THE DISCIPLINE OF FEASTING

January 4, 2026

Text: Jeremiah 31:7–14 (NRSVUE)

Main Idea: God invites his people into the joyful discipline of feasting—an expression of his restoration, redemption, and abundant grace.

Purpose: Feasting, when rooted in gratitude and shared love, reflects the joyful heart of the Triune God and becomes a missional practice that welcomes others into God's goodness. In other words, true feasting is not indulgence but participation in God's restorative joy. Jeremiah 31 shows that God not only rescues and restores his people—he brings them into celebration, abundance, and communal joy. Through Christ (especially in the Incarnation and his shared meals), God reveals that holiness includes joy, and the Church is called to share this joy with the world through hospitality and generous celebration.

Introduction: A Season of Joy… Mixed With Guilt?

According to the Christian calendar, we are still in the Christmas season — a season of joy, celebration, warmth, food, and family. And yet, right after Christmas, something interesting happens in our culture:
We feel guilty.

We enjoyed the food… then feel guilty.
We enjoyed the spending… then feel guilty.
We enjoyed the downtime… then feel guilty.

And so we make New Year's resolutions.

Illustration:
A person eating food in secret: A classic and relatable image is a person standing in front of an open refrigerator late at night, often in a bathrobe or pajamas, furtively eating a slice of cake or other forbidden snack with a look of distress or shame on their face.

Why is this so?

Because deep inside, people are unsure how God feels about pleasure, enjoyment, celebration, and feasting.

Is God pleased only when we tighten up and discipline ourselves?
Or does God delight when his people enjoy his gifts?

That's where Jeremiah 31:7–14 speaks loud and clear.
And not with guilt — but with joy.

EXPOSITION OF JEREMIAH 31:7–14

This passage sits in what scholars call the Book of Consolation (Jeremiah 30–33).

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, spends much of his ministry warning Israel of coming judgment and exile. But right here — in the darkest point — God breaks through with a message of restoration, hope, and joy.

Let's walk through this text verse by verse.

1. GOD COMMANDS JOY (v.7)

"Sing aloud with gladness… raise shouts… proclaim, give praise, and say, 'Save, O LORD, your people…' "

The first command in this passage is not repent, not behave, not improve yourselves.

God says:
Sing. Shout. Celebrate. Rejoice.

Why? Because salvation is coming.
God wants celebration before the restoration fully arrives.

This tells us something profound:

**Joy is not optional in the Christian life.**

It is commanded.
Because joy reflects God's own joyful nature.**

GCI Theology Note:
Because God is Father, Son, Spirit — an eternal communion of love — joy is at the core of who God is. Creation itself is an overflow of divine joy, not divine boredom. Joy is not worldly; joy is divine.

Church Application:
Our worship is not meant to sound like a funeral every week.
It is meant to echo the joy of the Trinity.
When we sing loudly, warmly, joyfully — we are participating in the life of Father, Son, and Spirit.

2. GOD GATHERS HIS PEOPLE (v.8–9)

Verse 8

"I am going to bring them from the land of the north… from the farthest parts of the earth… the blind, the lame, the pregnant, those in labor… a great company."

Who does God gather?

the exiled

the hurting

the disabled

the vulnerable

the overlooked

the physically burdened

God gathers the very people society forgets.

Verse 9

"With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back… I have become a father to Israel."

God leads with tenderness, not harshness.
He is a Father — not a slave master.

Illustration:
Think of a shepherd who notices a lamb limping behind. He doesn't yell at it, "Keep up!" He scoops it up and carries it.

That's what God does with exiles.

Current-Day Application (GCI theology):
A Trinitarian church joins in God's gathering work.

We don't gather only the strong.

We gather the lonely, the grieving, the hungry, the disabled, the newcomer, the awkward, the outsider.

Hospitality is not an event.
It is participation in the very hospitality of the Trinity.

3. GOD RESTORES WITH ABUNDANCE (v.10–12)

Verse 10

"He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock."

God does both:
He disciplines, and he restores.
He allows scattering, but he ensures gathering.
He never abandons his people.

Verse 11

"The LORD has ransomed Jacob… redeemed him from hands too strong for him."

This is Exodus language.
"Hands too strong for him" = powers Israel could not free itself from.

Application:
We cannot free ourselves from sin either — but Christ, our Redeemer, has already freed us. Salvation is not self-upgrade. It is divine rescue.

Verse 12

"They shall come and sing aloud…
they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD…
their life shall be like a watered garden."

What images are here?

singing

radiance

grain

wine

oil

young cattle

abundance

flourishing

"a watered garden"

This is Eden language.
This is New Creation language.

**God doesn't just restore his people.**

He restores them to joy and abundance.**

Illustration:
Imagine a community that lost everything in a wildfire. Years later, not only are their homes rebuilt — but the town is full of new life, greenery, laughter, and prosperity. That's what God is describing.

GCI Application:
We believe salvation is participation in Christ's restored humanity — a humanity that flourishes.

A Trinitarian view of God says:

God doesn't save us from creation.

God saves us for joyful participation in creation.

Meals, friendships, laughter, music — these are not "less spiritual."
They are places where the Spirit lets us taste the life of the kingdom.

4. GOD TURNS MOURNING INTO JOY (v.13)

"Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy…
and give them gladness for sorrow."

Notice:

young people

old people

men

women

all generations

all ages
Dancing, singing, celebrating.

**The God of Scripture is not a killjoy.**

He is the One who turns sorrow into dancing.**

This connects directly to the ministry of Jesus.

Illustration: Jesus at the wedding at Cana

His first miracle?
Not raising the dead.
Not walking on water.
Not calming storms.

But keeping a wedding party going — with excellent wine!

That miracle wasn't trivial.
It showed what God is like.

GCI Theology Interpretation:
The miracle at Cana reveals the incarnational God —
the God who enters our human celebrations, bringing joy, not judgment.

Christ is the true host of every feast where grace is present.

5. GOD SATISFIES HIS PEOPLE (v.14)

"My priests shall have their fill…
and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty."

Satisfied.
Not anxious.
Not guilty.
Not striving.
Not needing to "earn God's approval."

Satisfied.

In Christ, we are brought into God's fullness, not God's frustration.

Illustration:
If you've ever had a Thanksgiving meal where the table was overflowing — and there was laughter and community and warmth — you know that feeling of contentment, of enoughness. God is saying:
"THAT is what I give spiritually — and more."

THE DISCIPLINE OF FEASTING

Now that we have gone verse-by-verse, we can see the big picture:

**God does not merely permit feasting.**

He initiates it, blesses it, and commands it.
Because feasting reflects his restoring, joyful nature.**

So what is "the discipline of feasting"?

1. Receiving joy as grace

Feasting is not indulgence when it is rooted in gratitude.
It is recognizing God as the giver of every good gift.

2. Including others in our joy

A Trinitarian church practices open tables, open homes, open hearts.

Who can you invite to your table?

a widow

a single parent

a new family

a college student

a neighbor

someone who feels alone

3. Remembering the Giver

Feasting becomes worship when gratitude frames it.

4. Balancing fasting and feasting

Fasting sharpens desire.
Feasting fulfills it.
Together they train our hearts to desire God rightly.

5. Feasting missionally

A joyful table is one of the greatest witnesses in a lonely world.

GCI missional emphasis:
Our fellowship meals, potlucks, celebrations, and gatherings are not "extras." They are expressions of God's communal, relational life.
They say to the world:
"There's a seat for you in God's family."

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AS A FORETASTE OF THE GREAT FEAST

Jeremiah foresaw joy, but didn't see the fullness.
We do — through Jesus.

Jesus feeds the 5,000.

Jesus dines with sinners.

Jesus eats with his disciples after the resurrection.

Jesus gives us his body and blood at the Lord's Table.

Jesus points us toward the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

The entire story of redemption is a story of feasting.

And the final scene of Scripture is a banquet — not a lecture, not a courtroom, not a rehearsal, but a feast with Christ at the center.

CONCLUSION: THE FEAST HAS ALREADY BEGUN

So this year, instead of resolutions rooted in guilt…

Choose a resolution rooted in grace:

"I will practice the discipline of feasting."

Receive God's joy

Share your table

Celebrate God's goodness

Welcome others

Live gratefully

Feast as a picture of the kingdom

Because the Father has gathered us,
the Son has redeemed us,
and the Spirit in us makes our lives a watered garden.

As the Lord declares in verse 14:

"My people shall be satisfied with my bounty."

And that satisfaction has already begun in Christ.

Amen.

Link to Original Sermon

https://equipper.gci.org/2025/12/sermon-for-january-4-2026-second-sunday-after-christmas-day