Yesterday was a special day
for multiple reasons in my family. Unfortunately I cannot be with any of those
members due to distance. April 30 marked my older son’s 34th
birthday. My parents would have been married 70 years yesterday. They missed
celebrating it together by five weeks. Only recently did I learn my parents
were married on the same date as my paternal grandparents. This year would have
marked their 113th wedding anniversary. April 30 has been a special
day for a long time.
In 311 Emperor Galerius
legally recognized Christianity in the Roman Empire. Christopher Columbus
received the royal commission to make preparations for his western voyage in
1492. George Washington gave his first inaugural address on this date in 1789.
The Louisiana Purchase was finalized in 1803 and Louisiana became a state nine
years later. Willie Nelson was born in 1933. The first Land Rover debuted at an
auto show in 1948. Most important of all perhaps to our newest generations, in
1993 the world wide web was born in CERN. Thanks goes to it for these
incredibly exciting notes on our history!
Not too many people are
concerned about my family’s anniversaries. Perhaps only a few more are
interested in George Washington’s first inaugural address or the date of the
birth of the state of Louisiana. Yet all we have to do is consider all the ways
we celebrate dates, and we realize remembering specific occasions is important
to humanity. If no one else, then Hallmark Cards will remind us.
In Exodus 23:14-17, God
reminded Israel of the importance of remembering specific dates. The first and
foremost was the great event of the Exodus, the deliverance of the Israelites
from Egyptian slavery. The other two events are tied to periods of thanksgiving
for the harvest the Lord had provided for his people. Remembering to be
thankful is still a wise activity.
For the Christian the New
Testament speaks of three pivotal dates for the first followers of Christ and
later disciples. The first the whole world celebrates with us as Christmas.
God’s breaking into human history in such innocent helplessness is truly worth
commemorating. (Luke 1-2) The secular realm will not allow us to ignore that
date!
The second refers to Passover
Week in many ways similar to the Passover Feast celebrated by the Jews. The key
and significant difference lies in the freedom that is celebrated. For the Jew
it was freedom from human slavery. For the Christian it is freedom from the
bondage and penalty of sin. Instead of Passover as believers in Christ we mark
the events of Holy Week culminating in Resurrection Sunday, Easter.
The third crucial date is
known in Jewish circles as Pentecost, coming fifty days after Easter. On this
date the Holy Spirit came upon that first group of early disciples and in them
established the Church as the Body of Jesus Christ. (Acts 2) From that birthday
of the Church all Christians trace their earliest roots as members of the Body
of Christ active in the world.
Specific dates give us
reference points. They place us in the flow of history and allow us to connect
with others either close or far in geography, close or far in time. They mark
days of transition and days of both beginnings and endings. They also serve to
remind us of those who may not get the attention they need and deserve.
Mother’s Day is easy. Father’s Day almost as easy. Then there are those
grandparents, administrative assistants, and military veterans.
We need to remember all these
on their special days. God calls his people to remember him above all else. We
use Christmas and Easter each year. Some faith groups remember Pentecost. These
recall the birth of Christ and the birth of the Church. Do you remember your
birth date? You get reminded regularly of your physical birth anniversary and
the history it represents. Do you remember your spiritual birth anniversary? Do
you have one? That is the most important date for both your physical and spiritual
life. That event determines your eternal history. (John 1:12-13)
