... except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. – Deuteronomy 16:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 15, 2012): Deuteronomy 16

So much of what is significant happens in the private moments of our lives. We rarely fall in love in public, but slowly in the private moments we spend with that special someone. Our children are not born in public ceremonies, but rather in private. The student studying for a degree puts in long hours studying with no one around. All of this is done in privately. But we are people designed for community. So what began in private is destined to be celebrated in the midst of the community. We celebrate significant anniversaries of our wedding day in very public ceremonies. Birthdays are celebrated in the midst of our friends and graduation ceremonies with our families and class mates gathered around us. In every case, what began in private is celebrated in the middle of the community – the private becomes public.

The original Passover was a private ceremony. The heads of each household gathered the family and sacrificed the lamb. No priest was present. No one gathered around to watch; it was celebrated in all of the individual houses that Israel lived in. It was a solemn feast, and it was eaten by a people that were prepared to run. But the feast was not meant to stay private.

The Passover would only be celebrated once in the desert. But as the people prepared to enter into the Promised Land, Moses gave the instructions for a yearly celebration. This one would not be celebrated behind closed doors like the original event. It was to be a celebration of a nation, one that would take place in the midst of the community. But because it would be celebrated publically, it needed to be celebrated in one place – a place of God’s choosing.

Originally that place would have been wherever the tabernacle was, but after the reign of Solomon it would be celebrated only at the temple in Jerusalem. And it would be one of the three festivals that everyone in the nation would need to attend at least once in their lives, and everyone in the area would be expected to attend on a yearly basis. What began in private would be remembered in public.

I am convinced that the beginnings of faith are found in the private events of our lives. But when God is in the private event, those events will always carry us into the sanctuary to be celebrated in the midst of the community.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 17