Jesus is less interested in the remembrance of his birthday than he is in the celebration of yours.  We have no evidence in Scripture that the early church ever had a holiday anything like Christmas.  In fact, there is precious little to indicate that the church of the apostles had any holy days, save perhaps the habit of coming together on the first day of the week in remembrance of the resurrection to pray, preach and partake of the Lord’s Supper.  Paul tells the church at Colossae “do not let anyone judge you … with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.”  (Colossians 2:16)

When, at the crucifixion, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom, the false separation of sacred and common, of holy and ordinary was abolished.  Temple worship with its endless sacrifices was made unnecessary by the sacrifice of the perfect lamb on the cross.  True and spiritual worshippers were called to offer their lives as living sacrifices, no longer conformed to this world but transformed and renewed in their inner beings. (Romans 12:1, 2)  The dwelling place of God was no longer behind the curtain in the Holy of Holies.  Now the dwelling place of God was with men. And his people, each one now a priest, were fitted together as living stones into a temple where God dwells by his Spirit. Those who would follow Jesus were called to take up their cross daily, to die to self and to live, no longer according to ordinances, laws and traditions, but in a daily, Spirit-filled walk of perpetual worship.  “Be holy,” God calls to us, “as I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16, Leviticus 11:44, 45) And God is holy all the time, not just on a Sunday morning, not just on a holiday (Holy Day).

However, there are days that are special to God – days of rejoicing.

We sing about one of these days.  “This is the day the Lord has made,” we sing, “We will rejoice and be glad in it.”  Usually we sing this as a sort of carpe diem, every day is a good day when one belongs to God kind of song, but that is not what the song is about.  At least it is not what the song was about when the psalmist wrote it.  “This is the day” comes from Psalm 118 and Psalm 118 is the song the crowds sang on that Sunday morning when Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey’s colt. (John 12)  It is the song I imagine the stones would have sung if the people had fallen silent.

“Hosanna,” the multitude sings, “Salvation!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”  (Psalm 118: 25) They sing, “The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.”  “This is the gate of the Lord,” they sing, “He has given us light… He has become my salvation.  This is the day the Lord has made.  We will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118: 20-24, 27) But the day of their rejoicing is not the day they crown Jesus king.  No, the cause of their rejoicing (and ours) is more complicated and deeply bittersweet.  The song goes on.  “With boughs in hand,” the people sing as they accompany Jesus up to the temple, “we join in the festal procession to bind the sacrifice to the altar.”  (Psalm 118: 27) The day the Lord made is not Palm Sunday, but Good Friday.  The cause of rejoicing is not that Jesus rides into Jerusalem as king, but that salvation is come to us. Hosanna!  Oh, but, at what a price.  In nearly the next breath, John records Jesus’ words, describing his own death, “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” (John 12:27, 28)

A second day of rejoicing is described in Luke 15.  Jesus is telling stories about lost things.  One story tells of a stubborn, foolish sheep who wandered from the flock.  The good shepherd goes in search of the lost sheep (who may not even yet realize its lostness, not yet tangled in thornbushes or harassed by wolves, not yet aware of its certain and impending death) and when he finds it there is rejoicing.  And the story suddenly shifts from the hills of Judea to the halls of heaven.  There is rejoicing there, Jesus tells us, when a sinner repents, when the lost is found, when the prodigal child returns home.

Here then are the days of celebration.  One is the day that only God could make – the day when his plan was completed, the battle won, the door opened, the debt paid – “It is finished,” Jesus cries in victory from the cross.  The other is the day that only you can make – the day of your repentance and salvation, the day when the reality of the cross becomes real to you and you abandon your empty searching, wandering, and come home to the Father who loves you.  These two are the days of true rejoicing.  These are the days when we encounter the “inexpressible and glorious joy” of 1 Peter 1:8.  These are the Holy days that Jesus celebrates – days of your birth.

I don’t think God is against our special days.  If birthday parties, Thanksgiving feasts, Fourth of July fireworks and Christmas carols make you happy, then I think God is pleased to see you smile.  But remember, these are not days more holy than any other nor more full of joy.  Every day is a holy day for you.  And, rejoice! – Today is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)  Hosanna!

[I am grateful to my friend, Luis, for the idea for this post.]