celebration. or, cana (duh)
intro : eeyore doesn't like to party; neither do most christians.
what reason is there to party? everything always goes wrong anyway.
negative christian attitudes towards celebration :
a. it's immature, i wouldn't do that (owl)
b. what reason is there to celebrate anyway? (eeyore)
1. suffering is a real part of the christian life.
A. Christ suffered (the most significant part is his suffering).
B. The Apostles suffered (all martyred, except john [who didn't die])
C. The Bible tells us to expect suffering.
matt. 10:38 "he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me"
1 pet 4:12,13 "beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your
testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share
the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you
may rejoice with exultation."
i'm not promoting hedonism or an all smiles brand of christianity
2. rejoicing is a also real part of the christian life.
phil 4:4 "rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!"
these are both realities - we suffer, and keep our hope on what is to come.
nonetheless, we are not to put off our rejoicing until the future - we are to rejoice in the present as well.
1. we do not celebrate BECAUSE of the physical world - we celebrate becuase of the spiritual world.
our celebration is grounded in the nature and actions of god - that is what we celebrate when we appreciate
his creation in the appropriate ways.
our thought is not :
Physical (hedonism)
-------------
Spiritual
,
Physical / Spiritual
nor
Spiritual (no physical) (this is asceticism)
it is :
Spiritual
-------------
Physical
that is the christian stance.
2. it is the spiritual that makes the physical valuable to us.
because of the love and creativity of god, we can appreciate the beauty of this world.
beauty that is 'man made' is a part of
exodus 31:1-11 bezalel and ohaliab are filled with ability to make the physical world beautiful
(chapters like 1 cor 6 teach this from the negative side)
1. god created a lot of beauty in the physical world, revealing his nature through physical means
psalms like 104
song of solomon - physical love (created by god as the duty between spouses, 1 cor 7:3,4)
matt. 6:28-30 "the lilies of the field...yet not even solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these"
romans 1:20 "for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal
2. god intends us to and participate with this beauty in our rejoicing.
precedent of ot feasting
feasts of rejoicing are a constant part of the ot :
at the bringing of the tithe (deut. 14:22-26)
v26 "and there you shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice,
you and your household"
deut 16 : 3 national feasts
passover (16:1-8)- a rememberance of slavery and deliverance
feast of weeks (16:9-12)- a harvest feast in the spring.
v11 "and you shall rejoice before the lord your god"
feast of tabernacles (16:13-15)- a harvest feast in the fall.
v15 "so that you will be altogether joyful"
precedent of nt feasting :
the ot pattern carries into the nt
christ called glutton and drunkard...
matt 11:19 "the son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard'"
cana - john 2:1-11 (cana)
christ's first miracle - jesus saves a party.
christ's first miracle was to turn water into wine!
1. it wasn't to ease physical suffering via healing
2. it wasn't to provide for a physical need (like food)
3. it was to provide more wine for a wedding party.
wine is completely without merit save for enjoyment
- the argument certainly can't be 'safety because of bad water' - that doesn't match
old test. or greek usage.
- what kind of wine did christ make? good tasting wine; especially enjoyable wine.
note that taste is completely in line with 'celebration' / aesthetics
1. understand that physical, material beauty and pleasure is consistent with the character of god.
2. rejoice in harmony with this - we have the truth to appreciate and enjoy this world.
3. do not be held captive to earthly beauty - it is the spiritual that we pursue as even more real.