Cause for Celebration

The occasion of several birthdays in our worship arts family this week got me thinking about the importance of celebration. Throughout the scriptures, celebration plays a key role in the life of the Hebrews; Joseph threw his brothers a party, David danced, Ezra read from the scriptures to a multitude with rapt attention, Isaiah saw the angels singing “Holy Holy Holy,” Jesus and the disciples ate together on many occasions. But we’re left with a picture at the end of the second testament that outdoes them all; a new city descending to a new earth, gleaming and brilliant with light, and a spotless bride dressed to match her husband. A wedding, and a banquet. A dawn breaking. A brand new beginning. And then the passage abruptly ends; we don’t get to keep reading the next adventure …

… it leaves us to wonder what’s next.

There is anticipation in celebration. To celebrate is not simply to remember the things of the past with fondness – though this too has its place. But in the scriptures, the final celebration is an anticipation of what is to come, with joy looking towards that which is new, that which is vibrant, that which is better than what came before.

In these trying economic/environmental/political times, it seems like celebrations become few and far between. Nothing seems worth celebrating because we are anxious about the next disaster that lurks just around the corner. But imagine if we approached our ministries with the anticipation of celebrating that which is coming, the good that God is going to be doing in the world around us rather than simply remembering how it used to be great! Though the joints are feeling a little creaky, the eyesight is starting to fog up (presbyopia starts around 40, just sayin’), the muscles ache more than they used to … what if that was merely a precursor to “yeah, but just wait till you see how much this year is going to bring!” Like the birthdays of our friends and colleagues, let’s not just celebrate the lives well lived in our churches, but let’s celebrate the new, let’s celebrate the goodness of what’s to come!

And so to those of you who have just had birthdays, congratulations on being born! We pray that you find new opportunities in this coming year, that your celebration includes and embraces the unknown blessings (and the ones in disguise) of the years to come. And to our churches, may we learn to celebrate the goodness of God regularly, with abandon and with passion, that God can do through us great things for our communities and for our world!

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Question: how do you celebrate the good things of the past and anticipate the good things of the future in your congregation?