Worship We Offer

Worship we Offer

Montreal/Cornwall

January 16/17, 2010

Worship can be accurately defined in this way: “the response to the appearance of that which is accepted as the holy- that is, to a sacred, transcendent power or being. Characteristic modes of response to the holy include cultic acts of all kinds: ritual drama, prayers of many sorts, dancing, ecstatic speech, veneration of various persons and objects, sermons, silent meditation, and sacred music and song. Also included in worship are acts of private response: spoken or unspoken prayers, silence, the assumption of particular postures, ritual acts and gestures, and individual acts of veneration of persons or objects.”

I know that we all want to respond to God- and that we all do respond to God. That is an important starting point for our considerations today. In looking at scripture, it is important to appreciate how some have responded to God in what can only be called ‘worship’.

Let us, first of all, think about Noah’s response to God. We find the account of his response beginning in Genesis 6.

Genesis 6.1-8- we have a description of the ancient world- the world of Noah- in these opening verses. These verses have given some people difficulty- unnecessarily so- but some jump to conclusions that are best put to rest. Many speculate on what the ‘sons of God’ were and what the ‘daughters of men’ were. What we have here is a picking up, again, of a story thread that was interrupted back in 4.24- and what is discussed is a theme of titanic kingship that was part of the chaotic world that developed after Eden. Here the story goes on to discuss the royal wives and dynastic exploits. Here the height of abominations is reached, provoking God’s vengeance. The ‘sons of God’ can be translated ‘the sons of the gods’. Ancient texts attest to an ideology of divine kingship- human kings were called sons of various gods- do you remember that idea of ‘the divine right of kings’ from your high school history courses? This is that same idea only magnified, but we saw even in European history- of England and France, for instance- that monarchs thought they were direct representatives of God and, therefore, could do just about anything they wanted. This is that same kind of idea but thousands of years earlier. Remember that we are not looking, here, at a Godly society- but one that was very much against Him- it had moved from the ideal, very quickly, to the wicked. We have a continuation of the Cainite quest for making a name for himself- 4.17. In both verses 1 and 2, ‘daughters of men’ are the daughters of men in general. Men were taking them as they chose, referring to the practice of polygamy (4.19) as practiced in royal harems throughout the ages. This was never God’s plan for relationships- for people- women- to be so much property and for men to simply use women for their pleasure, aggrandizement, and political advantage. So, God declared that His spirit would not contend with man- act in- rule in- strive with- shield- and the point becomes clear in the contrast: ‘forever…a hundred and twenty years’. Man was sealed to judgment, waiting at the set limit of divine forbearance. God was focusing his judgment on humanity- that is very clear here. Verse 4 speaks of Nephilim- called giants in some versions- heroes or mighty men. Large stature may be involved but political dominance is probably more indicated by the term. In the courts of the divine kings, powerful princes arose, extending their father’s sway by tyrannical injustice- just look at verse 11. “Men of renown” speaks simply of “men of a name” pointing to the self-aggrandizement they were seeking at that time.

Read on through this passage.

Verses 9- 22- Then we come to a change. Someone was different. Someone stood out. Noah was different and God revealed Himself to Noah and Noah responded to God. Noah, according to the definition of worship- “the response to the appearance of that which is accepted as the holy- that is, to a sacred, transcendent power or being”- worshipped God by following through on what God told him to do.

Think about the environment and the culture of the time. Was Noah’s response counter-cultural? Was Noah’s response extreme? We’ve all seen movies portraying this and each one of them, in one way or another, portrays how difficult this would have been, as Noah, in a prairie or, at least, inland area, constructed this ark with jeers and criticism of those surrounding him. Do you believe his responding to God- his worshipping of God, therefore- was uncomfortable for him?

Then there’s another story of worship. There’s a story about Abraham. Let’s read through this story.

Genesis 21. 1- 7- great, unbounded joy was the immediate response of these new parents.

Genesis 22. 1ff- God revealed Himself to Abraham. God gave Abraham a difficult task to perform, one that all of us are glad hasn’t been laid on any of us, I know. In verse 2, this task is given.

v.3- what did Abraham do? He worshipped God- remember that worship is “the response to the appearance of that which is accepted as the holy- that is, to a sacred, transcendent power or being.” He followed through- and in the next dozen verses, the story is related. (Read the story.) Was the response to God extreme? Any of us- parents or not- is capable of understanding the pathos of this story. Any of us is capable of appreciating the emotional turmoil of this man, and his son, who seemed, toward the end, at least, to come to some degree of understanding what was entailed. Do you believe his responding to God- his worshipping of God, therefore- was uncomfortable for him?

Then there’s Jesus Christ, our Saviour. He was a man on a mission. He was on a mission that He outlined in His first sermon- Luke 4. 18-19- and that He declared as He approached the brutal culmination of this mission- Matthew 26.2, 10- 13. Jesus was a man with a profound awareness of God in His life- Luke 2.49- and that He carried out to the brutal and horrible end- Matthew 27.46. There is a lot of speculation about whether this was an expected end for Him- the absolute rejection and aloneness. I imagine that He expected it because He understood better than you or I can what carrying the sins of the world necessitated. It was horrible. However, in all this, Jesus worshipped- remembering that worship is “the response to the appearance of that which is accepted as the holy- that is, to a sacred, transcendent power or being.” Was Jesus’ worship extreme? Was Jesus’ worship counter-cultural? How did people respond?

Matthew 27.39ff. - Did they feel that He must NOT be the anticipated Messiah because He died a criminal’s death- your criminal death, and mine? Was Jesus’ worship uncomfortable for Him? A little bit? Or was it a lot uncomfortable for Him?

There are many other examples of biblical worship that we can consider. I hope it is not necessary. It is important for us to understand how counter-cultural all worship is. In an age of self-worship, as in the days of Noah, and today, and when people are more concerned with making a name for themselves than for God, worship, by definition and in reality, is countercultural. Responding to God, as Abraham did, and as Jesus did, is extreme. It is demanding, and every one of us here knows a great deal about that matter as we are here having responded to God- having worshipped God through response for years and years and years.

How would many of the society surrounding Noah, Abraham, and Jesus have responded to their responses? Notice, about Abraham, that he did NOT tell Sarah before he and Isaac left- that is an interesting part of the story and that silence is very telling. Would people- did people, in some cases- criticize and resist? You bet, as each of us has known resistance over the years to the life responses we have made to the presence of God in our lives, which become evident in the way of life we have sought to lead, the way we have functioned in our families, and the routines, including weekly church gathering, we have built into our lives- differently than many others. We have responded, in some cases in ways that could be compared with some of these stories, or others in scripture.

When we think of worship, sadly, we don’t always connect all the dots- and we don’t always equate what we do in our lives and the extreme, counter-cultural, and uncomfortable responses there with what we do here, when we come for a service of worship. It is vital to make the connections and to recognize that the same elements of being extreme, counter-cultural, and uncomfortable may well apply as we interact with the sacred and He calls us to respond anew each time we encounter Him. I’m convinced that Noah and Abraham were surprised by God and what He expected of them and I’m equally convinced that they were surprised by their own willingness to respond- to worship- as He called them to do. I know that I have been surprised by worship over the years- by my responses to God that I would never have considered possible at one point, and by the growth and development in those.

With all this being understood, then, God speaks to us, through the great Paul, about our response to one another in worship.

Colossians 2.16- let no one judge you in such matters of response to God. How someone responds to God is not up for general evaluation or criticism. We all have grown in understanding this matter of response in worship and have come to where we are able to accept changes in our own personal responses as well as those of others- both in our lives in general and in the particular situation of the worship service here. As we have experienced the revolutionary change in the culture of our church, we have moved- or are moving- from an environment of judgment and the need for all to respond the same to one where that is neither the expectation nor the reality.

We have experienced, on one level, something similar to what happened in the raising of Lazarus.

John 11.38-42- the stone has been taken away and we have heard Jesus’ voice declaring, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” We have been freed from the constraints of the expectation of responding to God in pretty much exactly the same ways and have been freed to many of the biblical responses to the sacred that we did not accept or enjoy even 20 years ago. In that regard, we have become an even more biblical church today than we were.

Romans 14.1-8- speak to us in the issue of worship. People respond to God differently. Worship looks different in different lives, and in different times in those lives. Let us be honest- it looks different here than it did 20 years ago, too- amazing, isn’t it? Even how we can permit ourselves, leave alone others, to respond is so different now than it used to be- the very culture of our church has changed dramatically- we have people going off as missionaries in a way we didn’t have 20 years ago. We have people ministering differently now than 20 years ago. In worship services, some people respond differently than others. This is NOT to be a cause for any criticism, suppression, judgment, or anything of that nature. We are to receive each other in this matter and to not criticize or judge at all.

Allow me to read from “Grace Notes” by Philip Yancey- a devotional book Lynn gave me for Christmas- the reading for this past Thursday, January 14. This says so very much about how we look at things. We do not want to be- must not be- like the Pharisees who figured that what mattered was more what could be seen on the outside. They didn’t like the fact that Jesus came differently- He focused differently- on the internal- and no one can know what that is. (Read.) We cannot know what is in someone’s heart and we must not assume or judge the worst. If I am doing something to ‘put on a show’ in worship, then I, according to Jesus, would have all the reward there that I will ever get. But if my heart is in deep response to God, through some expression of worship, then God sees whether anyone understands or not.

Then I was reading the red letters on Thursday, and read this- Matt.11.12- what is this but people like you and me- people like Noah, Abraham, and Jesus? And sometimes we respond extremely, very counter-culturally, and with great discomfort to ourselves. Then look at verse 17- this is how people responded, always wanting to control what Jesus did and criticizing Him for what He did. We must not be like those people of that time- that cannot be here. Jesus looks at the inside- often all we see is the outside.

On Wednesday night, we had our prayer meeting here. On the way out, I wanted to see if there was an open door to the upstairs- I wanted to see what it was like up there now. It was locked. But as I came back down and out, I noticed what the church was doing in here- and some of the people were on their knees in prayer. It looked wonderful and I wondered why we don’t ever do that? Most Christians do, and many- don’t know if it’s most or not- do it in a church gathering. I hope no one would consider it wrong for anyone to kneel, or for that to be a response to God sometimes.

Worship, in short, is the same as obedience and response. It’s necessary no matter our circumstances, and cannot require some sort of ‘perfect’ circumstances. We cannot be bothered by others as they worship and they cannot be bothered by us- we must not, ever, permit others to come between us and God- to do that is to set people as greater than God; in all response, we have to respond to God- the God of the Universe! This applies whether we’re talking about a matter of obedience, as Noah, Abraham, or Jesus, or a time of worship here, in church. Each of us, in community, supporting each other in response, must be free to react to God, to interact with God, and to reply to God as he calls us.

I can only encourage all of us, as your shepherd, to remember the big picture about worship toward THE sacred, transcendent being- be sure that you respond to Him as He calls and invites you to respond and know that, as you do, you participate with those greats of our collective church history, including Noah, Abraham, and Jesus, who have responded with all their beings. There’s nothing more we can offer back to Him than our beings- our all- the love that is as complete as it can possibly be between us- humble mortals- and Him- the infinite Eternal One.