Thanksgiving--Feasting with Godly Intentionality

 Yesterday evening Jonathan and I read to our children an article from desiringgod.org

called "The Lost Art of Feasting."

I loved the way this author shared exactly my sentiments in words I could not say myself.  

While many people indulge selfishly with no godly intention,

others go to the other extreme and think we ought not to celebrate holidays at all 

since that is "what the world does."

 David Mathis finds a wonderful balance.

 He wrote how "true feasting is...in decline through familiarity and lack of spiritual purpose. Most of us have never given any serious thought to what it might mean to feast with Christ-honoring intentionality.

We’ve grown dull to the wonder of ample food and drink through constant use, and overuse. When every day is a virtual feast, we lose the blessing of a real one. When every meal is a pathway to indulgence, not only is fasting lost, but true feasting is as well."

He wrote how feasting is a spiritual joy, and how the kindness of God is shown in His provision ofour daily food, but "there is the special grace of a feast."

This is "not the same as indulging.."

We are not "free to feast in a way that dishonors God. And forgetting him altogether is profoundly dishonoring. As Christians, we want to learn to feast in such a way that we’re tasting God’s supernatural goodness as we enjoy natural tastes.

"Feasting is not first about the food. It is foremost about the Godward celebration of some specific occasion together. Good food and drink, in abundance, come in alongside our corporate focus to accentuate the appreciation and enjoyment of God and his kindness. The heart of feasting is not the food itself, but the heart of the feasters. A true feast is bigger than the food — infinitely bigger. The center is God and his greatness and grace toward us in Christ.

For Christians, feasting is not the same as mere indulgence. There is nothing particularly Christian about eating and drinking more than usual. What makes feasting a means of God’s grace for nourishing our souls is explicitly celebrating Christ together in faith. Whether it’s Thanksgiving or Easter, a birthday or anniversary, when we feast as Christians, we celebrate the bounty and kindness of our Creator and Redeemer. Feasting in Christ is no mere physical event, but deeply spiritual."

 

Then Mathis describes how we can prepare the way for feasting.

One way we can learn to be more thankful is to first be more simple.

"Good preparation for a good feast typically begins before the feast day — not only in our planning, but in our pattern of eating. When our normal daily consumption is characterized by sufficient restraint, then feasting is something we can rise to on special occasions, by faith and in good conscience, rather than being the baseline of everyday eating. If you’ve so overindulged leading up to the feast that you feel a need to count calories at the feast, something is not right. Daily restraint both keeps our stomachs primed for times of fasting (so we’re not miserably famished) and makes possible a kind of special indulgence on feast days.

But exercising self-control in eating and drinking as a habit of life is only a prerequisite to good feasting. For a big Thanksgiving dinner to honor God — and feed not only our stomachs, but our souls — we need a few simple, but significant, steps to make it holy.

"How is a Christian feast distinct from any old American Thanksgiving?"he asks.

First, we should plan with Christ as the center.

"We don’t just plan for the food and drink, but to make much of Jesus at the culminating point. The night before, or morning of, perhaps the man of the house gives a few moments reflection to what “words of institution” will be spoken before the prayer of blessing.

Also planning with Christ at the center may mean having an open door, and extending invitations, to uncomfortable people. True feasting is not about being socially comfortable, but having the heart of Jesus to ask, “Who should we invite to dinner?”

“When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:13)

Then, we need to " speak a Godward word."

"It does not need to be a sermon. Keep it short, but clear. Perhaps a text of Scripture read or recited to join hearts and hungry tummies together, accompanied by a heartfelt word about this occasion and its spiritual purpose.

This is the moment when the grace of Christ is made most explicit. This word (along with the prayer) moves the feast from mere eating and drinking to doing so “to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31) and for the strengthening of our souls, not just feeding of our stomachs.

 

Third, we should sanctify the feast through prayer.

 Feasts are made holy “by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4–5). First we hear a Godward word; then we speak back to him to express our collective gratitude — not just for the food, but in particular for the stated focus of our celebration.

"The prayer need not drag on and on to feign holiness. Feasting is made holy by a Godward word and earnest prayer. Again, as with the word, earnestness does not entail length, especially when stomachs are growling and the hot food is cooling."

Finally, we enjoy the food, drink, and company.

 Don’t feel the burden to keep Christ ceaselessly in your consciousness, such that you don’t enjoy the tastes and engage with the company. "

That was from David Mathis.

This is from me.

I hope tomorrow, on Thanksgiving Day, each of us will in some way remember our brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering and starving and wasting away in prisons and under persecution while we feast.

Two Sundays ago, our family did an activity that came to us in the mail from Spirit of Martyrdom which is affiliated with Voice of the Martyrs.

It was a serious kind of game where you rolled a dice to know which space to land on, and each different square gave you a little project to do such as pray for a certain country restricted to the gospel, or pray for a Christian in prison, or look up on a map 10 countries where there is persecution, or make up a little pack of bottled water, snack and gospel tract to give a homeless person.

We appreciated this creative way of sharing in prayer and care for our suffering brethren.

Here is the link to the article I shared from above.

http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-lost-art-of-feasting?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Desiring%20God&utm_content=Daily%20Desiring%20God+CID_2687adb4ccf0a1d65b9ba299650ce118&utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor&utm_term=The%20Lost%20Art%20of%20Feasting