Advent 4 | Everlasting Joy

Do you remember Christmas Vacation? One of my favorite scenes is when the family is finally all together about to eat this massive meal that has been prepared. Clark, the father, has his knives in hand ready to carve this beautiful golden brown turkey. The scene is right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.

Then, as Clark digs his knife into the turkey, it instantly breaks open with a cloud of dust puffing out. Inside is a the driest, cobweb looking turkey ever caught on film. In an attempt to appease the cook, the family gnaws at their portions like hunters gnaw at beef jerky.

While the scene is hilarious to watch, it is also illustrative of the nature and effects of sin. It looks really good on the outside, but once we dig in just a bit, we will discover nothing but empty, dry death.

There are several motifs that thread the biblical narrative from Genesis to Revelation—motifs such as fall and redemption, fruitfulness and famine, wilderness and the city. Today, as we consider what it means to celebrate Advent with Joy, I would like us to take a look at the motif of food and fellowship. Throughout Scripture, there is a link between finding joy and meal time—and not just because the food is good.

To begin, and by way of explanation, let’s begin once again this week in Genesis 3. After the first couple has sinned, God pronounces the consequences and curses of their actions. The Lord addresses Adam in verse 17 in which we read how the ground itself is cursed because of his sin.

The Cursed Ground | Genesis 3:17-19

And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
    and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
    ‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
    in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return.”

Genesis 17-19

The ground is cursed now bearing thorns and thistles as Adam (and his descendants) work to cultivate the land. Humanity will be able to cultivate food and make bread, but it will take hard labor and the land will fight back. Every farmer and gardener knows this situation well. Even under the best conditions, it still seems like a gamble as to whether a crop will come in harvest season.

But the curse goes beyond farming. In Romans 8, Paul says all of creation was subject to the curse.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

Romans 8:19-22

Creation itself is groaning as it waits for the redemption of God’s people. This truth plays out in a number of ways—storms, earthquakes, natural disasters, plague, famine. When Christians talk about a “fallen world” they are referring to this truth—things do not work as they should.

The curse of sin extends across the spiritual, moral, and physical spheres of life—all of Creation.

And so, because of sin, things in the world do not work as they should. It is not the “very good” world we read about in Genesis 1. Even still, the Lord has not left us without hope, nor without avenues of finding joy even in this dark world.

One such way is at meal time, but even the family dinner can be wrought with problems. It could be the food itself is a problem. It could be who the meal is with. Or, it could be ourself. Let’s take a look at some examples from Scripture.

The Meal Motif in Scripture

The first example comes from Proverbs 5. Proverbs 5 is a warning to the writer’s son (and us by extension) to steer away from a certain type of woman. Chapters 7 and 8 contrast the folly of chasing adulterous women and chasing Wisdom, but here, in 5, we have a warning against chasing women that only lead to ruin. Instead, the young man should pursue righteousness and his wife.

What is important for today is how the disastrous woman is described.

For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,
    and her speech is smoother than oil,

but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
    sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death;
    her steps follow the path to Sheol;

Proverbs 5:3-5

At first, the woman seems wonderful. She drips with honey and is smoother than oil, but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood. I have not tried wormwood myself. One site described its aromatics as a savory herb saying, “The sort of herb that you’d smell wafting in from your kitchen. It smells like something you’d rub on a turkey on Thanksgiving morning. We should note that would be a mistake.” Apparently, wormwood is so bitter, it’s difficult to describe. The site says it’s like cocoa nibs without any sugar, chewing raw coffee beans but more bitter, or even like black licorice, but without the hint of sweetness. I have tried two of the three of those comparisons, and I have no desire to try wormwood—unless maybe if some money was put down.

Now, the reason for this bitter detour is to remind us the problem with sin is never what is on the front-end. Sin’s problem is always what comes next.

The path of sin always seems pleasant at first, but then its bitterness sets in.

Just as Satan offered the forbidden fruit in Genesis 3 that led to death and bitter Creation, he continues to offer us cheap substitutes that only lead to ruin.

In contrast, the Lord offers lasting Joy and fruit that does not lead to destruction and bitterness. Rather, the fruit of the Lord leads to life.

In fact, much of the Lord’s teachings and promises come in the form of food and mealtime. In Leviticus 11, the Law lays out Clean and Unclean Animals. In Deuteronomy 14, we read about Clean and Unclean Foods. In Leviticus 23, the Lord enacts Feasts which remind the Israelites of God’s provision and blessings throughout the year. But the most important meal/festival for Israel (outside the Day of Atonement) is Passover.

The entire festival of Passover centers on the meal each household would have at evening in which the story of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt is replayed for the next generation. They are to eat bitter herbs to remind them of the bitterness of their sin and their slavery. The lamb is the price of their salvation and whose blood was put on the doorposts and mantle to keep the death angel at bay. Their new life as God’s people and His nation begins with a meal.

Freedom for God’s people is signified with a meal of fellowship.

Returning to the topic of Advent, we celebrate this time with food and fellowship. But we also are looking ahead to when the Lord will inaugurate the next age. One day, the Lord Jesus will return to complete the salvation of this world recreating the heavens and the earth. Creation will no longer groan for its deliverance because it will be delivered.

Interestingly enough, that time is also signified by a meal.

The Most Important Fellowship Meal

Just before Jesus went to the cross, He held one Last Supper with His disciples. At the close of that meal (what we continue to commemorate as the Lord’s Supper), He says,

I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”

Matthew 26:29

We will know that God has fulfilled His promise of bringing us into His Kingdom when we sit at the table with Jesus and share a glass with Him.

At the end of the Bible is Revelation in which John is shown what will be at the end of this age. Then, at the very end, John gets a glimpse of the New Creation.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Revelation 22:1-5

Notice, the tree of life yields its fruit again, and this fruit is for healing. It also bears leaves which are for the healing of the nations. The inhabitants of this new Creation will freely eat from the Tree of Life, and in their eating, they will find life—no more curse, no more death, not even night.

We are invited to partake of this new Creation by putting our faith in Jesus Christ. We can have an inheritance in the New Kingdom because Jesus has made a way for us by going to the cross and resurrecting.

This truth is why we celebrate the Lord’s Supper each month. It reminds us of the fellowship we have with each other and with God because Christ has made us into one people. We remember the cost of our salvation—His body and His blood. We remember, also, that one day He is returning to make all things new, and we will celebrate the New Kingdom with Him at His table.

The Return of Jesus will be commemorated with a Heavenly Banquet Meal as we celebrate together in the New Kingdom.

As we celebrate this coming Kingdom through Advent, let’s seek Joy where it can actually be found. Only the truly eternal can bring eternal joy. The fleeting nature of this sinful world will never truly satisfy. Even things that aren’t necessarily sinful will still find a way of becoming mundane and lack true joy. C. S. Lewis famously said,

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” C.S. Lewis

If you find yourself wondering why it is difficult to be joyful in this world, it may be that your soul is longing for something not found in this world. Look higher and find satisfaction and Joy in the One who created you, who loves you, and who sent His Son to save you.

Jesus gives one more invitation in Revelation 3. He tells the Church of Laodicea,

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Revelation 3:20

There is an open invitation of fellowship with Jesus.

You are welcome at God’s Table.

If you hear the voice of Jesus today calling you to repent and open your heart, then do just that today.