"They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness."

 

Luke 5:34-35, “Jesus said, “While you're celebrating a wedding, you don't skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to pull in your belt, but this isn't the time. As long as the bride and groom are with you, you have a good time."

To “feast” means to take it all in – receive what is in front of you willingly and enthusiastically. God knew how to feast and celebrate. Jesus and His disciples savored the moments with people. The feasts of the Bible were celebrations of God, what He had done for the people and how He was leading them. They all pointed to His goodness.

While often a Biblical or Christian feast involves eating and drinking, this is not to be the purpose. Paul says in Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit..”

The feasting is on God's goodness. We remember who He has been to us and what He has done. We celebrate His goodness now and share our faith and history with our children.  Part of the joy is that we are celebrating it with others whom we love and care about.

Another part of the joy is inviting in those who cannot repay us. Jesus says in Luke 14:13-14, “But when you give a banquet [feast], invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

In the context of the versus in Luke 5:34-35, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees as to why his disciples were feasting rather than fasting. He was being confronted because the Pharisees saw that the people they were holding banquets with were “tax men and other disreputable characters.” They asked, “What is he dong eating and drinking with crooks and sinners?” (Luke 5:30)

Jesus pointed out that they were celebrating a wedding. Jesus being the Bridegroom was among them. He came to call forth and die for His betrothed bride. It was a time of joy and celebration, with the mourning to come later as the groom is taken from them. As He went to prepare a place for His bride, she would fast and long for His return.

There is going to be a wedding. Our feasts in some way are shadows of what is to come as in His kingdom when we will feast on His love and goodness. The people we will be sitting across from will be other sinners and crooks who needed Him as a Savior.

Who is missing at our table?  How can we feast by sharing our past stories of God's goodness with each other versus just going through the motions and/or focusing only on food and drink?

Lord, forgive me for sometimes not being as inclusive as You would have me be.  Help us to feast on Your goodness and share it freely with all around us. Let us remember that celebrating You is the reason we gather together.