Practices That Strengthen Community- Worship
I once heard someone describe a dream they had. They were walking through an ancient cemetery in an old European church yard where many medieval kings were buried. As they walked through the cemetery, suddenly the ground started to shift as warrior kings in armour rose from their graves, swords in hand. As the kings saw each other they started to engage in battle. This vicious battle continued until Christ descended from the sky and all the kings stopped fighting, turned, and knelt before him.
It is an interesting metaphor. We all can be like kings and queens of our own little kingdoms. We all have opinions about how things should be, and how people should behave. Things tend to be peaceful as long as we don’t cross the threshold into another person’s kingdom and act like it’s our kingdom. Maybe you are a parent and someone else tells you how to parent your child. Maybe someone comments on the state of your house- “interesting place to put your sofa”. Maybe they comment on your eating habits. … This can feel a bit like another king or queen trying to rule your kingdom and it is easy to start engaging in battle to re-establish your territory.
This gets even more complicated when it comes to shared territory. For example, politics is one of those areas, it is a shared space where we all battle over whose opinions and methods will rule the collective kingdom. … It can look like a number of kings and queens trying to dominate other kings and queens. We can fight to extend our kingdoms and powerfully establish our opinions as the only acceptable opinions to hold. … Have the right opinion, or else! … But any shared area has the potential to become a battleground- Schools (where we can be battles over learning priorities in the curriculum), or churches (where there might be battles over what kind of music we use). There are plenty of others.
How can we prevent being in a never-ending battle? … In the dream, all the warrior kings kneel to Christ when he appears. They all recognize him as the highest authority. This is similar for us. In our sinful nature, we may be willing to impose our opinions and desires on those around us- to attempt to have ‘my will be done’. But when Christ makes his desires known, we stop our fighting and we kneel. We acknowledge that there is one greater than us to whom we owe allegiance. Our opinions and desires take a back seat, and this allows the fighting to cease. We recognize that his desires take priority. …
Now, I know this is more complicated than I’m making it sound. We can argue about what Christ thinks, and what priorities he holds. … For example, what kind of music does Christ want for worship? Well, we can fight about that, but that would get in the way of a command that is obvious to both of us- that we are to “love one another” (Jn 15:12). And, if we consider Christ speaking through the letters of Paul as well, then we should take seriously this rhetorical question,
“… For as long as there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations?” (1 Cor 3:3).
There are broader directions to guide us, even if we are unclear about the present detail we are arguing about.
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Today we are completing our short sermon series on practices that strengthen community, and this morning we are looking at worship. We often think of worship as something we owe to God, which is true. Worship is what we have been made for. We were designed to be caught up in the wonder and contemplation of God, and to respond in thanksgiving for our own creation. … Today we are focusing on worship as a practice that (among other things) strengthens community. When we all bow to God as our king, it causes us to remove our own crowns and place them before God (Rev 4:10-11). We relinquish our desire to get our own way. In worship we say “Thy will be done” not “my will be done”.
We see this in the story with the Samaritan woman at the well. There was a whole lot that Samaritans and Jews argued about. One major argument had to do with where the proper place of worship was. For the Jewish people worship was to be centered around the Temple in Jerusalem. For the Samaritans it was Mount Gerizim. When this woman confronts him with this dilemma Jesus says,
…
Today we are completing our short sermon series on practices that strengthen community, and this morning we are looking at worship. We often think of worship as something we owe to God, which is true. Worship is what we have been made for. We were designed to be caught up in the wonder and contemplation of God, and to respond in thanksgiving for our own creation. … Today we are focusing on worship as a practice that (among other things) strengthens community. When we all bow to God as our king, it causes us to remove our own crowns and place them before God (Rev 4:10-11). We relinquish our desire to get our own way. In worship we say “Thy will be done” not “my will be done”.
We see this in the story with the Samaritan woman at the well. There was a whole lot that Samaritans and Jews argued about. One major argument had to do with where the proper place of worship was. For the Jewish people worship was to be centered around the Temple in Jerusalem. For the Samaritans it was Mount Gerizim. When this woman confronts him with this dilemma Jesus says,
“’Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’” (Jn 4:21-26).
Those who chose to follow Christ (Samaritan or Jew) turned from their argument about the proper place to worship and knelt before Christ. They became unified by kneeling before him. We, too, might have various disagreements, but we are unified in Christ.
Paul says this in numerous places. We are part of the same body-
Paul says this in numerous places. We are part of the same body-
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” (1 Cor 6:15; see also 1 Cor 12:12-31; Rom 12:4-5; Eph 4:16; Col 1:18).
Regardless of our individual desires, we are joined together in the Body of Christ. Our desires are meant to be aligned with the body and head. Worship is an act of laying down all that is in us that is not aligned with Christ, and expressing our desire to be unified with Christ- with the source of all good, all beauty, all joy, all peace, and all love.
In a society where dance floors are full of people each individually dancing in their own way, we use a liturgy to worship. We unify in our responses to express the unity we desire- both with God and with each other. A liturgy is a pattern of worship. “Liturgy” comes from the Greek word “liturgia”, which means “work of the people”. It is something we do together. Worship isn’t something done by the priest, or the musician alone, which is then observed by everyone. The job of the priest, the musician, the readers, and those who do the Prayers of the People, is to lead the congregation in worship of God. We sing, we give our attention to the prayers and the readings, so that we can participate in the worship of God.
As we worship, the ‘audience’ isn’t the congregation. The audience is God. The Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard speaks about this. The priest, in a sense, is the director, and the congregation are actors in a great drama. We are all performing for God. Each of us has a part to play in this. Kierkegaard says,
In a society where dance floors are full of people each individually dancing in their own way, we use a liturgy to worship. We unify in our responses to express the unity we desire- both with God and with each other. A liturgy is a pattern of worship. “Liturgy” comes from the Greek word “liturgia”, which means “work of the people”. It is something we do together. Worship isn’t something done by the priest, or the musician alone, which is then observed by everyone. The job of the priest, the musician, the readers, and those who do the Prayers of the People, is to lead the congregation in worship of God. We sing, we give our attention to the prayers and the readings, so that we can participate in the worship of God.
As we worship, the ‘audience’ isn’t the congregation. The audience is God. The Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard speaks about this. The priest, in a sense, is the director, and the congregation are actors in a great drama. We are all performing for God. Each of us has a part to play in this. Kierkegaard says,
“In the theater, the play is staged before an audience who are called theatregoers; but at the devotional address, God himself is present. In the most earnest sense God is the critical theatergoer, who looks on to see how the lines are spoken and how they are listened to.”
God is the audience. We are a part of the divine play through our words, through our “Amen!”, through our singing, through our attention to the readings, Through the attention and devotion of our hearts.
It’s not that our desires regarding worship don’t matter, but they aren’t primary. I know an Orthodox priest who had someone come up to him after the service and say, “I didn’t enjoy that service”. He responded by saying, “That’s okay. It wasn’t for you”. … That’s what Kierkegaard was trying to say. Worship is not about us. It is us “performing” for an audience of one, the Holy Trinity.
In worship we open ourselves to God as a member of God’s people. We join with the countless saints who have worshipped God throughout the ages. In worship we join a heavenly worship service that is constantly taking place where angels are declaring God’s holiness- not because God needs it, but because that is the response when faced with God’s reality. When we are faced with profound beauty we want to say “beautiful!”. Likewise, when we, or angels, are faced with God’s reality, we want to cry out “Holy! Holy! Holy!”. Worship is a calling that will never end. In heavenly worship our greatest joy will be to respond to God’s goodness and beauty. Just as it is not a chore to watch a sunset and declare it beautiful, so we will constantly be in awe at the beauty and goodness of God. And we will constantly want to respond with worship. … Worship strengthens us as a community as we turn away from ourselves, and face the same direction, we face the One who created us. AMEN
It’s not that our desires regarding worship don’t matter, but they aren’t primary. I know an Orthodox priest who had someone come up to him after the service and say, “I didn’t enjoy that service”. He responded by saying, “That’s okay. It wasn’t for you”. … That’s what Kierkegaard was trying to say. Worship is not about us. It is us “performing” for an audience of one, the Holy Trinity.
In worship we open ourselves to God as a member of God’s people. We join with the countless saints who have worshipped God throughout the ages. In worship we join a heavenly worship service that is constantly taking place where angels are declaring God’s holiness- not because God needs it, but because that is the response when faced with God’s reality. When we are faced with profound beauty we want to say “beautiful!”. Likewise, when we, or angels, are faced with God’s reality, we want to cry out “Holy! Holy! Holy!”. Worship is a calling that will never end. In heavenly worship our greatest joy will be to respond to God’s goodness and beauty. Just as it is not a chore to watch a sunset and declare it beautiful, so we will constantly be in awe at the beauty and goodness of God. And we will constantly want to respond with worship. … Worship strengthens us as a community as we turn away from ourselves, and face the same direction, we face the One who created us. AMEN
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