Worship and Celebration

Introduction

Have you ever watched a two year old with a puppy? That puppy is all over the child, jumping, licking, wagging its tail—and that’s the child. Unless the child has a fear of the dog, there is a sense of wonder about this animal. The child plays, tugs, pulls, and generally wants to discover what this creature is all about. Have you ever watched a two year old stand in the breeze as he watches the leaves fall from the trees? Or have you seen a child experience a snowfall? Have you watched a child take an object and turn it over and over trying to figure out what makes it work?

Have you ever felt the arms of a child wrap around your neck, squeezing with all their might because they have just received the best surprise—a surprise so big and good that they just can’t believe it? Have you ever watched the light sparkle in your spouse’s eyes when you have gone the extra mile to honor them? Have you ever stood at the top of a mountain and looked out at a scene that no photo could properly capture? Have you ever stood at the base of a waterfall and felt the pounding water and experienced the frighteningly cold breeze? Take any of those examples and describe them even more and you will find at the base of all those things a sense of wonder.

Wonder is the “I never saw that before” response to everyday occurrences and commonplace things. Wonder is a spiritual response to the things in this world. Go to a new city and the sights and sounds capture your attention. You look around noticing the signs, the advertisements, the sounds of people. Go down to Eastgate Shopping Center and you will notice very little. Why? Because the longer we are in a place the more accustomed we become to the sights and sounds. We lose our sense of wonder. And when we lose our sense of wonder, life can become boring and routine. Without wonder we have the tendency to go through the motions without thinking about our surroundings.

Closely connected with wonder, in fact an outgrowth of wonder, is a sense of celebration. Spiritual celebration comes from a sense of wonder. We aren’t talking about celebration in terms of party hats and noise makers. Celebration occurs because of what God has done. The first time I stood at the base of Fall Creek Falls and felt the chilly spray from the falls and heard the thundering roar as the water crashed upon the rocks, I experienced wonder and I also experienced celebration. When I took my young children outside at age two or so and let them touch a leaf and carefully explained that God was the maker we shared a sense of wonder and a time of celebration. Life is filled with those type of opportunities and so is our worship.

Spiritual Celebration

Exodus 12 is the story of Israel being set free from bondage in Egypt. For 400 years they have been in bondage. They have slaved for the advancement of the Egyptian nation. God is in the process of bringing about Israel’s freedom. Nine plagues have been brought upon Egypt. The tenth will be the death of the firstborn. God gives specific instructions concerning the meal called the Passover that the Israelites are to eat in preparation for this final plague. They are to gather in their homes and eat a lamb along with other foods. They are to pack their bags and be prepared to leave. They are to take the blood of the lamb and paint it on the door frame of the house. God is going to “pass over” every house which is covered in blood.

Notice verses 14 and 17. God says that the Israelites from this day forward are to annually celebrate their deliverance. Called the Feast of Unleavened Bread or Passover and still even now celebrated in the spring of the year, this feast time was to remember the deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Can you imagine the first time this meal was eaten? Surely it was eaten with a sense of wonder. Surely it was eaten recognizing that God was going to enter their world and do something that they had never seen or experienced. As the years passed, the meal took on a time of great celebration as they remembered that God had entered their world. God had brought great power into the world. Such power and presence could only be celebrated.

Israel had been redeemed. Set free from slavery. The power of God was seen to be greater than the power of the most powerful nation on earth. Each generation was to be reminded of the power and presence of God. Each generation would experience the sense of wonder as the story was told again and again. God came into their world for their benefit.

Turn to Nehemiah 8. Israel has returned from their seventy year captivity in Babylon. The walls around Jerusalem have been rebuilt. The people gather to listen to a reading of the book of the Law. When they hear the reading they praise God (v. 6). But there is also weeping (v. 9). They are convicted of just how far they have wandered away from God. These are tears of repentance. Listen to verses 10–12. Nehemiah instructs the people that this day is a sacred day. It is not a day to weep but of joy and gladness. It is not a day to fast, but a day to feast. It is a day to share in fellowship with each other. It is a day of celebration.

God had entered their world again. This time he had brought them back to their homeland. They had succeeded in the face of great opposition to rebuild the walls of their capital. They had been set free from bondage. While they had wandered away from God, God had restored them. There needed to be great thanksgiving and praise for God’s goodness. This was the day to celebrate the good God had done. Forgiveness and renewal were theirs. Celebration was needed.

Celebrating God’s Presence

Spiritual celebration comes from wonder. When was the last time that you had the “I never saw that before” response to God? I am not talking about emotionalism. I am talking about breaking out of the routine and mundane. Worship means to ascribe worth to something or someone. In this discussion, we are expressing the worthiness of God. Celebration occurs based on our view of God. If we see God as a god of rules and regulations then our worship will have a well-defined format that can be measured and counted. We will think in terms of compartmentalizing our assembly. Two prayers, five songs, thirty minute sermon, Lord’s Supper, and giving. Got it all in. Our assembly can become a fractured time. Make sure that we do all the right things, but no celebration. Instead the assembly becomes routine and God forbid that we change the routine.

If we see God as capricious or apt to change abruptly and without warning, if we see God as one who can’t be counted on, then our assembly will become whimsical. There will be an emphasis on less structure and spontaneity. It also means we will worship that which cannot be counted on to be faithful. We will then see no reason to be faithful in response.

But if we see God as immanent, as one who has entered our world for our benefit, then a spiritual celebration takes place. The sense of wonder is restored. Think about it. God came into our world and lived among us. We could touch him, smell him, and see him. He was real. God came for our benefit to set us free from the bondage of sin. He continues to bring about good in our lives. Our God in fact wants us to be near to him. It isn’t enough to love us, he wants us to be as close to him as possible. He is high and lifted up, but in his loftiness he is not far from us.

Jesus died for us, but he did not remain dead. He rose from the grave to live among us for a bit longer and to now live forever at God’s right hand. He is our advocate. He knows us. What a Savior!

God gave us his Spirit to live within us. He is our constant companion reminding us of who we are and whose we are. He leads us toward truth. He helps us to understand the mind of God. What a friend!

Instead of being left alone to struggle through this life, God is always near to us. He is always present. He is completely faithful and reliable. What a Father!

Celebration results from a sense of wonder. It comes because we recognize God’s presence. It comes because we are confident of his work. Celebration is a natural response when we are filled with a sense of wonder at what God has done for us in spite of our sin. Let’s celebrate our God and what he has done for us.

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