• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Bible Reflection Electricity, Hurricane Sandy and the Feast of Sukkot – Four lessons

Electricity, Hurricane Sandy and the Feast of Sukkot – Four lessons

Posted on November 2, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 6 Comments


Hurricane SandyHurricane Sandy made herself known in a big way in my area. In all the years that I lived in Southeastern Pennsylvania, I never experienced winds like we had earlier this week.

My family and I were blessed in that there was no damage to our home. Other than the minor inconvenience of being without electricity for a little over 24 hours, we came through the event quite well. Others have not fared so well and have endured major losses, my heart and my prayer is with them right now.

As the hurricane raged, it was difficult to think; it was quite enough just to take it all in. But once the storm began to wane, some thoughts came to me about life and hurricanes. Here are some thoughts in no particular order:

  1. Hurricane Sandy reinforced the idea that all we really need for physical existence is food, water and shelter. So many of the things we think of as indispensible are not. In reality, that iPad that you think you need is a nice-to-have, not a necessity.
  2. A major weather event such as Sandy demonstrates that man is not really the master of his own destiny, Jack Welshnot withstanding. The best we can do in response to such force is to find a shelter with sufficient strength to provide protection. Altering or controlling the storm is impossible. We may want to continue the illusion of control, but Sandy should be a clue to how little control we really have.
  3. The hurricane also demonstrated that we overestimate the importance of many of the things we do. When survival is on the line, it does not matter if the lawn is well manicured. When there is little water for cooking, it does not matter if the spice rack is alphabetized. The point is not that neat cupboards and attractive lawns are not good. The point is that when we take good things and make them ultimate things, we get our priorities out of whack.
  4. When something like Sandy comes along, it reinforces the need we have for community. When bad stuff starts to happen around us, we learn that we cannot live in a vacuum. We need, and are needed by, the people around us. We are called to live in community.

As I started to write these observations, the Feast of Sukkot in the Old Testament (Leviticus 23:34-44) came to mind. This is a Jewish feast also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths. During this feast the Israelites would build temporary shelters and live in them. It was the original family camp.

Ostensibly the feast was to commemorate the Exodus of Israel from the nation of Egypt. The booths provided a physical reminder of how their forebears lived as they wandered through the desert. Yet I wonder if a side benefit of this feast was to demonstrate to the Israelites the four points listed above. Like us, Israel struggled to keep their priorities straight and to understand who was in control of their destiny. This feast could provide a yearly reorientation to a better perspective.

I do not want to downplay the hardship that some have had to endure in the aftermath of Sandy. But for those of us who were merely inconvenienced, I suggest that we think of it as a forced entrance into Sukkot. We have been given the chance to reflect on what is really important and to redirect our thoughts and resources to better uses.

We only need to stop long enough to reflect.


Filed Under: Bible Reflection Tagged With: electricity, hurricane, Sandy, Sukkot

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

I have the opportunity to go to Istanbul, Turkey this summer to minister to Syrian refugees. If you would like more details about this trip, please use this link Mark McIntyre - Istanbul, Turkey Please note that this trip is fully funded, but I would appreciate your continued prayer. The trip will take place June 27 - July 6, 2025.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

Value

Of infinite value

If we fail to properly value the individual people in our charge we are failing in our mission thus demonstrating a gap between how God views those people and how we do.

Beyond the Gospel

Moving beyond the gospel?

In some churches I have attended, there is a sense that the gospel entails the elementary teaching of Christianity. To move toward maturity then requires that people move beyond the gospel into more “meaty” doctrinal teaching.

I have come to realize that this is wrong headed and leads not to maturity, but to immaturity. The effect of this teaching is the exact opposite of the desired result.

LInks

Links to consider and share – 8/26/2014

Links gathered in the last week that you might interesting or helpful.

Commission and commands – Priorities for the Church

The Great Commission is the foundational text on which the mission of the church should be based. Or is it? Is there something else that needs to take priority? I think there is.

Whose way is blameless?

It was not until I was pretty far into adulthood that I really began to understand that perfect obedience is not the standard. Jesus came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
July 2025
SMTWTFS
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031 
« Jun    

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2025 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in