Everett Piper Christian Blog and Commentary

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Holy-Days

I've said over and over again… ideas matter, as do the words used to express them.

 

During this holiday season here's another word for you to consider:  Holiday. What is its etymology - its origin and purpose.  What does it mean?

 

Well at first glance you might recognize that its pretty obvious.  The word holiday is actually the combination of two words:  Holy and Day. 

 

Holy.  A religious word: Something that is sacred and set apart for God.  Something that must be preserved and kept whole, untransgressed, inseparable, and unviolated.  Holy - sanctified and righteous,  pure and right and real.  Holy -uncompromised, sanctified, sanctioned and worthy of respect and worship.  Holy, Holy, Holy, for the Lord God, alone, is Holy!

 

Day.  A reference to a 24 hour period of time. The acknowledgement of past, present and future.  The awareness of the clock; that the minutes and hours are passing and that ultimately they are God's to give and to take and that humans have nothing to say about their longevity or brevity.  Day -self-limitation: knowing that our days are numbered. Yesterday memories.  Today's responsibilities.  Tomorrow's dreams.  Made in the image of God, we stand alone in our awareness of time and the divine dictate that this is the Day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it, honor it and that we alone of all God's creatures are obligated to keep it holy.  

 

Isn't it ironic that the wise who wish to secularize our culture actually do so by demanding that we abandon  "religious words" like Christmas while at the same time arguing in favor of even more religious words like "holiday"?! 

 

The Holy one - the creator of Holy-Days - literally laughs at such wisdom?