Celebration of the Fragrant of Life
Rev. Joseph R. Reid
The new minister stood at the church door greeting the members as they left the Sunday morning service. Most of the people were very generous telling the new minister how much they liked his message, except for one man who said, “This was a very dull and boring sermon, pastor.” A few minutes later, the same man again appeared in line and said, “I don’t think you did much preparation for your message.” Once again, the man appeared, this time muttering, “You really blew it. You didn’t have a thing to say, pastor. “Finally, the minister could stand it no longer. He went to one of the Elders and inquired about the man. “Oh, don’t let that guy bother you,” said the Elder. “He’s a little slow; all he does is go-around repeating whatever he hears other people saying.” And so it goes. There is nothing new under the sun, or is there? The problem is many of us fail to see our belief in Christ as always new. We become accustomed to doing church and missing Christ. If we don’t learn to appreciate the fragrance of life that’s found in Jesus Christ we will continue to focus too much on performing our religious belief and forget to live them.
Jesus’ disciples were confronted by the followers of John the Baptist about not fasting. They wanted to know why Jesus was not sad and did not advocate that His disciples be sad, ascetic and serious. Why Jesus did not make them fast? This was not Jesus’ way. He made it clear that while he was here on earth, there should be great celebration. “Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Jesus made it clear that life should be a feast not a fast. It should be a commemoration not a cause for sorrow and misery. When we found the Lord, our belief was young, alive, and fresh. We celebrated our newness in Christ. We rejoiced in our salvation. It was a feast. It was life-enhancing, life-affirming. Now that we have been Christians for a while our beliefs have become old, they are no more a cause for joy. We drag to church some Sundays – if we go at all – and can’t wait to get out! The spiritual fragrance has been lost. We have become the frozen chosen. And those of us who are not cold and emotionless get lost in the messenger not the message.
There are two ways of celebrating the fragrance of Life that Jesus is: First, by keeping our belief in Christ new and alive. Jesus says, “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made.” Jesus was telling us to celebrate our life in Him. Life in Christ is always new. Every moment it is new, it is never old. He said, “No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment.” A new, fresh, young belief in God never fits with a tradition. Our beliefs are alive. Presence! A tradition is good to remember the good of days, but it is only a memory. In order to keep our belief in Jesus Christ new we must stay in touch with Him on a daily basis in our prayers and meditation. Church is good but we should make merry, not just on Sunday, but every day.
Second, we celebrate the sweet-scent of life that Jesus is by experiencing our belief in Him as extraordinary. Jesus says, “Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” Only a new religion – just born, fresh, and original – can celebrate. Then celebration fits with it. It can love, trust, can enjoy. Jesus says, “Neither do men put new wine into old bottle.” The followers of John asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast?” and Jesus answered. There are things which can only be said in an indirect way. You cannot indicate them directly we must experience them by living. Here is the point; the fragrance of life is having the company of Jesus all the time. We should express joy in that presence 24 hours a day. And when our time is up we can continue to dwell with Him forever.
