Deuteronomy 16:16-17 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.
One of the responses of the people of God to His gracious gifts and blessings is to appear before the Lord three times a year in the Jerusalem Temple. They would also meet together in God’s presence every Sabbath Day in their local villages. But there was something more celebratory about the three Feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.
The NT Church emulates this pattern of worship. They meet every Sunday, the Lord’s Day, replacing the Sabbath. Then the Church picks up the “three times” for high festival celebrations on Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost. (Though Pentecost is not commercially hyped, it probably should be.) And there are other high holy days that churches sometimes celebrate.
These Feasts suggest a pattern of church year worship, the point of which is to remember the Lord’s work and receive afresh the Holy Gospel. “This do in remembrance of Me.” To remember is to make active in my present life an event from the past. We apply the benefits of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to our hearts and lives by faith. We do this daily, weekly, and yearly.