Nora Ephron (May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012) was an American filmmaker, director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, playwright, journalist, author, and blogger.1 She passed away earlier this week. Many news feeds have been running quotes from her blog and Twitter feeds. This one surfaced in the Guardian newspaper: “You should eat delicious things while you can still eat them, go to wonderful places while you still can … and not have evenings where you say to yourself, ‘What am I doing here? Why am I here? I am bored witless!'”2
That is good advice. We are meant to enjoy life here on earth. Jesus, while he was on earth, participated in several feasts and celebrations and it seems he had a pretty good time. John 12:1-8 tells of a time when he and many friends, including Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead, were celebrating and sparing no expense. But there is one additional thing which Jesus teaches. When we do celebrate, eat delicious things, and go to wonderful places we should take others less fortunate than ourselves along with us. His words are quite explicit: “. . . when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”3 Perhaps we might seek to live by the advice of both Nora Ephron and Jesus of Nazareth.
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Ephron
2 Nora Ephron; Guardian.co.uk Nora Ephron Dies Aged 71
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/jun/27/nora-ephron-dies?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
3 Luke 14:12-14 New International Version of the Bible.