FIRST EMBER DAY OF CREATION
18 September 2013
Readings:
Key Verses (using the World English Bible):
1 Cor. 15:52: “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.”
Matt. 24:30-31: “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones.”
Reflection
Judaism inaugurates the New Year, or Rosh ha-Shanah (this year, 4 September), with the blowing of the horn or trumpet, known as the Shofar. Sometimes known as the “Feast of Trumpets”, this holy day was originally called “The Memorial (or Day) of the {Shofar-] Blowing”. The Union Prayerbook for Jewish Worship (1945) describes the Shofar Service as follows:
“The stirring sound of the Shofar proclaimed the covenant at Mount Sinai which bound Israel to God as a kingdom of priests and a holy people. Ever since that distant day, the voice of the Shofar has resounded through the habitations of Israel awakening high allegiance to God and His commandments. At the new moon, on joyous festivals as well as on solemn days of fasting and repentance, and in the Jubilee year when liberty was proclaimed throughout the land, our fathers hearkened to the tones of the ram’s horn and recalled their obligation to serve the Lord with all their heart and with all their strength. Thus do we, their children, prepare to hearken now to the solemn sound of the Shofar. May it summon us to struggle against the forces of evil within our hearts and in the world. Let it arouse within us the will to righteousness and strengthen our trust in God’s justice and love. May it direct our thoughts to the day when the Shofar will sound for the redemption of all mankind.” (p. 77, Morning Service for the New Year)
Have you ever heard the Shofar blown during a Rosh ha-Shanah service? I confess that, when I went to Jewish services in college, it sounded to me more like a cavalry call than a stirring, solemn sound. But when you contemplate the fact that millions of Jews both now and throughout history have been yearly called together for this ancient ritual, its sacredness begins to seep in. And we Christians must remember that this stirring sound, year after year, also called our Lord Jesus, who was himself a faithful Jew.
Traditionally, the “Autumn Embertide”, the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after Holy Cross Day, has been set aside to recall the fast of the seventh month, or Yom Kippur, Judaism’s Day of Atonement. I’ve decided to incorporate a scriptural reflection on the other holy days falling in its proximity, beginning with Rosh ha-Shanah.
Christianity would benefit so much from a stronger awareness of these days. We need to be reminded, again and again, of our obligation to serve the Lord with heart and strength. We need to be inspired, again and again, by God’s justice and love, to seek righteousness and redemption for all of God’s creatures on earth. When our spirits are dead, we need to hear the trumpet blast that will raise us to a new life and change us. And when our faith is weak, we need to recall that this same trumpet ushers Christ back into our hearts, even as we believe it will signal his return on the Last Day.
Prayer of the Day
Our God, and God of our ancestors,
hasten the coming of your kingdom,
that the worship of your Name,
and obedience to your law,
may unite all humanity in fellowship and peace.
Bring us near to your service,
that we may be worthy to proclaim your truth.
Satisfy us with your goodness,
and gladden us with your salvation.
Purify our hearts, that we may serve you in truth,
for you, O God, are truth,
and your word endures forever.
Amen.
—Adapted from the Morning Service for the New Year, in the Union Prayerbook of Reform Judaism, p. 58.
Hymn: “Ere space was made, or earth, or sky”
(Words: ‘Adonai Melekh’, “The Lord is King”, translated by Solomon Solis-Cohen, Union Hymnal, 1936; adapted by Joseph A. Soltero, 2013
Tune: ‘Adonoi Melech’, based on two traditional Rosh Hashanah modes)
Ere space was made, or earth, or sky,
The Lord was King!
Ere sun or star shone forth on high,
The Lord was King!
When earth shall be a robe outworn,
And sky shall fade like mists of morn,
Forever shall the Lord be King!
The Lord is King! The Lord was King!
Forever shall the Lord be King!
When earth was flung in star-filled space,
The Lord was King!
And living creatures found their place,
The Lord was King!
When homeward from earth’s corners four,
The scattered folk are called once more,
Forever shall the Lord be King!
The Lord is King! The Lord was King!
Forever shall the Lord be King!
Amen.
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