Worthy Worship

“I switched because the band was better” he told me describing his latest church move from one mega church to another. Worship certainly has taken central stage in Church life during my life time. It’s gonna be loud, there’s gonna be light, smoke, and movement, described the worship leader reaching out to his target audience. Using music with cymbals, smoke from sacrifices, and offerings of the temple worship with the images of the multitudes worshipping the lamb in Revelations we have our model what worship should look like. Our worship is our “sacrifice of praise” and “we trust it is found worthy” leads the worship leader.

At one time in my life I was hungry to include contemporary worship music in our small country church. So much so I installed a suitable pa system to accommodate worship band performance type music. During this experience I learned with great anxiety how worship has become theologically, culturally and generationally specific. While some people love the hymns they know by memory, others say hymns are songs about God while the Praise songs are songs written to God. While some say the worship band songs is primary performance and the congregational song is song everyone sings together in community, others say the worship band leads them into a spirit of intimacy with God while singing hymns just doesn’t connect with their spirit. While some say we need to mix everything together creating a “we” congregation, others said it is an “obligation” to sing the hymn. Then there is the person raised Methodist who loves the written liturgies she remembers read during her youth.

The tension of this experience led me to wonder if Jesus really cares about worship. Joseph brought his pigeons for sacrifice, Jesus discussed the law as a 12 year old, he fasted in the desert, he was baptized by John, he read scripture in the synagogue, he often went off by himself to pray, he sang a hymn at the last supper, but I’m not sure the word worship is used to describe Jesus devotional life. Certainly there are multitudes of examples where Jesus was critical of the religious demonstration of performance prayers, overt fasting, display offerings, and demonstrations of piety intimidating to those called sinners. When the disciples asked him how to pray he gave them an example but I don’t recall anytime Jesus modeled worship. All of this makes me wonder if worship is more our automatic response toward God for the forgiveness and new redeemed life he has allowed us to live here among his people and eternal life then it is something God asks of us. Is worship more necessary for us then for God?

Jesus did ask us to love God with all our heart soul and mind. I’m sure we express that in many ways through confession, music, art, meditation and study but somehow I suspect if worship is only an art form, a confession, or study, Jesus would have same harsh words to describe us as he did religious people of his day. What Jesus really wants of each of us is to identify with the walk of “the least of these”. This isn’t any different then what we as parents would want. We love to hear our children express their love and appreciation to us as parents but if they only sang the song to us and despised each other as brothers and sisters we certainly would despise their song as well.

Sitting with our displaced people from Burma again brings what worship is into sharp focus for us. As they sing the songs they love to sing, us English can only imagine what the message is. Our 80 year old market man walking with a cane says this really isn’t my cup of tea but I know this is of God and I’m right here to support it. In fact among our displaced persons we have many differences. At our worship planning committee Anglican, Baptist, and Seventh day Adventist as well as us Mennonites/Methodist are all represented. In our assembly Sunday mornings those from Catholic, Buddhist, and Animistic backgrounds come together as well.

We planned a Good Friday service and they told us the song “The Old Rugged Cross was their favorite song. I would have much rather sung a song that focused on the meaning of Christ’s death as opposed to a song about a wooded cross but of course I sang the song. We lit our candles and prayed our quiet prayers as we sang. Our Catholic sister crossed herself and went up to touch the cross in her tradition. In all our differences it really is not a choice not to walk together. These are the people God has given to us as a people. So whether it is a call at 5:00 am because the driver did not show to take them to work, reading to children helping with homework from school, or singing a song I don’t believe is especially a good song, it is all an expression of worship toward God. We are walking with each other. This whole experience puts flesh on our conviction that our worship is a statement of loving God which is best expressed by loving our neighbor as ourselves. I cannot say “the least of these” it sounds terribly demeaning.

Easter morning we signed our name, “we believe”, Christ is risen and lives among us! Our Buddhist friends walked forward and signed and posted their proclamation as well. What do they understand? We don’t know. Certainly we don’t understand the magnitude of what we believe as well. But we are walking together in faith with conviction that Jesus can be recognized when we love each other. Jesus is indeed worthy!!