Faith in God is a living force that shows up differently in different people’s lives, but it points us all to the same Creator. When we look at the body of Christ around the world, we see it as a living tapestry of many unique people from distinct cultures, all connected in God’s global family. Every culture brings a fresh approach to how we worship, pray, and trust God through the different seasons of life. Whether we’re sharing a meal during Cinco de Mayo in the spring or lighting candles during a winter holiday festival, these experiences are valuable opportunities to step outside our own bubbles and see how big God’s world really is. We can celebrate our shared faith with friends and family from diverse backgrounds, confident that while our faith traditions might differ, our Savior is the same.
1. Enjoy meals together. In almost every culture, the heart of the home is the table where people eat meals together. Food represents love as well as fuel for our bodies. When we celebrate holidays like Cinco de Mayo, it’s easy to focus solely on the delicious food. But for many people, the holiday also celebrates ways of practicing faith, such as trusting God to help overcome challenges and living in freedom from oppression. As Christians, we can use these holiday experiences to practice the hospitality God calls us to. When we sit down with friends or family members from a different culture to eat a meal together, God’s love flows between us, and we can taste God’s goodness. Psalm 34:8 encourages us to do: “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” Just as we savor the flavors and textures of a delicious meal, we can savor the goodness of God when we eat together. We can talk about faith during meals, such as by asking about the history of the traditional dishes being served and listening to how those recipes point to God’s work in the past, or by praying blessings over the food together. We can also discuss Bible stories about how God uses food to reveal his love.
2. Share stories. One of the most powerful ways to celebrate faith across cultures is through storytelling. In many parts of the world, sharing stories is the primary way faith is passed down from one generation to the next. Adults and seniors tell young people how God answered specific prayers to meet important needs, and why they chose to trust God during different times in their lives. In the process, they build intergenerational relationships that strengthen faith. When we gather for cultural holidays, we should make time for storytelling rather than rushing through the festivities. Psalm 145:4 declares: “One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.” This applies to believers around the world just as much as it does to individual families. So, let’s tell stories and learn how to listen well. Imagine the strong connections that can form when we sit down during a celebration and ask a friend or family member how they first came to know Jesus. Sharing stories helps us overcome barriers between our cultures and start focusing on the shared connections we have as brothers and sisters in Christ. Hearing how God worked in a different part of the world or through a different cultural lens expands our view of God’s power and builds our own faith. It also creates a powerful sense of unity as we realize that, despite our different languages or backgrounds, we all trust the same God.
3. Look for ways God’s grace shows up. Every culture has its own unique seasons. Many cultures have specific days to honor those who came before or to celebrate the breaking of a difficult period in history. When we celebrate those days with a friend or family member from a different culture, we can learn new ways God’s grace shows up, which can refresh our own journeys of faith. While the specific faith practices won’t be familiar to us, we can all relate to the core themes of trusting and worshiping God. The Bible points out in Romans 12:4-5: “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” When we participate in a cultural holiday that isn’t our own, we can enjoy learning about how our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ are playing their parts in ways that complement ours – and how God’s grace is at work through it all. God’s grace ultimately connects us, since we all share the same Savior within the global family of believers. Titus 2:11 says: “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” You can celebrate God’s grace together by looking for how cultural holidays point to God’s grace, and by letting God’s grace inspire you to be gracious with each other in your relationships.
4. Worship in creative ways together. God’s wonderful creativity is on full display in the diverse ways people express their love for him through worship. In some cultures, worship practices are loud and joyful, while in other cultures, they are quiet and contemplative. Celebrating faith across cultures involves being willing to worship in spirit and in truth, as Jesus says in John 4:24, and God has given us a great deal of freedom in how we do so. God wants us to worship with all our hearts and minds. He’s not looking for any particular style of worship. When we worship with people from other cultures, we can try new ways to worship – including some that might be outside our comfort zone. During cultural holidays, we’ll often find specific music, art, and more that are connected in meaningful ways to both faith and culture. We can see cultural practices related to faith as ways to worship God beyond the worship practices we’re used to in our own culture and our own church’s liturgical traditions. When we embrace different styles of worship, we’re essentially practicing to worship God in heaven together with a diverse group of souls and angels. Revelation 7:9 describes what it will be like to worship beyond words altogether in heaven: “… there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” We can participate in this future reality now by appreciating the creative worship practices of our friends and family from different cultures. Maybe we can try listening to worship music in another language or participating in a cultural dance that tells a story of faith. By being open to worshiping together in creative ways, we can show our friends and family that we value their expressions of faith and are eager to see God through their perspectives.
5. Serve together in love. Finally, we can celebrate faith across cultures in powerful ways by serving people in need together. Many cultural holidays have an underlying theme of community support and helping those who are struggling. Galatians 5:13 reminds us that: “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” Service breaks down walls between people faster than almost anything else. It shows everyone involved that our faith is not just about what we believe, but about how we love. To serve effectively across cultures, we must be willing to identify the community's actual needs rather than assume we already know what they are. This requires asking questions and being willing to do the humble tasks, like cleaning up after a celebration or helping with childcare. When we show up consistently and give the credit to God, people begin to see that Jesus is really at work in our lives. Serving with people from other cultures shows others our faith is a way of life that overcomes barriers and brings people together in the name of Jesus. By working side by side with people from different backgrounds, we can demonstrate to a watching world that the Gospel is powerful enough to unite anyone.
In conclusion, celebrating faith across cultures reminds us that God’s kingdom is far larger than our limited experiences. God’s love is wide enough to cover all people, from all cultures, on our planet. By enjoying meals together, sharing stories, seeking how God’s grace shows up, worshiping in creative ways, and serving one another in love, we can build the unity that Jesus prayed for his followers to have. So, as we move through the different seasons of the year – from Cinco de Mayo to the end-of-year holidays – let’s keep our hearts and minds open to the beauty of diversity and remember that we’re all part of God’s family together.
Photo credit: ©Pexels/fauxels
