny, colored eggs, baskets and clothes. I realize this may offend some but I will not take away from the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross nor His offer of eternal life, power over death and salvation through His Resurrection. The Resurrection prepares us, not just for our future in heaven but for now. We may have seasons of trouble in our lives, but never a moment when our risen Lord has forgotten or forsaken us. Determine to rejoice today. Shout: Praise the Lord! I serve a risen Savior!
Assignment: Going against the grain is never easy nor popular. Take some time to share how your family and you personally are different, set apart to be holy as God is holy when it comes to Easter. Then brainstorm how you individually or as a family can really celebrate Easter next year in a biblical way, a holy way that honors Christ’s sacrifice. Write these ideas down and save them for next year.
Scripture To Meditate On: Mark 16:5-6, “Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. (6) And he said to them, ‘Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him’” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, please help me to be holy as You are holy. Please give me wisdom on how to celebrate the holy day (holiday) of Easter without conforming to my culture. I don’t want to be a proponent of fertility, but of faith; not of spring, but of the Savior, not of a bunny, but of the Bible, and not of eggs, but of evangelism. Help me to make disciples. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside – Pastor Kelly