SUKKOT, or better known as the
Feast of Tabernacles, comes on the fifth day of Yom Kippur (Day
of Atonement). It is a Jewish festival that lasts for seven days
(Leviticus 23:42).
This special occasion commemorates the period of wilderness experiences
after the exodus of Israel from Egypt. The Israelites were commanded
to live in sukkah (booth) "so that your generations may know
that I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought
them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God" (Leviticus
23:43).
This central celebration draws important lessons for us who share
our spiritual heritage with the Jews. Besides the great historical
event made possible by God through the display of His awesome
power, the basis of this commemoration is the call to memory a
God who is the Lord of our lives. The Israelites should teach
their children by retelling this historical tale of a God who
acts in history. This is a tradition that enables the younger
generations to understand how God was faithful to His promise
and brought their ancestors to the land of promise.
Arrival at the land of promise
is, however, not the end of a journey, which unfolds dramatic
encounters. Anxiety, fear, hunger, pain and thirst drove the Israelites
to question the rationale for Moses to bring them out of a land
that provided the basic provision of life. Israel of the later
periods suffered similar emotional upheavals when they were in
exile in foreign lands, facing the ruins of the temple upon their
return and the systematic destruction of the holocaust.
Like the Israelites, we should recognise that a commemoration
of an historical event should not bring our memory to a closure
but rather open our lives to face the living God with fresh courage.
Remembering is an opening for believers to learn to trust God.
Fearing that the chasing Egyptians would overtake and destroy
them brought to the Jewish mind the fresh remembrance of the tortures
and oppression in Egypt. There was a real threat to their existence
even though numerous obstacles were removed. This historical precedent
is not a closure to pain and suffering.
One does not live in a perfect world that only promises equality,
freedom, justice and happiness to all. Divine intervention in
history should, however, help us to remember how God deals with
the painful memory.
For the victims and marginalised, the remembering not only encourages
those who survive. It also enables them and their descendents
to expand their narrative that goes beyond suffering. This narrative
will encourage believers to be resilient and prepared to ride
above the discomfort and insecurity of trusting God. The practice
of remembering creates a continual opening that demands affirmative
action. Transcending their suffering serves as a resource to life.
For the privileged, they should respond by committing themselves
to courses of actions that bring life and empowerment. The church
could be the "community of remembrance, holding and honouring
the memories we have heard" (Flora A. Keshgegian) that eventually
brings the redemption that Jesus has offered to humanity.
By exercising our common Christian memories, God invites us into
a relationship that gives life. The church, with the associated
memories and testimonies, testifies that God is present in this
life that is tainted by conflicts, darkness and ambiguities.
God is ready to honour our practices of memory and testimony by
being present in the desires of hope for our future. His presence
empowers us with an attitude of openness and a readiness to change.
God is the focus and the Lord of our Christian life. Future triumph
is not our emphasis as we experience the resurrected Christ in
the journey of faith. His presence is our assurance to our actions,
which in turn seeks to bring about a change in the human condition,
as we experience a change in our own life.
The celebration of Sukkot is a timely reminder of the presence
of God and the place He holds in our life. A search for God in
time and memory begins with the practice of our Christian traditions.
Recollecting the historical deeds of God unravels a life story
of which we face the task of fitting God in our lives. It is neither
history through memory nor the future through anticipation that
really matters, but in the present, where we need to examine our
life. The time of humankind runs parallel with God's time and
our days are full of God which in turn prompt us to seek God in
our concrete life, despite our tough circumstances.
The works of Qoheleth are read during the celebration of Sukkot
and his echo of time (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) is an appropriate lesson
that we must, while searching through time and memory of the modern
life, understand the self and its limits, to look "for a
greater story, a story of God, of which the story of self would
be a part". (John S. Dunne).
Chan Yew Ming is a lecturer at Trinity Theological College.
A member of Fairfield Methodist Church, he worships at Fairfield
Preaching Point in Woodlands.
QUOTE:
FITTING GOD IN OUR LIVES
'The celebration of Sukkot is a timely reminder of the presence
of God and the place He holds in our life. A search for God in
time and memory begins with the practice of our Christian traditions.
Recollecting the historical deeds of God unravels a life story
of which we face the task of fitting God in our lives.'