In Bali, we have been watching the local people prepare their appeasement offerings everyday. The children have been completely fascinated by this. Grace calls them ‘the givings’, and tries her hardest not to step on them. Pasquale asked what they were and all I could think to tell him was that they were the people’s way of saying thankyou to God (he is only four after all…). This got me thinking about Psalm 100 and how we are implored to make a joyful noise unto God, to serve him with gladness and to come before Him with singing. God wants us to come with an outpouring from our hearts to offer thankfulness to him. We, however, do not need to buy fruit and flowers (or chocolates), and put them in baskets at the front of our houses in the hope of health and protection. God has given us new hearts and with those hearts we give an offering of thanks and praise to God, which is of our inner most being – ourselves. This offering isn’t for appeasement or atonement, Jesus has done that for us on the cross, and knowing this, enables us to more joyfully give our thanks to the Lord – it is not because of what we have done, but because of who He is.
The people in Bali physically prepare an offering everyday. They give of much of their time doing this and, we are told, a massive chunk of their finances. It is an expression of their hearts, but it is a ritual, it is something they have to do. The people we are staying with have a shrine in their house and when the family became ill last year, the holy man came and told them it was because their shrine had become old and run down and they needed to buy a new one. They did… We do not need to do this. Our God has saved us because of who He is, not because of what we do. For this, we can shout joyfully.
Something else the Balinese do is celebrate Nyepi, a day of silence and fasting and the culmination of some Hindu rituals. A part of this is ‘The Bhuta Yajna Ritual’, where the people do a parade through the streets with very scary masks in a bid to frighten away any scary demons that may be lurking. After this, Nyepi is observed, many fast and all are silent, turning off all lights and forbidding fires, so that any lurking demons flying around will not see the nation and go straight over them (presumably to some other neighbouring country…).
I was thinking about this in light of Psalm 100 that says,
‘Know ye, that the Lord, he is God, it is he that has made us and not we ourselves,…we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.’
We can enter his gates with thanksgiving, for He is good, His mercy is everlasting, His truth endures to all generations.
We don’t have to parade scary masks and hope that the demons may pass over, Jesus has already paraded the most scary mask, when He shed His blood on Calvary’s cross. No demon wants to come near that. We can give thanks resting in the knowledge of what He has done for us and for this we are thankful. We are His children, we don’t have to give offerings in appeasement, or parade, or participate in mandated rituals. Jesus is the ultimate offering and for this we can give thanks. It is because of who He is and not what we do.
God wants us to give thanks, knowing full well that He has done everything for us in His death, resurrection and ascension. We are His and we can shout about it, so go on people, shout your thanks. Be full of praise! The Lord is good, and we are His! Hallelujah!
– Sarah Oliva