Over the past few days in Rome, Italy, the Roman Catholic Church started with their annual commemoration of the Easter week which will end tomorrow, Easter Sunday, when the resurrection of the Messiah will be celebrated. It is said that tens of thousands of people (out of approx. 1.1 billion Roman Catholics world-wide) watched as Pope Benedict XVI led a torchlit procession at Rome's Colosseum on Good Friday. I was especially intrigued by one peculiar piece of information.z

According to the article, a certain Ravasi, an Italian Bible scholar of Milan, had the responsibility this year of penning meditations on Biblical passages accompanying each of the 14 Stations of the Cross. His reflections during the Ninth Station, when the Messiah meets the women of Jerusalem, focused on the plight of women throughout history. The Milan Bible scholar noted that the Messiah was "surrounded by a world of mothers, daughters and sisters". He urged reflection on all women "who have been abused and raped, ostracised and submitted to shameful tribal practices."

And then the following is added: "Despite the feminine theme, notably absent from this year's procession was Veronica, a figure from Christian legend who offered Jesus a cloth with which to wipe his face. Ravasi selected an alternative Way of the Cross first introduced by Benedict's predecessor John Paul II in 1991 that does not refer to Veronica and that includes references to Judas and Pontius Pilate. John Paul II proposed the alternative, last used in 2004, to allow deeper reflection on purely scriptural accounts of Christ’s Passion."

So, certain changes were introduced, because a plea has been made for deeper reflection of purely scriptural accounts of the Messiah’s Passion. But despite this plea, the tradition of the 14 stations of the cross, is still upheld. The tradition of holding Easter processions at the Colosseum is still upheld, despite the fact the Colosseum is connected to many earlier paganistic practices. The tradition of celebrating Easter is still upheld, despite the fact that the feast originated in pagan rites to the honour of the old Assirian and Babylonian deities of spring and fertility, called Eastre, Ishtar, Astarte or Ashtarot. The tradition of Good Friday and Easter Sunday is still upheld, despite the fact that the Messiah emphatically declared that the only sign of him being the true Messiah, was that He would spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The tradition of Lent, the forty day period of fast and abstinence with no Scriptural base, is still upheld – not only by Roman Catholics but also by certain Protestants. According to this tradition, in the forty days directly preceding Easter Sunday, believers should only eat one meal on certain days and on certain other days (on all the Fridays falling within this forty day period, as well as on Ash Wednesday) their meals should not contain meat or poultry. There are different variations of this theme in different parts of the world but the tradition is still very much observed. In some cases the only prescription is that one should abstain from something during this 40 day period, even if it is something ridiculous, like bubble gum or a type of fruit that is not available during that specific time of the year, anyway.

To these examples we can add many other popular Easter customs – some of which are customs that we may have partaken in ourselves, without realising, or else, not caring about the fact that they have no Scriptural backing, whatsoever. Let us remind one another once again that those important events involving the death and resurrection of the Messiah took place during the Scriptural feasts of Pesach and the Week of Unleavened Bread and that it is most essential, for a proper understanding of these events, that we keep our focus on the Scriptural content of these feasts.

We have already celebrated the deeper meaning of the death of Y'shua our Pesach Lamb when we assembled on the evening between the 14^th and the 15^th day of the month of Aviv, which was Tuesday evening the 3^rd of April 2007. Today is the Shabbat falling in the Week of Unleavened Bread. In Wayyikra 23:10-11 we read these words: "When you come into the land which I give you, and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, for your acceptance. On the morrow after the Shabbat the priest waves it." So here we learn of a sheaf of the first fruits of the harvest that should be waved before Yahweh on the morrow after the Shabbat.

The question is often asked, which day is the morrow after the Shabbat? The expression "the morrow after" means the next day. But to what Shabbat does this verse refer? The fact that these verses stand within the context of Pesach and Unleavened Bread, without any doubt, means that it is a Shabbat falling within the seven days of Unleavened Bread. Some people would say there are three possible interpretations of a "Shabbat" in the Week of Unleavened Bread: The First Day of Unleavened Bread, the Last Day of Unleavened Bread or the weekly Shabbat falling in the seven days of Unleavened Bread. The Orthodox Jews say it is the First Day of Unleavened Bread, which means the Wave offering is always on the 16^th of Aviv, because the First Day of Unleavened Bread is always on the 15^th of Aviv. The Karaite Jews say it is the weekly Shabbat falling on one of the seven days of Unleavened Bread. Other groups say it is the Last Day of Unleavened Bread.

I am not going to go into all the arguments and all the detail why we agree with the Karaite Jews and a number of Messianic groups, all over the world, that the day on which the first fruit wave offering was supposed to be brought before Yahweh, can be none other than the day after the weekly Shabbat that falls in the Week of Unleavened Bread. I would not want us to lose our focus as to the primary meaning of our being together today. When the sun sets tonight, it will be the beginning of the morrow after the Shabbat, as spoken of in Wayyikra 23:10-14. Our first fruits tonight will not be the first fruits of our own barley harvest in South Africa. Because we are in the Southern hemisphere, our barley harvest will only be ready in about six months’ time. What is more, we shall not give our first fruits to a priest who will then wave it before Yahweh, for our acceptance. There is no temple here, neither is there a true temple of Yahweh anywhere else in the world, except the fact that we are reminded in Scriptures that we, the believers in Messiah, are the temple and priests of the Most High (1 Cor 3:16; 1 Kepha 2:9).

So, with the desire in our hearts to still give expression to the Scriptural symbolism of this feast, we shall bring our first fruits tonight, not barley sheaves, but money. And we shall wave or lift up or move these first fruit offerings before Yahweh ourselves, and by doing so we shall express our deep-felt gratitude for the fact that this week of Unleavened Bread reminds us that our sins and our trespasses have been covered by the precious blood of the Messiah. Also our gratitude for the knowledge that Y'shua is the true first fruit, being the first fruit or first born from the dead – the first one to be resurrected from the dead as Yahweh’s guarantee that many more will follow on that day when the last trumpet will sound and our Bridegroom, Y'shua, will come to fetch his Bride. Tonight (and the whole of tomorrow) is the Scriptural commemoration of the resurrection of the Messiah. Not every Sunday, as the churches of Christianity would want us to believe – only this coming Sunday. Tomorrow is not even a Shabbat, according to the Scriptures. Not because the day is not important, but perhaps Yahweh wanted us to understand that resurrection will follow after the sleep or the rest of those who died in the Messiah. The act of the resurrection, in itself, constitutes a mighty work of the Almighty and introduces the believers to new life and new beginnings. In the Almighty’s design and planning for this world, this day was never intended to be a Shabbat – not even a Sunday turned into a Shabbat.

Let us therefore enjoy and truly take hold of this day, without losing our focus. When we die, we die – we are going into a sleep of rest. We are not going to float around somewhere and we are not going to heaven at any stage before our actual resurrection from the dead. But oh, how we can look forward to that day when Y'shua the Messiah will come back to collect his resurrected people! How we can rejoice in the knowledge that on that day our corruptible and mortal and lowly bodies will be replaced by incorruptible and immortal and esteemed bodies! How we can treasure the thought that from that day onward we shall reign with our Master as priests and kings - in his new kingdom and according to his kingdom principles. Let us not allow anything of this world and of the systems and institutions and traditions of this world, to distract our focus, so that we end up doing things and debating over issues that may prevent us from appearing before Him set-apart and blameless, without wrinkle or spot or blemish.