My Favorite "Leap Day"
Throughout Scripture,
leaping is often associated with joy. As the ark of the Lord was brought into
Jerusalem, King David led the procession, “leaping and dancing before the Lord”
(2 Samuel 6:16). When Mary, now carrying the unborn Savior of the world in her
womb, greeted Elizabeth, her older relative told Mary that her baby (John the
Baptist) leaped for joy in her womb.
Jesus spoke of a “leap
day” in Luke’s account of the Beatitudes: “Rejoice in that day, and leap for
joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to
the prophets” (6:23). What prompts this leaping for joy? Persecution. Jesus
tells His followers in the preceding verse: “Blessed are you when people hate
you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on
account of the Son of Man!” (Luke 6:22). The source of joy for a disciple who
suffers persecution now is the promise of heaven for those God has called to be
His own.
I recall a home visit
that I made a few years ago, where a parishioner talked about her favorite
Bible passage: “Then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the
mute sing for joy” (Isaiah 35:6a). Having been confined to a wheelchair for
many years, she looks forward to the Day of Resurrection when her legs will
regain their strength, and she can “leap like a deer.” That will be her “leap
day.”
My favorite “leap day”
is the one the prophet Malachi describes in chapter 4, verses 1-2: “For behold,
the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all
evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says
the Lord of hosts, so that it will
leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of
righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping
like calves from the stall.” (Malachi 4:1–2). This last Old Testament book
concludes with the Lord’s announcement that Judgment Day is coming. For those
who refuse to repent and believe the Gospel, it means utter destruction. But
for those who fear His name, this will be a day of rejoicing.
Growing up on a dairy
farm, one of the most exciting days was when we moved the bottle calves from
their individual stalls to their group pens. In our operation, that meant the
calves’ first opportunity to experience green grass, fresh air, and wide-open
spaces. They would kick their heels like the rankest bull or bucking bronco in
a rodeo. You could try to hold on to them and direct them where you wanted them
to go, but you were usually better off letting them release some pent-up
energy. The calves literally “went out leaping … from the stall.” Malachi uses
this image for the joy experienced on Judgment Day by those who fear the name
of the Lord and long for His return. What a day for joyous leaping that will
be!
Comments