You may have noticed tent-like structures outside synagogues in your neighborhood. These huts are part of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot which is one of the three major festivals in Judaism, and according to one source “is both an agricultural festival of thanksgiving and a commemoration of the forty-year period during which the children of Israel wandered in the desert after leaving slavery in Egypt, living in temporary shelters as they traveled.” Having studied the life of Abraham these last few weeks the temporary structures remind me of how the writer of Hebrews described Abraham:
By faith (Abraham) made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Life in this world for the Christian is akin Sukkot, knowing that we are ‘jars of clay’ (2 Corinthians 4:7) whose lives are a mist that “appears for a little while and then vanish” (James 4:14). But who also knows that, like the vision that led Abraham, we can rest in the promise that because of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection we will one day “dwell. In the tent of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
– Romans 8:38-39
Have Lunch with Neighbors
Join us for a post-service Neighbors Lunch to meet other Redeemer West Siders living around you and meet your pastoral care team! This second one in the series this fall will be for Redeemer West Siders who live on either side of Central Park (80th St to 109th St), as well as RWS congregants from Queens.
Upcoming Events
- Nov 3 | Parenting Youth, with Godly Wisdom: An Evening with Dr. Shay-Lee Perez
- Nov 3 | HFNY’s Annual Fall Benefit Dinner
- Nov 3 | RCS’s Benefit Dinner
- Nov 6 | Sunday Morning Prayer
- Nov 6 | New at RWS
