Time to Celebrate

Are you ready to celebrate the birth of Christ? If your first response is mild stress over the tasks that need to be done before December 25, think again: What if the question is about being rather than doing?

With that in mind, consider the question again: Are you ready to celebrate the birth of Christ? And as 2023 draws to a close, what other celebrations will you anticipate in the year ahead?

According to theologian and author Richard Foster, celebration is an act of spiritual discipline that should be a priority in our lives -- pressing us into the full joy that Jesus promises. As Saint Augustine said, “The Christian should be an alleluia from head to foot."

"Perhaps the most important benefit of celebration is that it saves us from taking ourselves too seriously. It is an occupational hazard of devout folk to become stuffy bores. Celebration delivers us from such a fate. It adds a note of gaiety, festivity, and hilarity to our lives," writes Foster (a GFU grad and once the roommate of our own Ken VandenHoek).

"Celebration is not just an attitude but also something that we do. We laugh. We sing. We dance. We play," Foster continues. "The psalmist described the joy-filled celebration of the people of God complete with timbrel and dance, with trumpet and lute and harp, with strings and pipe and loud clashing cymbals. In celebration we celebrate!"

"Celebration is one of those things that does not diminish with use. Rather it multiplies. Celebration begets more celebration. Joy begets more joy. Laughter begets more laughter. I have found that times of genuine celebration have the potential of bringing healing and wholeness to the entire community. So … let’s celebrate!"

How are you preparing to celebrate this Christmas, and how will you ensure that your joy overflows to those around you? Lean into the promises of the Lord, Friends, and let the joy beget more joy!