Deuteronomy 16:13-17 is about the Festival of Tabernacles. This was a joyful passage talking about how everyone should gather together on this special day and celebrate the blessing that God has given to us. He is asking everyone to come to the Festival with gifts that God had blessed them with.
Through reading this passage, I could sense the strong bond in the communities by bringing strangers and foreigners into the Festival. Throughout the Bible, God is always being a harsh judge trying to get His people to follow his way, but I was surprised to see how God was commanding His people to celebrate, inviting everyone to the Festival regardless of their status, relationship, or origin.
I wonder what the Festival might have looked like in the present time. Would there still be a festival amidst Covid-19 spreading throughout the country? Would people invite strangers into their house? Would people share their gifts with their enemies? By asking these questions, I could see how separate our lives have been compared to what life might have been like during the time of the Israelites. During this time of hardship, people are becoming more separated due to their greed and self-centeredness. I see videos on social media hoarding food and daily essentials for their own good, while there are millions of people out there struggling each day trying to survive. As time goes on, I believe that our society will become more separated. In this country, we have diverse ethnicities, sexuality, and socioeconomic backgrounds. It may be hard to accept some of the ideas of different backgrounds, but I believe that as we stray further away with a closed heart, we would create a bigger gap.
In order to bring our society back together, we would need to give up our greed and accept every single one despite their background. When we celebrate, there should be no discrimination among the people and unify as Christians and praise God for his blessing. I hope that one day we would be able to have festivals where we can bring everyone together and celebrate the Good News.
