Suppose we were visited by aliens from outer space. Imagine that you were given the task of providing these visitors with the resources on how to celebrate Christmas. And suppose for a minute that you chose to do this by writing the instructions down without making any use of video. I guess what you'd come up with would be as dry as Leviticus 23. And there would be a great contrast between the dryness of what you had written - and the event itself - which is full of life and joy and fun.
Leviticus 23 lists the different weekly or annual festivals that the people of Israel are to celebrate. Further details, for the priests, are given in Numbers 28-29.
Built into the rhythm of life of the people was this regular pattern of stopping, of remembering and reflecting on what God has done, of giving thanks, and celebrating together as community.
We used to live in Edgware, where there is a significant Jewish community. And this week the Jewish community are celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:33-44). In the Sainsbury's car park there will be shed - put there as a temporary dwelling, a booth. As you walk around you will see temporary shelters outside shops or in gardens. A community celebrating a week long festival - giving God thanks for the harvest, and remembering their wilderness wanderings following the Exodus.
In contrast our Harvest Festival seems a bit lame.
But God wants us to stop, he wants us to remember, he wants us to give thanks, he wants us to celebrate. And the fact that so often we're too busy to stop - maybe even too busy as a family to sit down one day a week and eat together - maybe this is an indication to us that things are maybe a little out of balance.
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