Standing along St. Charles Street in downtown New Orleans Thursday night our family was finally able to experience Mardi Gras. There is no adequate way to describe the sights and sounds as we celebrated with thousands of our new neighbors. While nearly everyone is familiar with the debauchery of Bourbon Street on Fat Tuesday, most parades are family friendly and a great opportunity to engage the city.
Each parade centers on a yearly theme chosen by what are known as Krewes. These Krewes create elaborate floats and throw beads, cups, and other gifts to the thronging crowds cheering them on below. During the Babylon parade, my daughter Erin began to notice each float was named after a particular false god she remembered from the Bible such as Baal and Dagon.
Erin asked if we should feel guilty for being at the parade. There are well meaning Christians who would argue vehemently that we should not be anywhere near such revelry. Yet I told her that we were right where God wanted us. In fact, we were reminded to be like Daniel during his time of exile in the actual Babylon.
Daniel exemplified what Jesus would proclaim centuries later in Matthew 5:14-16
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Jesus would later pray for his disciples in John 17:15 that the Father would not take them out of the world but to keep them from the evil one. God does not call us to live in sheltered, sterilized compounds afraid of contamination. We are called to fearlessly follow the example of Christ as he left the glory of heaven (Phil. 2:5-11) and risked his rabbinic reputation to be affiliated with the outlaws and outcasts of His day (Matt. 9:9-13, 11:19; Luke 19:1-10).
While we are considered exiles in the world (1 Pet. 2:11), we are wise to ponder the words of God to another refugee living in Babylon:
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” Jeremiah 29:4-7
To find out more about how the church engages culture in the Big Easy check out what my good friend Dean Ross at Restoration Church has to say on What the Church can Learn from Mardi Gras and Send Network Missionary George Ross on the History of Mardi Gras
Would you consider helping West Bank Baptist Church engage our part of greater New Orleans? Find ways you can get involved by praying, participating, and providing.
Melsons on the Move 