At the Orthodox celebration of Pentecost, the Gospel reading comes from John 7, which is a story about Jesus celebrating the Feast of Sukkot? But, if it’s Pentecost, why would the Church have us read about Sukkot? How does that work?
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Is Pentecost About Water and Light?
On the Feast of Pentecost, Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, and Acts tells the story in brilliant fashion.
At first, you might think it’s a scene out of a horror movie. The stage is set – noise and wind raging in the background. Then tongues – yes, like that thing in your mouth – suddenly appear among the disciples. But these weren’t ordinary tongues – they were fiery tongues. And, when a tongue came to rest on a disciple, he began to speak in a different language.
If you’d been there – in the midst of all this commotion – you would have sworn that they were all drunk. Of course, they weren’t. Finally, Peter steps up and explains what’s going on. For him, it was like Dorothy pulling back the curtain to see the real Wizard of Oz.
Behind that curtain, Peter saw that Christ’s death was more than an execution of a common criminal, which is what it looks like on the surface. The reality is that Christ’s death is a part of a spiritual war, and Christ wins it by trampling down Death by death.
This is what Christians celebrate on the Feast of Pentecost, a.k.a. the Feast of Weeks. In its original Old Testament form, this feast was an agricultural feast and then, later, a celebration of the giving of the Law by God to Moses.
Now, instead of celebrating the giving of the Law to Moses, Christians celebrate the giving of the spiritual Law by the Holy Spirit – a law written on our hearts. This evolution makes sense.
But, the Gospel reading — John 7:37-52; 8:12 — has nothing to do with Pentecost. Instead, it’s a story about Jesus celebrating the feast of Sukkot. Jesus does speak a bit about the Holy Spirit, but he also seems to get sidetracked and he starts talking about water and light. I don’t remember Acts mentioning any water or light, do you?
So, why would the Church pick a reading for Pentecost that is about Sukkot? Is understanding Pentecost in light of Sukkot a glimpse behind the curtain?
Jesus Mentions the Holy Spirit during Sukkot
The answer does give us a lot of insight to the Christian celebration of Pentecost. It’s infused with meaning and it draws us closer to God.
This means that the selection of John 7 (and that one verse in chapter 8) isn’t random. Pentecost is, most of all, about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus does mention that here.
“Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:39 RSV)
On the surface, we think we get it. The Holy Spirit is poured out on the people of the Church in the same way water is poured out of a container. But this really doesn’t help us understand the *meaning* of the feast. It’s simply a metaphor.
Because many of us aren’t very familiar with Sukkot, we miss a lot of the connections between Jesus’s words, Sukkot, and, now, Pentecost.
As a consequence, we don’t fully get it. The curtain remains in the way.
Sukkot in the Time of Jesus
If we understood the feast during Jesus’s time, would that help us understand why the Church picked this reading for Pentecost? And, will it help us gain a deeper understanding. I think it will. Let’s take a look.
Sukkot is first mentioned in the Old Testament (also in Leviticus 23). There we learn:
“These are the appointed feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the LORD offerings by fire, burnt offerings and cereal offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day; … You shall dwell in booths for seven days; all that are native in Israel shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 23:37, 42-43 RSV)
Here we see three important images: booths, water, and light. (Oh my!) Let’s take a look at the significance at each of these with an eye towards the 1st century, the time of Jesus.
Booths
The booths, or tabernacles, is where the feast gets its name. In Hebrew, the word “booth” is “sukkah.” As a part of the feast, God instructed each family to make and live in a temporary shelter, or booth. This reminded the people of the 40 years the Hebrews lived in booths as they wandered in the desert. Though they had been freed from slavery, it took them a while to make their home in the Promised Land.
This is still done today. In fact, our local synagogue here in Dubuque makes a sukkah every year and invites the community to come and help. It’s a special time so, if you get a chance, I encourage you to visit and see.
Water
Leviticus also mentions drink offerings. By the time of Jesus, here’s how that worked: priests from the Temple would go down to the Pool of Siloam and draw water from it with golden pitchers. They then took this water to the Temple and poured it out in libation around the foot of the altar. Many people saw this as a fulfillment of Isaiah.
“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” (Isaiah 12:3 RSV)
On top of that, it was also a prayer for rain. Having rain is important. It helps ensure a healthy crop, which, in turn, provides food for your family.
Also, water sustained the Hebrews in the desert. They crossed through water (the Red Sea) to gain their freedom from the Egyptians. Bitter water was made sweet and drinkable when Moses threw a piece of wood into it. And, finally, water flowed from a rock in the desert when Moses hit it with his staff.
In short, when you’re in the desert, water is salvation.
Light
Finally, Leviticus mentions offerings by fire. In the 1st century, light played an important role in this feast.
Four large menorahs stood in the precincts of the Temple. Each one was 75 feet high and had 4 golden bowls on the top. Every day, priests took several liters of oil up ladders to fill these bowls, and wicks, made from old used clothing from priests, were placed in each bowl and lit.
This, of course, provided an awesome presence of light in the evening. During the feast, people danced around the menorahs with torches while harps, lyres, cymbals, and trumpets provided lively music.
Just as with the booths and the water, light also has a connection to the Exodus account. Moses was called by God at the burning bush. Then, after the Hebrews were freed, they were led through the desert by the Pillar of Fire.
The fire symbolized that God was with them and leading them, even while they were in the wilderness.
Christian Pentecost as Sukkot
We’re slowly drawing the curtain back and getting a glimpse of how Sukkot helps us understand Pentecost.
Let’s dig in a bit dipper and return to our three categories and look at them one-by-one.
Booths
The gospel of John, from the very beginning, has booths in mind – it’s just that we miss it in English. In the first chapter, we’ve all read this verse:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” (John 1:14 RSV)
This translation obscures the booths as many translations do. David Bently Hart, however, brings the booths to the surface. He wrote,
“And the Logos became flesh and pitched a tent among us…” (John 1:14)
That tent is the booth. *The* Booth (Tabernacle), of course, was the one that traveled with the Hebrews in the desert and housed the Ark of the Covenant. This was God’s presence among the people. What John is telling us is that Jesus is the new Temple. He is God’s presence among his people.
But now, the booth that houses God isn’t a tent in the desert. It’s human flesh — we now house the presence of God.
Even St. Paul got it.
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19 RSV)
So we move from the booths that the Hebrews lived in, to the booth that housed the Ark of the Covenant, to Jesus making a booth out of human flesh and, now, to us becoming the “booth” that is the presence of God in the world. And this happens because the Holy Spirit is poured out on us.
Wow!
Water
We saw how water represented life to the 1st-century celebrants of Sukkot. With this in mind, we hear Jesus’s proclamation in a new way.
“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, ‘If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38 RSV)
That rain that feeds our crops, which in turn keeps us alive, is just temporary. The real water is that which comes from Christ – the Holy Spirit. This is the real deal.
Jesus didn’t just randomly mention water because it’s a nice image of the Holy Spirit. He made the connection to water because Sukkot used water as an image of salvation. When the Hebrews were in the desert, the water that flowed from the rock kept them alive. It gave them life.
Now, Jesus is that rock and from him flows living water.
Light
Finally, we come to light. We saw how menorahs were lit in honor of the Pillar of Fire that led the Hebrews through the wilderness. It’s in this context that Jesus proclaimed,
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” (John 8:12 RSV)
The Pillar of Fire allowed the Hebrews to walk through the darkness, through the desert, and find a home in the Promised Land. Jesus is now that light which leads us to the Promised Land, the Kingdom of Heaven. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are able to walk through the darkness of this world, which is our desert, and find our true home with God.
Pentecost, Sukkot, and the Holy Spirit
Even though the story found in John 7 is about Jesus celebrating Sukkot, the Church is right to it in the context of Pentecost.
As we’ve seen, it’s a chance for us to draw back the curtain and see Pentecost in a new and refreshing way.
The flesh we live in now is nothing but fallen. It’s a temporary “booth” as we wander the desert of this world. However, the Holy Spirit ensures that God is living with us in the “booth.” He’s giving us light and leading the way.
When Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion drew back the curtain, they were disappointed. It was only an old man. But for us, drawing back the curtain reveals a living God who is always at work breathing his life into us through the Holy Spirit. Toto, I don’t think we’re Kansas anymore.
P.S. Come and See the Holy Spirit at Work.
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