Feasting in the Wholeness of Imperfection this Advent

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There’s something so beautiful about gathering with friends and family to savor a meal together during the Christmas season. After all, why not take advantage of extra vacation time, decorated spaces, and often, weather that is especially conducive to cozy gatherings? Feasting, done right, is not mere indulgence. It’s a way to celebrate the goodness of God and honor His provision of food, joy, and fellowship. It’s a testament to the wholeness that is found in Christ.

One thing that can really get in the way of wholehearted feasting is our own sense of inadequacy.

It is far too easy to get caught up in the comparison game, thinking our cooking skills, our homes, or even ourselves are not up to snuff. While it is wonderful to offer our best to our guests, our best can be quite simple. If you have fine china and linen tablecloths, and want to use them, please do! But our best is about our heart posture, and not about the table setting. It’s about valuing the people that you are spending time with. A welcoming spirit is worth far more than a beautiful table.

“The point is not so much to identify our threshold, however, as to name our demons: are we being driven by cultural expectations, comparison to others, our own inner critics? Or are we allowing love to goad us along the peaceful path of imperfection? Acknowledging that things will never be perfect – welcoming the imperfections of life, in fact as evidence of life itself – makes room for Joy, decluttering our hearts and minds, as it were, from an unrealistic accumulation of ‘ought-tos’ and ‘shoulds.’ Perfectionism always bears false witness, blinding us to the fact that a glorious mess lit by love is every bit as hospitable as a pretty room and a perfectly executed event.”
(Lanier Ivester in Glad and Golden Hours, pg. 161)

For many, the joy of Christmas is also tinged with sadness.

Pain and loss erode the sense of wholeness. Our joy now wears a contrasting edge of sorrow, our happy memories are deepened by the loss of loved ones. But Christmas can still be a time of hope and joy, because Bethlehem is a place where God did something impossible.

The whole story is so unlikely, so audacious: that the God of the universe would choose to be born to a young girl out of wedlock. That the King would come in the most humble way possible. And that very improbability is evidence that He can take all of our sorrows and pain, and turn it into something beautiful, whether we can see it right now or not.

At the root of Christmas feasting and merry-making is the truth that all this is possible because of the incarnation.

God became man, Emmanuel. God with us. He came to live with us, to eat with us, to share our sorrows, to “tabernacle” with us. But the Tabernacle was only a temporary dwelling. What started at Christmas was fulfilled at Calvary. Jesus came so that we could eternally dwell and feast with him. And that will be the most glorious Feast.

We will feast in the house of Zion
We will sing with our hearts restored
He has done great things, we will say together
We will feast and weep no more.
(Song by Keith & Kristyn Getty and Sandra McCracken)