Holiday or Holy Day?

Is this coming weekend a “Holiday Weekend” or a “Holy Day Weekend” for you? What’s the difference? It may seem like a matter of semantics since “Holiday” comes from “holy day,” but it can also be a matter of attitude. For instance, at the end of May, we’ll observe Memorial Day, set aside to remember those who died in service to our country. But for many, it’s the unofficial start of Summer, and very little time, if any, is given to what the day was established for. 

“Holy” not only means perfect and without blemish, but also “set apart to God for His purpose.” As we conclude this Holy Week, we have some special opportunities to set apart time for worship, indicating our desire to be set apart for His purpose. What we commemorate on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday are not common events that we just think about a little bit and then move on with life. We take the time to contemplate the wonder of a Lord and Savior who would dedicate Himself to His Father’s purpose and our salvation that we might no longer be common, but now through faith in Him be set apart as the forgiven, redeemed children of God. 

For the past several years, Concordia University Wisconsin has used the phrase: “Live Uncommon.” It’s a great reminder of what our Lord has redeemed us to be – set apart from the common attitudes and actions of a broken world to live a new life in Christ which reflects the attitudes and actions of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Peter puts it this way: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9–10) So what will this weekend be for you? A common holiday weekend, or truly Holy Days?