Two women left our apartment building, each with a covered dish, heading for a potluck dinner with friends. A little envious, I thought “How can they be celebrating when the world is so full of hatred and heartbreak.” Then I realized such a simple celebration is a counter-cultural protest – a way to value connection and care for one another in the face of spreading tyranny and fear.
To just such an audience, in the face of religious and political power, Jesus told two parables: the lost sheep and the lost coin.* After each is found, there is a celebration which probably cost more than the lost sheep or the lost coin. I’d missed that before, but now that my need for hope and courage is greater, I noticed what evoked these two stories: the Pharisees were being critical that Jesus ate with outcasts and tax collectors.
These days, when separation and isolation promote fear and distrust in so many different parts of our public life, celebrations mean choosing hope over despair. Even a potluck dinner can reveal the Spirit’s presence with love, joy, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, patience and maybe even humility and self-control. Against these, Paul says, there is no law. Celebrations are clear reminders of God’s love alive in this world. So let us celebrate birthdays and graduations, baptisms and memorials, jobs lost and found, homecomings, weddings and old friendships. Even a sit-down dinner once a week can be a reminder that protest against tyranny takes many forms.
-- Marjory Zoet Bankson, InwardOutward Editor
For More...
- A recent celebration where you felt love and joy flowing?
- Where do you gather with friends?
- Who might you invite? Who else needs to be included?
