In the Old Covenant, God repeatedly commanded Israel to keep the feasts, to offer their tithes and sacrifices, and to eat and drink and rejoice before the Lord with their families and neighbors, the strangers, the fatherless, the widow in their midst. In fact, the command to rejoice is so tied to the festivals and worship of God that the command to rejoice almost seems synonymous with worship and feasting. If God commands his people to rejoice, the connotations are clear: rejoicing is feasting and worship before the Lord.
It’s no accident that Jesus commanded His people to celebrate this meal in remembrance of Him. And when the early Christians gathered together to commemorate His death and resurrection, they celebrated with this meal. Biblically speaking, rejoicing is always around a table with family and friends and with as many of our neighbors as will come.
So what are we doing at this table? We are rejoicing. What is this whole service of worship? We are rejoicing. What is this day that we are marking and celebrating? It’s the Lord’s Day, the Christian Sabbath, the day Jesus rose from the dead, the day He finished His New Creation work and rested, having made all things new. This is our feast day, our festival day, our day of rejoicing.
This is why we worship weekly because we are commanded to rejoice always. The Christian feast is a continual feast, a weekly feast, a feast that marks the beginning of every week. Is this a festival week? Does this week begin with a feast? Why yes it does. Every week is a festival week in the Christian calendar. Every week is marked by the Lord’s Day, by the Christian Sabbath, by rejoicing in Christ. And therefore the invitation to this joy is an invitation to take this joy with you. Let this joy mark your tables today and throughout the week. Let this joy mark your words, your conversations in the car, your work, your lives.
So come, eat and drink: your sins are forgiven in Christ. Come eat and drink: our Savior lives and all things are made new. Come, eat and drink, and rejoice.
Come and welcome to Jesus Christ.
Photo by Kelsey Knight on Unsplash
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