Our Gospel reading today refers to the Feast of Tabernacles, also known as Sukkot (סוֹכּוֹת) to our Jewish friends. This feast is often reduced to a harvest festival, of sorts, as it is celebrated during the early fall, at a time when grapes and olives are generally harvested. More specifically, Sukkot starts on the evening of the first full moon following the autumn equinox. This year, for example, the Festival of Tabernacles begins at sunset on October 6th and ends on October 13th.
But the spiritual significance of Sukkot goes well beyond the seasons of the year and actually has a direct correlation to the season of Lent that we are currently observing.
Aside from Passover, Sukkot was (and probably still is) considered one of the greatest feasts of the Old Covenant.
The word tabernacle in this context, simply means tent or booth. The feast is named after the temporary structures the Israelites slept in during their 40 year Exodus through the desert.
When God gave the Israelites the law at Mount Sinai, Sukkot was one of the three main pilgrimage feasts that God commanded all generations to observe. The feast serves as a reminder of a time the Israelites were homeless, of a time God was close to the broken hearted, of a time when God delivered them from their enemies and protected them, and of a time they were commanded to leave everything they knew to dwell in these shelters in the wilderness.
The backstory, of course, is that the Israelites sacrificed their attachments to the worldly pleasures and privileges of life in Egypt, in order to be freed of the bondage of slavery they had found themselves in. I hope that sounds a bit familiar to each and every one of us here today. What worldly sacrifices have we made and what privileges have we denied ourselves of during this season of Lent in order to hopefully gain greater liberation and true freedom in Christ?
Interestingly, the Prophet Zechariah said, “Everyone who is left of all the nations…will go up year after year to bow down to the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.” “All of the nations” is a direct reference to the gentiles, meaning you and me.
Brothers and sisters, we fulfill this prophecy every time we come to Mass, particularly during Lent. Through our authentic Lenten devotions, we observe Sukkot through the lens of the New Covenant.
Every Lent we recall our dependence on God. Every Lent we recognize those times God is close to us when we are brokenhearted. Every Lent we remember how He delivers us and protects us. Every Lent we wander the spiritual desert for 40 days similar to how the Israelites wandered the physical desert for 40 years…a period of repentance, a period of reformation, a period of renewal.
The ideas behind Sukkot and Lent offer many of the same spiritual fruits: sanity through surrender, joy through humility, happiness through contentment, connection through detachment, among others.
To top it off, as Zechariah prophesied, every time we come to Mass, we bow down to the King, the Lord of hosts, who is truly present in the tabernacle of every single Catholic Church.
Brothers and sisters, as we prepare ourselves to celebrate this Liturgy of the Eucharist today, as we prepare to encounter the Lord more intimately than Moses encountered Him on Mount Sinai, let us truly offer up our hearts, our souls, everything we have ever been, and everything we will ever be. Lift it all up to the Lord in a very intentional way to be transformed by Divine Providence.
When you receive the King, the Lord of Hosts, in the Eucharist, allow yourself to shine with the glory of God just as Moses shone with the glory of God when he encountered the Lord. Allow the reformation and the renewal of the season of Lent to be made manifest through you as a sign to others of the glory of God.
Thanks be to God!
