February 12, 2024 – Food for the Soul

How is the date of Lent and Easter decided?

Unlike Christmas, Easter is not a fixed date on the calendar; it is sometimes described as a “moveable feast.” The Western church decided long ago to set Easter as the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox (the first day of spring). Since the date of Easter varies widely (from March 22 to April 25), the dates of every other holiday-related to Easter vary as well.

The week before Easter is referred to as Holy Week. It begins on Palm Sunday, which recalls Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Thursday of that week is known in some traditions as Maundy Thursday. It is called that because it memorializes Jesus’ final instructions and last meal with His disciples. The term “Maundy” is related to the Latin word mandatum. It means “commandment”. It is also the first word in the Latin version of John 13:34 that records Jesus’ new commandment to His disciples. Since Jesus washed his disciples’ feet that fateful evening, Christians often do as Jesus did and wash one another’s feet.

Good Friday follows. It is the day that commemorates the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. Calling the day “good” seems ironic since Jesus died such a horrid death that day. However, what Jesus’ death accomplished for the redemption of the world is the greatest good the world has ever seen.

The Sunday following Good Friday ends the season of Lent and is designated Easter. It may be the most celebrated day on the Christian calendar, for it commemorates Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and the beginning of the new Kingdom. – Adapted from The Voice Bible.

Devotion and Honor

You were created for community. When God designed humans, He made us with the intention of placing us within a loving family. Today, we call that family the Church.

God’s original intention was that we would exist within a family of other believers. He didn’t intend for us to exist in isolation or separated from other people. Life was not meant to be lived alone.

Regardless of what your family experience was like, God intended for His family to be loving and caring. And it’s the qualities of God’s family that Paul is writing about in Romans 12.

Paul says to be devoted to one another in love. That means that we are to walk alongside other people through the various seasons of life. We should never abandon people when life gets hard.

Paul also encourages us to honor others. Instead of seeking self-recognition, we should honor and encourage each other. Instead of pursuing what seems best for us, we should seek the good of other people first.

Devotion and honor are just two aspects of loving people well, but Jesus said that the world will recognize us as His disciples by the way that we love. This means that we have to genuinely love others—not just pretend to love them. And the place we need to start showing genuine honor is within our spiritual family. Rather than letting self-promotion divide the family of God, our goal should be to honor those around us.

If we won’t learn how to love people who follow Jesus, then we won’t know how to love people who don’t.

That’s why we should frequently pause and take an assessment on how we are doing at loving others. So take a moment right now to think about the ways in which you loved and honored people this past week. Write down two or three things you can do to continue to show love to those in your life.