The Rest of the Year

Leviticus 23:23-25

Introduction

This is our first Sunday of the New Year. But why do we have a New Year? Is it just for dating purposes or is there something else? If it is just to change the number on the calendar, why do so many people have celebrations? It is interesting that most cultures have new years traditions, even if we begin that year at a different time. The Chinese are famous for their new years celebrations, and their’s starts on January 25. The Roman calendar, which our current calendar is based on began with the first of March. 

The Jews also have a new years celebration, which in Hebrew is called Rosh Hashanah. You won’t find that term in the Bible. New years is actually called the Feast of Trumpets in the Old Testament. It is a short passage that we might not even notice as a new years passage at first glance. But if we allow it, this passage can transform not just how we see new years but how we see life in general. The Jewish new year is not January 1, it actually takes place in September-October. But it is still relevant for us as we begin our new year.

Old Testament New Year

The Jewish calendar is different from us. That is why holidays such as Hanukkah start on different days from year to year. The new year began on the first day of the seventh month. This was not a random point in the calendar. Readers of the Bible will recognize the importance of the number seven. But it is more than just that. At this point the harvest had just been competed. The agricultural season had just been completed. In many ways, it is very much like our Thanksgiving celebrations. What would it mean if we combined New Years and Thanksgiving? How would it change how we look at both of those holidays?

I mentioned that even though Jews today call it Rosh Hashanah, in the Bible it is called the Feast of Trumpets. That is because one of the key events of this celebration was the blowing of a trumpet. What do you think of when you think of the blowing of a trumpet? I think of a call to action. I can imagine an outnumbered force being destroyed by an enemy. Then suddenly up on the hill there is a trumpet call and the cavalry comes riding down to the rescue. A trumpet call should be the sound to call us to do something. But that is not what happens here.

The trumpet calls the people to literally do nothing. The Hebrews experienced a rhythm of taking rest, experiencing Sabbath every seventh day. Now on the first day of the seventh month there is an extra Sabbath, another day of rest. It is significant that Hebrew word for rest, Sabbath, is related to the Hebrew word for seven. Even God rested on the seventh day.

What is important here is that the new year begins not on a day of extra work to ensure a productive year but on a day of rest. Think about how this is all put together. Israel has just finished gathering in the harvest. God had demonstrated his faithfulness by providing for them. They are now making a decision to start the year not from the posture of striving but from a posture of faith. By deciding to take another day of complete rest, they are stating their belief that God will continue to provide. They are saying that the year that is beginning is not determined by how hard they work but by how faithful God is. That is not to say that they won’t work hard, there is a place for that. But beginning with rest was a way of saying they understood where their priorities should be. The blowing of the trumpet was a reminder to both God and the people that they were in relationship and that this would be a year that they would experience together.

Our New Year

We are not Jews and we don’t celebrate the Feast of Trumpets as described in the Old Testament, so what does this mean for us? I believe that this passage challenges us not just on our view of the new year but how we live. What is the most common thing to do at the start of the new year? If not formal New Year’s resolutions, there is at least some vague awareness of what we want to accomplish this year.

This definitely describes who I am. I want to be more effective and efficient in all that I do. When I hear the trumpet call, I want to roll up my sleeves and get to work. I want to begin the year from the posture of striving to work harder.

But this passage challenges me to rethink what I value. What if when I hear the trumpet call, I put everything down and just rest? What if instead of taking on a posture of striving, I take on a posture of trust and faith? What if I change my motto from “I gotta get things done” to “God’s got this”? 

Not only this, what would happen to us as a congregation? The easiest way for us to measure things as a church is to look at the people in the pews and the money in the plate. But what if what really mattered was the faithfulness of God and our willingness to trust God? That is not to say that we don’t try to be effective in what we do or seek excellence in ministry. This is more a shift in realizing that God is much more than our mascot. The Hebrews gave thanks for the previous harvest and trusted God would do the same this year, trusting enough to take another day off. 

We have to ask if God was truly faithful to us last year? Did we see God come through, providing for us not just financially but in every way? And are we trusting that God will do the same thing this year? Are we stressed out that things will go wrong or are we trusting that God will take what we do and bring it together for his glory?

Conclusion

If we fast forward to the New Testament, we come to prophecies of the return of Jesus. And what accompanies that return? The blow of a trumpet. Some scholars have made connections between the Feast of Trumpets and the return of Jesus. This is reasonable as when Jesus returns, it will be the end of the striving and the embrace of an eternal Sabbath. 

How does the way we start our new year communicate what we believe about God? Do we get ourselves worked up because we see everything on our shoulders? Or can we begin with some Sabbath, some rest because we are trusting in what God has done in the past and what God is going to do in the future? Let the trumpet blow, and let’s take it easy as we rest in faith.