Yom Teruah

Good morning. Shabbat shalom. Welcome to church of the Messiah.

Church of the Messiah is a unique place. We have people who come will come for a while. Enjoy the place, maybe move on. It's totally, it's kind of normal actually around here. Some people stay for 30 years, some people to stay for 6 months, really like it, for whatever reason they move on.

I got a letter this week from someone who has moved on and your they were they were some Hertz through the congregation, but there were some things that were brought up in the letter that I I feel like addressing some of the criticisms of Church of Messiah is it? I want to speak towards right now? One of them was the, we're all kind of doing our own thing spiritually. Speaking like, there isn't a set standard way of practicing our faith and that is a negative thing. That weed that I and Rob and others should from this spot. Express to you, how you should live. How you should function in your day today?

I don't know if the rest of you feel this way. Would would, would you like me to tell you how to live your? Cuz I think that there's something there's something a little

Many of us left congregations where we were told exactly how to live and to walk and I don't really think you spent that from me. I'm thankful that I don't think the elders expect that from me to tell you how to live specifically in your day today. I don't think that that's my job and I don't think the elders. Think it's my job. Well, I know that they don't like there is there is something as we read. And study, as we try to apply God's instructions to our life. There's something that's very unique and personal about this and something that really requires the Holy Spirit. And I, I don't think it's my job to tell you, not to speed.

if you are convicted about speeding, I don't really think it's my job to tell you not to drive on the Shabbat Like that's not the reality of respecting and practicing and guarding. The Sabbath is a thing that I think we need to talk about how you do that is a little bit on you and it's a little bit on me. And it's on my, it's, it's, it's my responsibility to teach my family. The way I've come to understand what I'm trying to get out here, like if we were to say from this spot, here's what this mean, and you have to do it that I don't think is healthy. I don't think that's actually very healthy. Spiritual relationship between the people who sit here and the people who sit there is a misunderstanding of my role. all right, so high you know, whether it's dietary things or the little practical out working of the Sabbath or modesty even like, There, there are things that are on a range or scale. I was shocked shocked when I as a twenty-year-old went to visit my California relatives, what they thought was modest daughter. He was wearing things that I would never let my daughter's out of the house with but it was California. Modesty.

Bright light. There is rain. Okay.

And I want the spirit of God to work in my life to conduct to me and to change me and I want the spirit of God to work in your life, to convict you in and change you. And so we will talk about things. I think there's more robust conversation in Torah study if you'd like to come in to Torah study about how to practically work, things out in your in your day today. But I don't, I don't think it was a fair criticism because I don't really think most people here. Want me to tell them exactly how to live. This text means this and therefore you should do this

I don't think that's the way Church of Messiah is a step to work. Okay. I also believe this is not the height of your spiritual week. That has been lifted off of me, long ago. Your spirituality is your responsibility and this is a aspect of your spiritual week, but it is it cannot be the height of your spiritual with your spirituality is your responsibility. I do not wear you around all week long like the high priest did with his his gem in his breastplate that weighed him around being with that on maybe I don't know once the early but I don't wear you quite that same way that others have not asked me to I think it's actually hears you talk like I think it's it's better if we all are responsible full what we do here from the front into your spiritual week. It is not the only place. That you should be getting fat. I think most people Church of Messiah. Believe that.

I called this teaching them to a memorial. We have a liturgy and we have some readings for today. I decided to put the various skin issue in Leviticus 13 to decide. Today, we talked about of interest that he said I was great, but I'm not going to dress them from here. Today, I'm going to kind of get a preview of the holiday that's coming Monday evening until Tuesday. Because otherwise called a memorial from Leviticus 23, wearied stink to the people of Ismael sang in the seventh month, which we're almost there on the first day of the month or almost there, you shall observe the day of solemn, Rest Memorial proclaimed with blasts of trumpets, a holy convocation.

You cannot do any ordinary work. You shall percent of food offering to the Lord. Again, here's an example, I can read what the text says. You can read, what the text says, each person in their own understanding of being grafted in to the Patriarchs and the promises made to the Patriarchs can work this out on their own. What rest means for you? I wonder who's going to go to her home school club. I have my son who doesn't want to go to his home school club on the very same day because he wants to take it and she doesn't want to get behind and I'm not going to force them to do one thing or the other. There is still in my house, but even in my own heart, I'm a little conflicted about this. Right? And so we gave him the choice on this particular thing.

But this is the passage, I wrote you caught, it said it was a memorial proclaimed with Black Trumpet Memorial. Holy convocation Memorial.

And I love this passage from song 89, which says, about this Memorial blast. Blessed are the people

Read. Even the meaning of the sound of the blast, in the light of your face. So you take off, if they will walk or the people you dated Luis, Obispo is the word for wild people, what is the very same word for that blast on the shofar? How blessed are the people who know the The blast Lord God in light of your face. They will walk. So we have a memorial and some Pete. It's blessed to know the sound of that black or what the blast means, I think But every time we get to this holiday, I ask myself what are actually, are they memorializing? Because, you know, it doesn't say if there's any particular thing that has happened on this day in the text. So, it's called a memorial. But a memorial of what is usually, my question, what is being memorialized? What are they memorializing? I know the Traditions but what actually is it that we can glean from the text and by extension, what are we commemorate Memorial? If we join in the celebration? This holiday I broke these things down into three drink categories. Maybe it's possible that because these are agrarian societies. They are memorializing a yearly agrarian benefit like a blessing of God that comes around yearly that's possible. Every organ does this for us at this time of year. And I think we neglect to understand how tied to The Agrarian system. They are this was their life. Okay, when things were planted when the rains came, when things grew up, when the Harvest was like, this was their life. So this is certainly legitimate. I know there are some romantic themes tried to apprehend or understand. Also this question what's be memorialized? We get us a place around probably 56 things that could possibly be memorialized. And we'll look at some of those I tend to land in a memorial of a thing yet to happen. It's a memorial of a future Redemption, but you have to remember it. You have to remember that. It is coming because if you don't remember that it's coming, you will be discouraged. If you don't remember that, it is to come, then you can look around and say it's taking too long, and it's not going to happen. If you remember, there is a Redemption, we will comfort each other with these words. That's where I tend to land on this. Let's look at The Agrarian benefits. There are a couple of things that are being harvested right now in the wonderful things everybody who doesn't love just pop those olives in their Fig Newtons. Mr. Frankie likes. Fig Newtons. A little bit of big in there. And a lot of breading, pomegranates weird fruit fruit from another planet. I have never seen that thing in 6th grade. He's just like what is the time now? We do love pomegranate.

Pineapple, grapes and pineapple together. The colors are beautiful against each other and they taste good together. These people are seeing this produce, come yearly it's entirely possible at this blast. Is commemoration or memorializing of the yearly cycle of harvest. And at this point, it's these things as possible.

There's some romantic scenes. That cooked that are attempted to explain what is being memorialized, right? One of the most famous is the Arca. This Binding of Isaac is said to have happened this time. Hey, and it is related to this little creature down here. The ran Atlas in the dick head. I knew that famous midrash which I've read in the past of having this long conversation with God himself saying, you know, why did you do this to me? I'm your friend that, you know, how old is going to react. Of course, I was going to be my son out here and he says, please Isaac has been traumatized by this whole isn't how about you remember him, fondly and his descendants with blessings? And this is just a midrash. And God says, in the future, when we hear the boat, when we hear the horn being blunt, when you hear that horn being blown, then I will remember them on that day. And Abraham says, that horn, what horn is in the Horn of a tram over there, and then, he lifted his eyes. And he saw the ram in the thicket Mary, these two events together, you'll include other day of the blasting and the Aki. So, it could be memorializing. Abraham's willingness to offer and God's Great provision. Yes. They should have Isaac. That's not a bad picture. That's a good picture memorializing this heavenly blast we know that the tour I was given Sinai before I was given with the blast could be commemorating that but we have a holiday for that has come to be that so I think maybe that's less likely but certainly that is a thing that comes with a great blast. Don't talk about this is being up at alarm. The shofar, blasts is a wake-up to anyone who's asleep? Wake up a sleeper or maybe this is the more appropriate picture a wake up sleeper. because, The king is coming with the next line, but you need to wake up any who are sleeping any, who have been coasting through the summer. Growing the summer growing season, just letting things grow on their own is hot. We want to spend time with in the shade, we don't want to work, it's too hot. If you've been coasting spiritually through the summer now it's time to wake up. As I was saying earlier this transition time things, are y'all coming back to life? Things are moving animals. Are moving in the spring. In the summer, the most Wake Up. Now is a Time To change things spiritually. Look around, look at the Harvest stuff like that. That's not bad.

A great, a lot of seasonal alarm clock. Ryan suicide when he gives a teaching and you don't want to hit the snooze. On this alarm clock. Maybe your commemorating the coming of King, right? And this was sort of starts to it uses an actual historical things in the past that kind of has a future orientation. It was said that David when he would go out and visit the different Villages, his arrival was always a company with blast, you see this, even today in modern-day England, which is a holdover from medieval England, Kings arrived with trumpet blasts announcing here, they come, so everybody can hear someone's coming, it's the king, so, this is a picture of David entering, a town, or maybe this is Jerusalem with trumpet blast. That's good because all we have is from the song Psalm 98 with trumpets. That's this is more like a metal trumpet that usually the word for the trumpet and with the voice of the shofar. The boat. Give us scuba shop, joyfully before the king use. Hey Bob. Hey so here is a chance to make this blast before the king comes and this one has a bit of a future orientation with it. Because while we do believe our King King Messiah has come we await his arrival.

So there are definitely some things. I was also the creation theme that I didn't, I didn't mention. There's some that believe this is the seventh month but it's the beginning of creation so I can eat commemorating. You know if there was a speaking of the he all that there was a on that first day it must have been a boom must have been like a shofar blast that went over and began to create the world. So maybe the shofar blasts are commemorating the creation of the world ideas that the the stage is have offered because really, it says it's a memorial, but it doesn't say what it's memorializing. As I mentioned earlier, I prefer to think of a memorial for a future thing, something that I believe. I wish I could say with rambam. When my Mama D's in perfect face. I wish I believed in. Perfect, faith in the coming. Future Redemption.

I found this.

Passage in rabbinic literature, and I will stay by way of a disclaimer. If I see a passage reference in a book, I really like to go find the original source and try to read it. I could not find this in the original Source, okay. So that's my disclaimer. Eliyahu's is not the easiest writing, I mean, I saw it online and I was reading it and I did not see this in Zuppa number to reading it in Hobart for hours, trying to find the passage. But anyways, I take the author who wrote the book at his word that this is in there. So far, it's kind of the seam of the next couple of days associated with the blasting, the shofar was created for the positive welfare. This real. So now this whoever is getting this midrash is going to list for very positive things, right? The Torah, such a positive in their mind. You can tell him, it's a negative, but they won't believe you the door. It for them is a positive.

The tour I was giving with the sound of the shofar. What a positive thing. Second base, text look, we start to hit some things that are more future-oriented. The commentator says thirdly, it's real, will be advised of the Advent of Messiah with the sound of the shofar. Eliyahu Zuta is like a ninth-century or 10th Century midrash, okay? So this is a pretty late midrash. Still looking for the Advent of Messiah with a trumpet blast, which is kind of how we tend to view the upcoming holidays, in it.

There are proof text for this was Zechariah 9, I do, I will appear over then his Arrow of flashlight, lightning out of my other. He will blow the shofar and go out in the whirlwinds of the text for messiah. Being revealed, God himself would blow that trumpet.

And fourthly the Holy One Blessed. Be he was sound the shofar at the time of the ingathering of the X-Files head against this is my Century. So they have already had X-Files gathered in one sense, but they know that they are still scattered. And so the expectation here in a house will be gathered in

And that the protest was Isaiah 27. Again, it had a prophetic relevance for Isaiah's readers, but also as the commentators using it for future thing, and it shall happen on that day. A great chauffeur will be blown and those who were lost in the land of Asteria, those who were lost anywhere, but they not just in the land of Egypt, put in Egypt at

two of these for real. Great benefits are yet to happen. They're kind of like future-oriented advising of the Advent of the Messiah and the ingathering. I think these are still to happen. And so that's what I I like to see the shofar blast and the memorial that's happening as related to the Future. Thanks. In the Army. Prayers. Probably you know, these are the sprayer said standing twice-daily by religious Jews.

Prayer. Number 10, even talks about this great shofar, and the great in gathering sound the great so far for our freedom. This is David Divens translation sound so far for our freedom raised together and gather us from the four corners of the earth. Blessed, are you Lord? Our God, who is people of your style? So we have a reference to a great shofar, blast and a and I'm wondering like, is the Bisaya first coming. I know some of you think that maybe his birth happened around around this time, is Peter, is this your understanding?

What's up?

So maybe the other side of first or second but there was a great noise, a great sound of a singing, write the Angels created. I don't know if it was exactly a true. I could have been a blast but even the midrash said it was like the second one would be and we believe it to this path if I'm not sure you can see it from 1st Thessalonians or not. It's very small up there but I can read it. The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout. The voice of the Archangel on the trumpet.

Of God. Here we have a true at shout and also, you know, depending on the Greek word here, for trumpet Navy or think it's a metal trumpet. Or I tend to think it's a shofar blast but The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so, shall we always be with the Lord therefore Comfort? One another, with these words this to me is the, this is the

Play No encouragement that ties this day to Future thing. That we need to be thinking about regularly about a future thing. Our our Redemption is still to happen. Because if we don't live in that thought we we can be discouraged for something like that looks like this or I found this picture, this is a great blasting of a different sound.

Shofar, blasts has been. The sound of the shofar blasts has been tied with the Wailing of the Soul or crying out of the heart. And I think that some of us have to live in the world as we see it today or crying out. For Redemption. Yes, we benefit from your goodness. Yes. We benefit from the life of Yoshua. We also

We also.

Look forward to the day that we will reign with him.

Cuz life's not always easy right now.

We see you know, our heart Grieves can we see evil win?

We feel small bits of persecution, we see enormous persecution, certain parts of the world, people like us. And we identify with

at Hope of Resurrection, I would you treat them that way, and that it feels like Where it? Where are you? Lord. Why is it taking so long? 2000 + years on in the program now, can we?

encourage for 1st Thessalonians, encourage one another, with these words that there is a future Redemption, for those who have attached themselves to Messiah, Yeshua we expect With a great shofar blasts and I can't think of another day that it would happen on except you'll blew up the great shofar blast. I think the two events might happen at the same time in gathering and the advising of the arrival of Messiah second time. So this festive season interesting. Lee enough to me begins yes, with thoughts of repentance and I haven't, I haven't really hit on that much today. How about a little people have had thoughts of in preparation for the holidays beginning? I should Examine myself and examine my heart. And if I have something against another or another has something against me, I should go make it right. That certainly is a theme because one of the same that I said, was that arrival of the king in the coronation of the king, you're making him King in your life, your lie. He arrives and you announce him as king but I like with a future orientation.

I see this all of this particular holiday, putting my mind toward Redemption. Future Redemption. It doesn't change how I interact with the the people around me. I've, I anticipated future Redemption. I still want to be spiritually, right? With my brothers with, you know, brothers and sisters, I still want to be right? So it's not taking the emphasis off of repentance or shared Community, but but it warrants towards a future thing that I need an encouragement somewhat regularly.

Comfort one another with that thought. As Thessalonians said,

That our Lord will return.

Edible after show.

The ones loved ones and ours who have died already. we'll meet him in the air and we will also be joined This is the future that awaits, those who have attached themselves to Messiah show.

I'm praying, we finished. But I thank you for this. All of these holidays that you laid out.

For decades. I had no association with these holidays.

For decades.

But I am enriched.

Having been introduced to them. I have been enriched in my life has been enriched by understanding some of the

symbols tied up in them and I don't think their certainty on this Memorial is Through all of the lessons can be good. They can all be instructive. Cross. As we walk a path.

So, I'm thankful for these holidays.

I pray for my brothers and sisters here at church of the Messiah. And I pray for the children, too. Pray that we would live in the unity, this upcoming holiday season. Not as we read in the and Isaiah 57 today and then it porous that he not with a fist bump into each other and striving with each other.

Not in uniformity cuz we can. We do not all practice the exact same way. We do not believe all believe the exact thing.

but in kindness and in unity and Grace, as we as we walk through these Upcoming holidays. Thank you. Dear God for your love towards us. Thank you for the cycles. Righteousness in which we get to walk. I pray to God, that you would continue to mold and shape us to be like your son.

Nearest. Sure. I mean,