Today marks the beginning of Sukkot for my Jewish siblings. My knowledge of Sukkot is limited, but my understanding is that it is a time of celebrating both the harvest and God’s protection of the Israelites when they left Egypt and spent 40 years in the desert.
The 40 years in the desert feels particularly relevant to me right now- does it for you, too? These times often feel like desert times to me. (To be clear, I’ve spent some summers in the desert and loved it, but I’m thinking more about the lack of water and lack of choice or clear path forward that 40 years of desert time suggests.) But it feels also important that Sukkot is about celebrating God’s protection during those desert times—they made it out of the desert, eventually! This feels hopeful and even joyous to me.
Thinking about desert times also makes me think about early Christian monastics that we sometimes call the Desert Fathers and Mothers. Differently than the Israelites, they intentionally chose time in the desert. They chose to get away from society and to develop spiritual practices or disciplines such as meditation and prayer. Many find the writings of these early monastics to be inspirational and grounding.
Both of these examples of time in the desert make me wonder about this moment. What might these desert times give me today? I don’t think there’s a simple answer, and your answer may be different. But I am working on leaning into (or further developing) contemplative practices like meditation and a gratitude practice, both of which feel essential for me to stay grounded in these wild times. And I’m also trying to acknowledge when I feel lost or without water in these times, while also celebrating a God who is with me through it all.
What might you take from these desert stories?
Hannah Campbell Gustafson
Associate Chaplain for Christian and Interfaith Life