Taste the World

This past weekend our church marked Good Friday with our fourth annual Taste the World event. Our church members came together to host approximately 20 booths representing the different cultures within our church family providing samples of food from their ethnic background. We invited our Milton community, hosted a Good Friday service followed by the festival of food. We also had entertainment as we welcomed an Indian dance academy as well as an Irish dance academy.
As I reflect on the event, and the hundreds of people who attended I find myself thinking about our theme verse and the reminder of just how relevant the Gospel message is today, for me, in my particular context.
I live in Milton, which was declared he fastest growing community in Canada after our last Census. One of the areas in which we are growing most is in ethnic diversity. Minority groups seem to be growing exponentially and I cannot think of a more ethnically diverse place anywhere. So what does this have to do with the Gospel being relevant? It is here that the theme verse that we picked for our event speaks most clearly to me.
In Revelation chapter five, we are given a glimpse, a window if you will, of worship in the heavenly realm. In verse nine we are given the words to one of the songs being sung. These words are addressed to the Lamb, who is Jesus:

"You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation."
Rev. 5:9

This passage reminds me that Jesus is worthy. Our word "worship" actually comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word worthship which means to declare something or some one's worth. Jesus is worthy of our worship.
The passage also shares with us the gospel - that Jesus offered himself as a substitute and took upon himself the consequences of our sin and by doing so redeemed those who would believe in him. He took the consequences and paid the price for humanity that we might be brought back into relationship with God and live in that relationship for eternity.
The passage also reminds me that Jesus died for people from all ethic backgrounds. The citizens of the kingdom of God are and will be the most diverse community imaginable. So as I see this community grow around me and become more and more diverse I am reminded of our mission here in Milton. I am reminded that this Gospel message we proclaim is extremely important and relevant to our present situation.
I have come to see our Taste the World celebration as important. Yes, it is a lot of work and yes, it is not a traditional Good Friday service that many churched people are familiar with. It does however, cause us to reflect upon what Jesus has done for us by dying on the cross for our sins. It allows us to remember, to celebrate and to give thanks. The added feature, however that I believe it offers to us as we celebrate, is that it challenges us to see the direct relevance to the community around us, it affords us an opportunity to get a glimpse, albeit limited, at the kind of kingdom community God may be assembling, it reminds us of our mission to this community and it provides us an opportunity to proclaim the message that we celebrate each Good Friday.
So, along with the food, that is why I love Taste the World and why I look forward to our fifth annual celebration.
All this before we even get to Sunday morning, focus specifically on the resurrection of Christ and continue the celebration that we started on Friday!