Imagine Moses striding up to the throne of Pharaoh. As the sun gleams off the pyramids, these two leaders of their people finally meet. The tension hangs in the air, and a stray breeze ripples dramatically across ornate robes and shepherd’s garb alike. After a moment of solemn silence, Moses declares his ultimatum: “Pharaoh, let my people go….. to a party!”
As incongruous as that sounds, it’s essentially the words of scripture: “Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert,”’” (Exodus 5:1).
The Old Testament laws prescribe seven annual festivals commanded by God Himself. While they may not have looked exactly like the Kewanee Hog Days (for starters, pork was off the menu for the ancient Israelites!), there remains a common thread in the Hog Days and the Jewish festivals.
Both were intended, in part, to commemorate and celebrate important parts of the past. Hog Days remind citizens of Kewanee about the historical importance of hogs to the region and call on us to celebrate the historic role Kewanee has played in the region.
So why do we have festivals? Because we are forgetful. In the midst of the daily grind, punching the clock and paying our bills, taking the kids to practice and mowing our lawns, it’s easy to lose sight of what matters.
Festivals call us to remember our community. For a few days we remind one another that this place matters, these people matter, we are part of a history bigger than ourselves, and we look forward to the future with hope.
God commanded the Hebrew people to celebrate. Not as a burdensome command, but as a gift. He didn’t simply call them out of Egypt and slavery, but into a life where they could stop to celebrate, to remember, and to thank the One who saved them. May we do the same this weekend.
John Reside
First Christian Church
Editor’s note: The Kewanee Ministerial Association invites the public to attend the Community Non-denominational Worship Service on Sunday, Sept. 6 at the PNB parking lot, main stage, from 2-3:30 p.m. Attendees are asked to bring lawn chairs as seating won’t be provided.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Kewanee Voice.
***This column is sponsored by the Kewanee Ministerial Association
