January 28, 2009 — 9:07 PM
Go ahead, make a fool of yourself!
Scripture texts: Psalm 145 + Colossians 3:15-17
What are you doing here? No, seriously. Why are you here? What motivates you to get out on a dark, wet evening to make your way across town to a area that has very little parking? Why do you attend worship services? Does anyone care to share?
[get reactions from the congregation]
Creating connections with others who are on this same journey. Joining with a group in singing songs and saying prayers. Being a part of a group of people who can hold us accountable in our faith journey. Giving thanks to God for all that God has done for us. Hearing God's Word read and discussed. Being filled by the Spirit and therefore renewed for a new week. These are some of the many, varied responses people have when asked similar questions.
There are lots of reasons to come to church for worship. And I bet many, if not most, of the reasons lifted up here apply to those of us sitting here right now. For many people, the weekly worship service is a key way to connect with and nurture faith in God, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of all of creation.
The Hebrew Scriptures show that gathering together to worship God was a pivotal part of the life of the Hebrew community. It brought everyone together and bonded them as a community in ways no other activity could. By singing hymns like Psalm 145 that we read together earlier and reciting the stories of how God had been active in history to establish and maintain a covenant with their ancestors, the people reaffirmed again and again that God was doing the same for them. God, the creator of all that is, chose to reach out to creation to establish a covenant - a relationship - with it.
Paul reminds the Colossians that that same covenant was still a reality for them as well. And he calls the community of Christians there to gather in worship to teach and admonish one another as well as to sing to God with gratitude. This act of coming together would make Christ's peace real among the people there - something the Colossian Christian community was in desperate need of.
There was a lot of discord among the people in this community. False teachers had come in and had sown the seeds of distrust among them. And as a result there was a lot of infighting going on. Paul wanted to remind them that they were all one as Christians because they had all been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul knew that the power of singing, praying, and hearing God's Word together is amazing. It's pretty hard to remain angry with someone when you have joined together with them, really joined with them, in these activities. Paul knew that singing hymns or songs, praying, and hearing Scripture would remind the Colossian Christians that it was God who should be the center of their attention. It was God who created them. It was God who loved and cared for them. And God loves each and every part of creation equally. God doesn't play favorites.
The Christians there needed to refocus their attention on God. They had gotten so mired in the internal struggles that they had forgotten what it all was for - to gratefully acknowledge that all they were and all they had was a gift from God through Christ Jesus. So Paul calls them to communal worship knowing that that would be the best way to help them regain this focus.
What was true for the Hebrew people as well as what was true for the Colossian Christians is also true for us today.
God created us and reached out to us to establish a covenant with us. And this covenant is not simply between individuals and God, it continues to be a covenant made with a community of people. God created us to be in relationship - relationship with God but also relationship with others.
And so, we gather as the Hebrew and Colossian people did to sing hymns and songs of praise to God, to offer prayers of thanksgiving, petition, and lament, to hear God's Word for us and to be bonded together as God's people so that we can do God's work in this world.
But many would argue that that understanding of worship is too inwardly focused. These people argue that this understanding of worship is more like maintaining a club. For such people the idea of spending so much time, energy, and money on buildings, pastoral leaders, and all the things that go into the life of a church, is counter to what Christ called his disciples to do - to go and make disciples of all people, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is a renewed interest in what is being called "the Missional Church." This movement seeks to reaffirm our calling as Christ's disciples to go out from our buildings and our safe communities of worship to do God's work in the world.
What would you say to someone who makes these arguments? Do you agree that too much time, energy, and money is being spent on maintaining the institution of church rather than going out and being the church in mission in the world? Would anyone like to offer some thoughts?
[get feedback from the congregation]
For many there is a very real dichotomy between worship and mission. But is that really the case? I would argue that no, it is not the case. I would agree with Fredrich Buechner, a modern day preacher and theologian, who understands worship as service to God that happens both in worship services and in mission.
Buechner explains that, as he understands it, worship services are us doing things for God that we need to do - like singing songs for God, creating beautiful things for God, giving things up for God, telling God what's on our minds and in our hearts. Conversely, mission is doing things for God that God needs done. Things like running errands for God, carrying messages for God, fighting on God's side, feeding God's lambs, and so on. In this understanding of worship - the stuff that often gets labeled as "too clubish" is part of the same coin with the mission work. It all goes together.
As one writer recently put it, "for Christians and congregations to live as God's people and be Christ's body in the world, they need a vision for their mission and a plan for implementing it, as well as participation, commitment, and even a willingness to sacrifice. ...In worship, God inspires and empowers a congregation to do the things it needs to do."
According to the Book of Common Worship, a resource used by many worship leaders in the Reformed Tradition (and especially in the Presbyterian flavor of that):
All that the church is and does is rooted in its worship. The community of faith, gathered in response to God's call, is formed in its worship. Worship is the principal influence that shapes our faith, and it is the most visible way we express the faith.
Worship - both in the worship service as well as in acts of service out in the world - is an important means for building up and nurturing the communal covenant to which we have been invited. A covenant is a relationship. And for any relationship to survive, let alone thrive, there has to be communication between the parties involved.
In our services of worship, we respond to God's call by offering back songs of praise, prayers, and offerings of money, time, and talents. God offers us God's Word and presence, especially through the Sacraments, to fill us and send us out into the world for service. It's a give and take on both side - like any good relationship is. There is time for listening and time for speaking by both parties.
Relationships take work. They don't just naturally happen. But if it's a relationship that matters wouldn't you do just about anything to make sure that it gets nurtured and fed?
Again, Fredrick Buechner has some thoughts on this. He encourages us to make fools of ourselves for God "the way lovers have always made fools of themselves for the one they love. ... Unless there is an element of joy and foolishness in the proceedings [of worship services], the time would be better spent doing something useful."
When I read this I immediately thought of the TV program from the early "aughts" called "Ed." Did any of you watch that show? Well, I did and I enjoyed it. I'll just own that! Anyway. Ed spent much time and effort trying to woo a teacher at the high school in the little town where he had grown up and had recently moved back to. One such escapade in wooing really sticks with me. I wanted to share the video with you because it's way better than trying to describe it to you. But the internets failed me! I know, hard to believe. I searched for nearly an hour to no avail. If it's out there, it did not want to be found by me!
So let me sum up the scene this way. Ed wants to be the teacher Carol's knight in shining armor. So he puts on an actual suit of shining armor, buys a bouquet of flowers and walks into her room at the high school while she is teaching. Once there, he proclaims his love for her. You can imagine how difficult it was for Ed to walk in a full suit of armor. It was not as gallant as Ed had hoped. And, I'm sure you can imagine the embarrassment that Carol felt at having this display of affection occur in front of her students.
Ed's attempts at wooing Carol that day were unsuccessful. But that did not sway him from trying again later. Ed was not afraid to make a fool of himself for the one he loved. Again and again. Eventually, because this was TV, he won Carol's heart and they got married. I know. Aw.
What are we willing to do to show God that we love God and want to accept the offer of covenantal relationship? Where is our joy and foolishness in worship and service to God? I think MBCC actually does this pretty well. More so than many churches I have been in. But there is always room for improvement. God gives freely of God's self to us. Let us give freely of ourselves to God and neighbor with much joy and thanksgiving.
God calls us beloved. Are we willing to accept that name and in return join with others in service and worship of this abundantly loving God? May we answer with an enthusiastic, "Yes!" And let us not shy away from being holy fools for God.
