Worshipping God: What does it mean?
upper panels, “The Call of Saul,” art-glass window, FPCE
EIGHTH IN A SERMON SERIES, “CONFIRMATION FOR ADULTS,” ROMANS 11:33 - 12:2; JOHN 4:16-26
THE REV. JOHN HEMBRUCH, D.MIN. + MARCH 29, 2020
One week ago, we initiated FPCE’s new option of remote worship. Given the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, we created worship around the theme of illness and healing. While more time must pass for our routines to return to normal, there is value in returning to our regular worship disciplines, and carrying on in a way as normal as possible.
Today, we resume the sermon series “Confirmation for Adults,” with part 8 of 11. The first seven sermons all may be found on my blog. We’ve focused quite a bit upon Jesus, the center of our Christian Faith, and the positive, practical consequences of his birth, life, death, and resurrection upon our lives. Now, we turn our attention to a subject that has been a primary mark or characteristic of Jesus’ followers, always and everywhere. That primary mark or characteristic is the worship of God ….
There’s a story told about two men from southern Illinois, each of whom took a week-long business trip to Chicago. While there, each visited a worship service much different than the one back home.
The older gentleman returned, and his wife asked him how it was. The man said, “It was good. But they did something different. They sang ‘praise choruses’ instead of hymns.”
“Praise choruses,” said his wife, “what are those?”
“Oh, they’re okay. They’re sort of like hymns, only different. If I were to sing to you: Martha, the cows are in the corn, that would be a hymn. If, on the other hand, I were to sing, Martha, Martha, Martha, Oh, MARTHA, MARTHA, MARTHA, the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows, the white cows, the black and white cows, the COWS, COWS, COWS, are in the corn, and if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, that would be a praise chorus.”
At about the same time, the younger gentleman returned to his home, and, in a similar manner, his wife asked him about his experience of worship. The man said, “It was good. But they did something different. They sang ‘hymns’ instead of songs.
“Hymns,” said his wife, “what are those?”
“Oh, they’re okay. They’re sort of like songs, only different. If I were to sing to you, Martha, the cows are in the corn, that would be a song. If, on the other hand, I were to sing, Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry, turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and by. Yea, cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight, goaded by minions of darkness and night, have broke free their shackles, their pens eschewed, They all the mild sweetcorn have chewed. So look to that bright shining day by and by, where no vicious animal makes the soul cry, where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn, and we no longer see foul cows in the corn. “Then,” said the husband, “if I were to do a key change on the last stanza, well, that would be a hymn.
There’s a point to my extended introduction: there always have been different ways of worshiping God. Even within a single religion, there are many divergent worship traditions. These traditions may reflect different structures, different elements, different languages, different local customs, different venues deemed more appropriate than others.
In today’s gospel text, the woman at the well echoes a debate about the proper location for worship. In context, the conversation reflects a deep rift between the Jews and the Samaritans. In this instance, the Jews may be identified as residents of the old southern kingdom, whose central place of worship was the Jerusalem temple. The Samaritans are residents of the old northern kingdom, who had intermingled with colonists brought in by foreign invaders, and who rejected the primacy of temple worship.[i] Jesus says that worshipping God is not confined to one geographical location.
When we examine this text in sermon or study, we notice the way in which Jesus transcends boundaries based in race, politics, and gender. But, until this week of preparing our E-worship service, I’d never thought much about the way Jesus response to the woman transcends geography: WHERE you worship God is not as important as HOW you worship. For Jesus, that means to worship God “in spirit and in truth.
What does it mean to “worship,” anyway? Webster’s Dictionary tells us that “worship” is the act of paying divine honors to the Supreme Being; religious reverence and homage; adoration, or acts of reverence, paid to God, or a being viewed as God.
In the context of an adult Bible study, we could flesh out the meaning of the Greek words used for “worship” in today’s texts. “Proskunein” is the word used for “worship” in the gospel reading.[ii] In its most ancient usage had a meaning close to “bow” or “kiss,” which evolved from an outward gesture to an inward attitude. In our epistle reading, when Paul talks about spiritual “worship,” the word used is “latreia,” which has its roots in old sacrificial rites.[iii]The old ways of animal sacrifice have been superseded, says Paul, by a new way of worshiping that transforms thoughts and shapes actions to reflect God’s grace revealed in Jesus.
A word study like this helps us more fully understand that worship begins with outward gestures and rituals, but it is completed as inward loyalties and priorities are transformed. Worship is more than a feeling of reverence, or a sense of being awestruck by a divine encounter. It’s also a discipline aimed at reshaping our lives. It’s a habit like running, or working out at the gym, or eating in a healthy manner. You may not always want to go, but your life is usually better for having been there.
Presbyterian-Reformed worship displays a logic in the progression of its elements, and those of us accustomed to it can feel its rhythms. We move from gathering activities, to proclamation of the Word through scripture and sermon, to various responses to the Word. Presbyterians have two sacraments, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which we understand to be elements that “seal” the promises of faith. In confirmation class, we spend more time exploring the biblical basis of these special holy acts, and how they have their roots in Jesus’ actions and commandments.
There are many ways I might try to explain the nature and importance of Christian worship, but one way is by introducing you to words penned by the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard more than 170 years ago. You may find those words printed on a separate page of your worship bulletin.
Here, Kierkegaard compared worship to a theatrical play. He complained that too often, Christians imagine that the pastor and staff are the stars in a play, with the choir and volunteers in supporting roles, and the congregation in the audience. Kierkegaard offered a more accurate description of roles, saying the congregation is on center stage, with pastor, staff, choir, and other worship leaders coaching and supporting all to do our best for God, who is the audience. In your bulletin packet, you’ll also find a confirmation worksheet that may help you understand how you played your role today.
In one of the congregations I served, there was a gentleman who displayed role confusion in a way either exasperating or humorous, depending on your perspective. For example, following one sermonic effort that came at the conclusion of a draining week, this gentleman sought me out after worship to say, “During your sermon, you said, ‘In the boat, which the disciples were rowing through the storm, Jesus lay sleeping.’ The correct construction is, ‘In the boat that the disciples were rowing through the storm, Jesus lay sleeping.’” It was a typical story among staff members. No matter how prayerfully and carefully we approached our sermons, this gentleman would find a fault to correct. He thought of himself as a member of the audience, and it was his role to applaud or (more often) boo.
Today, there are still many faults with my sermons. I don’t always have the time I’d like to prepare them. Even when I do, public speaking is never an exact science, and I certainly make mistakes. Thinking more broadly, without a doubt, there are things about today’s experience of worship that are imperfect. But if you finish worship today and remember only that the camera didn’t zoom in when you thought it should, or that the audio tone wasn’t as rich as you would have liked, or that one side of the pastor’s stole hung slightly lower than the other, then there’s a good chance you didn’t actually play your proper role in worship.
Among the dozen e-mail notes I received after worship last week, one was especially heartwarming. Though I’ve de-identified the sender for broadcast, it went like this: I just wanted to say we appreciated your sermon. We put the bulletin on one screen and YouTube on a second screen and it worked well. The sound had a big room sound that made some words difficult to understand so we clicked on the automated sub-script captions. Together we could understand everything fine even with our bookshelf speakers and hearing aids. It was good to have the songs added to the bulletin. My spouse used them to sing along. It is better when I don’t sing out loud. The computer generated voice-to-text translations for the closed captions is less than perfect. It made some strange errors that got a couple of grins. You don’t see that in church. Thanks.” It’s not the only kind note I received, but it’s the most memorable.
The writer of this note provides a model, I think, of someone who understands what it means to worship God. Worship is a discipline that you practice, even when it’s inconvenient to prepare or get out of the house. You sing, and pray, and listen, let your life be shaped by the Word, so that when worship is done, you think and act differently It has some “performance” aspects, to be sure, but you are not merely a spectator at a performance, but rather a participant on the field playing with your team. The worship leaders are your coaches. God is "the audience"!
And now, acknowledging God’s presence, may the words of our mouths, and the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O God, our Rock and our Redeemer. AMEN.
ENDNOTES
[i] Source unknown, received as group e-mail note, March 21, 2000.
[ii] H. Greevan, pp. 758-766, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol VI, Ed. G. Friedrich. Trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1968.
[iii] H. Strathmann, pp. 58-65, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol IV, Ed. G. Kittel, Trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1968.
