Sometimes we just need to celebrate. At least occasionally a party is an appropriate response to life. There are times when there is a good excuse -- like birthdays, anniversaries, weddings. And there are times when there is no particular reason at all -- it’s Tuesday, the sun is shining, just because. Sometimes such celebrations are big and elaborate, with lots of planning and lots of expense. Sometimes such celebrations are small and spontaneous and simple. But whatever the circumstances, it is important to remember to celebrate once in a while, even when (perhaps even especially when) we don’t feel like it. Leslie Brandt gives expression to this reality in his meditation on Psalm 95. (Read “Psalm 95” from Psalms Now by Leslie Brandt)

So on this day when we officially get back into the full swing of things with our fall schedule it seems like as good an excuse as any to celebrate. Life gets so serious sometimes that we forget to even smile. How are we supposed to be of service to others when we forget to celebrate the life which God has given us? So, for the sake of the world, the sake of those we seek to serve in the world, the sake of ourselves, and even for the sake of God, let’s remember to enjoy the party to which God invites us. We have balloons. We have this church. We have this community. We have each other. And we have God. Whether we feel like it or not, that is the way it is, and that is worth celebrating.

It is, however, never quite that simple, because we do not live this life in isolation. God has created us to live in community with all of God’s children, and all of God’s children are invited to God’s party. So remembering to celebrate also means remembering to include those who might otherwise be left out. The Letter of James puts it quite bluntly. “If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” (James 2:15-17) Our celebration of God’s goodness is not, and cannot, be complete until we have done what we can, all that we can, to make sure everyone who has been invited to the party actually gets to the party. Jesus, in typical fashion, modeled this important reality by healing people whose brokenness hindered their celebration. And not simply those whom everyone was already expecting to be at the party -- the rich, the famous, the in-crowd. Jesus brought transformation to the lives of those whom society had already cast aside -- women, foreigners, those whose afflictions made people uncomfortable. With his actions Jesus declared that everyone should have the opportunity to come to God’s party. As followers of Jesus, can we do any less?

Remember to celebrate. Remember to bring others with you. And remember to look in unexpected places for reasons to celebrate. This is what Ann Weems has to say about some of those reasons. (Read “Balloons Belong In Church” from Reaching For Rainbows by Ann Weems)

There are a million, billion reasons to celebrate. But in the end they all come back to just one reason -- because God is always with us. Maybe if we remember to smile and laugh and celebrate from time to time, we will remember the real reason behind the celebration. And maybe someone else will see us celebrating and wonder what we are up to. And then we can invite them to come join the party -- God’s party. What are we waiting for? Let’s celebrate!