WORSHIP
We need not hide ourselves from you,
before whose justice no one can stand.
Your mercy was proclaimed by the apostles and the prophets,
and shown forth to us in Jesus Christ.
You give your law to guide us,
and you promise new life for all,
That we may live to serve you among our neighbors,
in all we say and do.
(above from the “Book of Common Worship” 1993. p. 135.)
It is commonly believed that worship of God in the earliest
Christian churches took place in homes (house churches). People gathered as communities of faith where
they could and did experience God through varied and regular practices. They shared
meals, baptized new adult members (after a lengthy time of teaching and
testing), read Scripture, listened to God speaking through one another,
experienced healing, and prayed and sang hymns of praise and thanksgiving
together.
While some of these rituals were not necessarily worship of
God per se, the total sum of them were understood as means for Christians to
serve the Divine One. This was their context for worship as God called them
together in those days. What similarities and differences do you see in the
early church compared to our context today?
As we consider worship, we read that some of the earliest
acts of worship of God mentioned in the Hebrew Bible really were quite
striking. We see rather ordinary people living out their often ordinary lives
who, after seeing or hearing from God by way of messenger or sign or wonder,
fall face down in shock, reverence, and awe. Somehow they know that their lives
are never to be the same again and transformation takes place. Life is no
longer just about them and what they want. Confidence is increased, sight is
given or restored, healing takes place, and there is newfound hope and mission
- both for themselves as well as their families. Somehow it is also God’s plan
that through them the whole world be saved. God is glorified in these responses
and true worship happens.
In these ancient stories we see that lives truly were
transformed as hearts and minds were slowly and sometimes even quickly changed.
Rather than being paralyzed by doubt or held nearly as captive to fear, they
were instead in the process of learning to trust more in God and have faith in
his love and grace extended. Have you ever experienced anything life changing
like this?
The Anchor Bible Dictionary describes Christian worship as,
“the reverent homage paid to God in Christ in the context of a Christian
assembly.” At Trinity we gather each week to partake in practices and rituals
very similar to those of our ancient spiritual ancestors. In all that we do as
our worship (both inside as well as outside the church building), we remember
times and places where God has revealed himself in the past and we are led to
respond with obedient living in the present. God in Christ is lifted up in word
and song, and we resume our far lower and more rightful place as humble
servants who seek justice for the weak in the world.
In all of this, that is, as we encounter life’s many sacred
times and places both near and far, what we are really doing is letting our
response to God help us “reactualize” those moments in our own imaginations in
the present. This is what I think it means to have truly worshiped God versus
merely going through the motions. And so let us pray that God will enable our
deepest and most sincere worship in this season of Lent. Amen.
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