Rosh Hashanah, the head of the year, which the NIV calls the Feast of Trumpets, is the first of the three fall festivals of the Israelites. This is a time of preparation, first for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest makes atonement for the people, and then for the Feast of Booths, that heralds the arrival of Messiah in His Kingdom. It is a time of deep introspection and of repentance, preparing to meet the King and Judge, who is also Father to each of us. While the Jews have specific works that help to ensure their salvation, it should be a time for us to remember that our King is coming and that we don’t have to worry, since our atonement has been paid for. It should also remind, though, that we sometimes need to take time alone and do some introspection about our relationship to our Father and Savior, seeing if we have offended Him in a way that we hadn’t noticed before. It is a time of remembering that our Savior is our King and our Judge and that our Judge is also our Father and we can come before Him joyfully.