The Big Party!
As we look at the needs of the community in economic development, the final field stands out. It is an area where religious groups, local to world, has excelled since human intelligence began to develop. Sometimes the efforts have been stuttering, and sometimes the efforts have been nothing short of spectacular. That final need, often falling short in economically deprived communities, is ...
Celebration!
In celebration,
... Every aspect of community life, positive and negative, is lifted up in remembering, reenacting and feeling good.
...The community excitedly tells its own story.
...The community honestly presents the human situation to itself and to God. This is a sacrifice and thanksgiving to God. The pageant and party are well formed and intentional consequences of community action.
...Pageants, festivities and community spiritual life experiences dealing with past and future history are commonplace and anticipated, especially in the Church
Psalm 136
A magnificent accounting and example of Biblical era pageantry is found in Psalm 136. Psalm 136 speaks of the whole history of Yahweh's involvement in human life. God's action, humankind's response, and then God's next action/response are brought to the fore. Each of these is presented in a style that makes it easily understood, remembered and repeated for centuries and millennia by the congregation. Each note of remembering is followed by a shout of joy from the congregation. This practice serves a double purpose.
When the past is mentioned, it is a reminder to the people that things have happened this way. It is also a note to everyone that the future is likely to look the same way if the circumstances are set up in the same way. The reason the people can be confident that history will come out that way again is that the history depends not on man's action alone, but on God's response to mankind's action. When humans fowl things up, God redeems.
The shout of joy is both a cry of thanksgiving and a theological statement. It says that "steadfast love" (hesed) is within the very being of the Creator. God will respond to any activity on the part of humanity with God's own steadfast love. It can be trusted because God is god.
This cry is also a call to God's people to be the same, to share in the work of the Creator. Here is where we are made in the image of God, but not the reality of a god. We are invited to activate this steadfast love for all in our own lives, just as God's steadfast love is active in God's existence. God's is apparently not an option for God, but our steadfast love must be activated by choice. We must be born again.
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