Holidays and Holy Days

The calendar is filled with  many special days through the year.  The months of November and December are filled with special days like Thanksgiving, Christmas,and New Years Eve.    January has the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and February has Valentines Day and Presidents Day.   I got to thinking about these special days the other day.   We call the Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday as we will Presidents Day.  Have you ever noticed that if you take the word “holiday” and divide up the word you have “holi day”?

It got me thinking about holidays and holy days.   Is there a difference in the two?    My suspicion is that most of us are good at observing holidays, but I am not sure if we are good at making a day a “holy day”. 

When I was a boy, I learned the Ten Commandments.  We find them in both Exodus and Deuteronomy.  One of those Ten Commandments states to :

Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. 

When I was young, it was thought that we keep the Sabbath Day holy by stores being closed and going to church on that day.    I recall some who believed that you should not go to the movies on Sunday and that children should not play on Sunday. 

What does it mean today to keep not only  the Sabbath Day holy but those holy days like Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter?   What things should we do or not do  to make a day holy?     I am not sure I know the answer, but I certainly believe that it is important to ask the question.     Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   Living and loving God, this is a day that you have given us whether we call it a holiday, holy day, or just a day.    Whatever I do on this day, help me to do it in a way that honors and glorifies your holy name;   through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.