God’s Party

John 15: 9-12

Roger Lynn

August 2, 2020

(the audio & video are unavailable this week)

Sometimes we just need to celebrate. At least occasionally a party is an appropriate response to life. There are times when there is a good excuse – like birthdays, anniversaries, weddings. And there are times when there is no particular reason at all – it’s Tuesday, the sun is shining, we get to be together on the lawn of the church, just because. Sometimes such celebrations are big and elaborate, with lots of planning and lots of expense. And sometimes such celebrations are small and spontaneous and simple. But whatever the circumstances, it is important to remember to celebrate once in a while, even when (perhaps especially when) we don’t feel like it. Leslie Brandt gives expression to this reality in his meditation on Psalm 95.

Let us begin this day with singing

Whether we feel like it or not, 

let us make glad sounds

and force our tongues to articulate words

of thanksgiving and praise.

The facts are: God is with us;

this world and we who live in it are God’s;

God loves us;

God has adopted us as God’s children;

we belong to God.

This makes us valid, worthwhile.

We are truly significant in the eyes of our God, 

irrespective of our human feelings

or the comments of our critics about us.

This may not be the way we feel this morning

but this is the way it is.

We don’t need the plaudits of our peers,

for we have God’s stamp of approval.

So let us begin this day with singing

whether we feel like it or not.

Then we may end this day with praises,

because we know – and may even feel –

that we shall forever be

the objects of God’s concern

and the children of God’s love.

In these days when there is so much seriousness threatening to overwhelm us in every moment, it seems like a good time to pause and celebrate. I know that all of the issues and concerns around the Covid-19 situation have been weighing heavy on me. I’ve endeavored to avoid responding in fear, and at least some of the time I’ve been successful, if only barely. But the stress and the isolation and the uncertainty have taken their toll, and I suspect that is true for many of us. So perhaps a bit of celebration is just what we need. When we allow life to become so serious that we forget to even smile, then maybe it’s time to shift gears, even if only for a moment. We do no one any good (including ourselves) when we lose perspective and forget to notice the remarkable gift of life which God has given us. So for the sake of the world and everyone in it (including ourselves), let’s remember to enjoy the party to which God invites us. We still have breath in our bodies. We still have the love and support of family and friends and community and the church. We still have the presence of God surrounding us. Whether we feel like it or not, that is the way it is, and that is worth celebrating. The circumstances which concern us and weigh us down probably won’t disappear, but perhaps with a moment or two of respite we will find the perspective and the resources to face those circumstances in a new way.

It is, however, never quite that simple, because we do not live this life in isolation (despite what appears to be true in these days). God has created us to live in connection and community with all of God’s children, and all of God’s children are invited to God’s party. So remembering to celebrate also means remembering to include those who might otherwise be left out. The Letter of James puts it quite bluntly. “If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm, and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” (James 2:15-17) Our celebration of God’s goodness is not, and cannot be, complete until we have done all that we can to make sure everyone who has been invited to the party (and that is, you may recall, everyone) actually gets to the party. Jesus modeled this important spiritual practice by healing people whose brokenness hindered their celebration. And not simply those whom everyone was already expecting to be at the party – the rich, the famous, the in-crowd. Jesus brought transformation to the lives of those whom society had already cast aside – women, foreigners, those with afflictions that made others uncomfortable. With his words and his actions, Jesus declared that everyone should have the opportunity to come to God’s party. As followers of Christ, can we do anything less?

In the last year or so of my late wife Veronica’s life we developed a silly little ritual that involved holding hands and jumping up and down together whenever something wonderful happened (and it’s amazing how often wonderful stuff happens when you are on the look out for it). But then she died and I didn’t have anyone to jump up and down with. Nor did I feel very much like celebrating. And then something wonderful happened. I got a job after being unemployed for several months. I still didn’t have anyone to jump up and down with, but I didn’t let that stop me. I enlisted the help of my support team, which had grown to quite a sizable group at that point, scattered across the planet. I invited them to join me (wherever they were) in jumping up and down in celebration. And so it was that at 7pm on a particular evening in the spring of 2010 about 50 people in various locations around the world jumped up and down together in celebration. It was a moment of love and support and connection and joy that I will never forget. I was still in the midst of my grief, but the load was lightened as I remembered that there was also joy to be found.

Remember to celebrate. Remember to bring others with you. And remember to be on the look out for unexpected reasons to celebrate, even in the midst of dark days, even if only for a moment. Get creative. Be silly. It need not be big and elaborate. Something as simple as a laugh will do.

I took to church one morning a happy four-year-old boy

Holding a bright blue string to which was attached

his much loved orange balloon with pink stripes...

Certainly a thing of beauty

And if not forever, at least a joy for a very important now.

When later he met me at the door

Clutching blue string, orange and pink bobbing behind him,

He didn’t have to tell me something had gone wrong.

“What’s the matter?”

He wouldn’t tell me.

“I bet they loved your balloon...”

Out it came, then – mocking the teacher’s voice, “We don’t bring balloons to church.’

Then that little four-year old, his lip a little trembly, asked:

“Why aren’t balloons allowed in church? I thought God would like balloons.”

I celebrate balloons, parades and chocolate chip cookies.

I celebrate seashells and elephants and lions that roar.

I celebrate roasted marshmallows and chocolate cake and fresh fish.

I celebrate aromas: bread baking, mincemeat, lemons...

I celebrate seeing: bright colors, wheat in a field, tiny wild flowers...

I celebrate hearing: waves pounding, the rain’s rhythm, soft voices...

I celebrate touching: toes in the sand, a kitten’s soft fur, another person...

I celebrate the sun that shines slab dab in our faces...

I celebrate the crashing thunder and the brazen lightning...

And I celebrate the green of the world...the life-giving green...the hope-giving green...

I celebrate the music within a person that must be heard

I celebrate life...that we may live more abundantly...

Where did we get the idea that balloons don’t belong in the church?

Where did we get the idea that God loves gray and Sh-h-h-h-h

And drab and anything will do?

I think it’s blasphemy not to appreciate the joy in God’s world.

I think it’s blasphemy not to bring our joy into God’s church.

So celebrate!

Bring your balloons and your butterflies, your bouquets of flowers...

Bring the torches and hold them high!

Dance your dances, paint your feelings, sing your songs, whistle, laugh.

Life is a celebration, an affirmation of God’s love.

Life is distributing more balloons.

For God so loved the world...

Surely that’s a cause for Joy.

Surely we should celebrate!

Good News! That God should love us that much.

Where did we ever get the idea that balloons don’t belong in the church?

(excerpts from “Balloons Belong in Church” by Ann Weems)

There are a million billion reasons to celebrate. But in the end they all come back to just one reason – because God is always with us. Maybe if we remember to smile and laugh and play and celebrate from time to time, we will remember that there is always a reason. And maybe, just maybe, someone else will see us celebrating and wonder what we are up to. And then we can invite them to come join the party – God’s party. What are we waiting for? Let’s celebrate!