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Word from Nairnshire
by Sandy Shaw
We were strolling along Ben Yehuda Street, in central Jerusalem, when we were met by young Israelis offering slices of apple dipped in honey.
It was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which was last Friday, and means the head of the year.
These young folks were encouraging people to have a fruitful and sweet year.
For the children of God in Old Testament times, this feast or festival was a memorial, when they were called to keep their appointment with God, and to remember who they were.
No regular work was to be done, and sacrifices were to be offered. It was a Sabbath, when only that which is essential would be carried out.
It remains both a time of rejoicing and serious introspection; a day to celebrate the completion of another year, whilst taking stock of one’s life, which is what we are commanded to do in the Church of Jesus Christ when we come to the bread and the wine.
The story of Abraham and Isaac is read, and the shofar, ram’s horn, is sounded. These are reminders of the covenant between God and the people of Israel, and they involve and include sacrifice, hope and continuity.
A ram caught in a thicket was sacrificed. Isaac would carry on the promise of God, giving hope for the future.
Some will throw crumbs of bread on flowing water to symbolise sin being washed away.
People always want to have some way of having their past sorted out and issues of guilt resolved.
That is why God sent Jesus Christ. He is the ram, who was sacrificed, and raised from the dead, giving hope, reassurance, and eternal continuity.
This is more than a slice of apple dipped in honey.
Sandy Shaw
Nairn Christian Fellowship
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Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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