The Feast of Trumpets

In 2010, I went to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa while working with an orphanage in Johannesburg. The stadium gave us plastic vuvuzela horns to blow during the match. The noise was thunderous and not particularly melodic. FIFA banned horns from future matches.

The shofar, a ram’s horn blown during the Jewish Feast of Trumpets, isn’t particularly melodic, either. Yet, like the vuvuzela, it creates a sense of expectation for something significant. As Gentiles, we tend not to pay attention to Jewish feast days. However, these feasts celebrate the same story of God’s unfolding love and salvation that we experience every day. So, this year, we’re going to join the celebration, beginning with last weekend’s Feast of Trumpets.

The Feast of Trumpets reflects on the ram caught in the thicket, which served as a substitute sacrifice for Isaac, Abraham’s son (Genesis 22:1-19). It also recalls the horns used when God made His covenant with His chosen people at Mount Sinai, reminding us of the new covenant He made with us through Jesus. Beyond reflecting on what has already happened, the feast invites Christians to look forward to Christ’s second coming, when trumpets will herald His arrival (Joel 42:15-16, 1 Thessalonians 4:16).

But the Feast of Trumpets isn’t just a day to gather and eat. In Jewish tradition, it begins the Ten Days of Awe, a period of fasting, prayer, and repentance leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

I encourage you to spend the eight days from last Sunday to the next in awe of God’s presence. Try fasting from food, technology, or something else, and dedicate that time to acts of service, searching your life, and talking to God. It will be an exciting and challenging time that will draw you closer to others and to God, and help you become more like our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

You can watch the full sermon here.