How do I Worship?

Here is my message from Sunday. The text was Matthew 14:22-33:

In 1940, philosopher and educator Mortimer J. Adler wrote a book entitled How to Read a Book. Now how we read books seems to be sort of self-explanatory. Other then the mechanics of learning to read, and sentence structure, and looking for main themes, and things like that, I’m willing to bet that few, if any of us, where ever taught how to read a book. And yet if you’ve ever read Adler’s book then you will probably came to realize that perhaps you didn’t actually know how to read a book after all. And the purpose of that is to say that there are some things that we do just because we’ve always done them, and we may never have been formally taught how to do them. And this definitely includes some things that we do in the church. And so, for the next four weeks, our worship series is going to be addressing some of these ideas and asking the questions that perhaps you may have asked, or maybe even never even thought to ask, of how do I do x, and we start with the question How do I Worship?

Now just like with learning how to read a book, you might think you don’t need to know the mechanics of worshipping, after all you’ve been doing this worship thing for a very long time. But I’m again willing to guess that no one ever set you down and taught you how to worship, or talked about the mechanics of worship, or how to prepare for worship, or what to do after worship. Now, I’m sure there were some things you were taught when you were a child, like to be quiet and not to squirm in your seat. And other things you picked up, like when to sit and when to stand, and how to pretend like you’re singing when you’re not, things like that. But even though worship is this extremely important thing we do, few were taught what it takes to worship, or what we should do to worship. So, what are we called to do in worship, and are there things to help us give more to worship and get more out of worship? And the answer is a most definitive yes.

But to start how we worship, we should probably have some very brief background on what worship is and why we worship, and this is going to be brief because it’s not the purpose of the message. In today’s passage, after the disciples see Jesus walking on the water, and he then saves Peter who attempts the same thing, they all climb back into the boat, we are told that they proclaimed that Jesus was the son of God and that they worshipped him. So, does that mean they sang songs, and did a responsorial reading, read scripture and heard a message? That’s what worship is right? Not really, because in its basic form the Hebrew and the Greek words translated as worship mean to bow down, to prostrate yourself, or to pay reverence to. And so, when I hear that the disciples worshiped Jesus, I imagine them bowing down to him, not only as an act of respect, which bowing does, but more importantly it is a sign of submission. It saying that I am giving myself to you and will follow you. But, is that how you imagine worship? Do you think of coming to worship as an act of submission to God? If you don’t, would that change how you approached worship, or participated in worship? And I would add that contrary to what some people might say, we do not worship God because otherwise God will strike us with a mighty blow. Jesus doesn’t tell Peter I’m going to let you drown because you didn’t worship me properly. We worship God because of what God has already done for us, and worship draws us closer to God

And while I should note that it is possible to worship anywhere at any time, and there is important reasons for practicing that, the purpose of this message is about worship as we experience it right here and right now for regular worship. And, as I’ve already hinted at, it begins with our approach to worship, and might I dare say our attitude to worship. Because what we bring to worship, how we approach worship, will affect what we get out of worship. And not only what we get out of it, but it can also affect what others get out of it. And so, we have to remember that worship is not about the me, it’s about the we.

Worship is important. We cannot deepen our faith, we cannot grow in discipleship, separately from worship. Everything we do in worship brings us into fellowship and community, because it’s about the body of Christ being one. In looking in scripture at the early Christian communities, one of the crucial factors was the aspect of being the gathered community; it was in coming together in worship. And so, preparing starts with our expectations for worship. We should have the expectation that we are going to feel God’s presence, we should expect some transformation in our lives, we should expect that the Spirit is going to speak to us in some way during the service, and we should expect that we are going to take that worship experience with us out into the world in order to be the church, as we say at the end of every service. So, set expectations of what you are bringing to worship and what you want out of worship

Other steps also begin well before Sunday morning. It’s said that you get what you pray for, and so preparation for worship should begin with prayer. Pray for me, pray for our musicians, prayer for other worship leaders, pray for the other participants and pray for yourself that you will be open to hear what the Spirit is saying to us that day. And also pray that the Spirit will gently nudge those who are less inclined to make it to worship that day, that the Spirit will lead them in the right direction.

The next step is to read the scripture passage that will be used. Every week in the scripture insert, the newsletter and the Friday worship email, we list the scripture readings for the coming week as well as a series of questions about the preaching text for you to consider. When reading the passage, look for the main theme of the passage and then focus on the other details like who the passage was being addressed to and what was the original context? What do you find surprising about the passage? What do you find comforting? What do you find challenging? If it’s a passage with which you are familiar, did you see anything new or different from your memory of the passage?  If you are really ambitious, look at the passage in different translations, or look at Biblical commentaries to see what they say.

A corollary of that is also to look at the songs. One of the comments we’ve been hearing a little more recently is about familiarity with songs. And for contemporary that’s largely because we’ve been pulling out songs we haven’t sung in a while so that they can become familiar again. But starting this last week, we are going to be including the songs with links to videos of them in the Friday worship email so that you can listen to them in advance, which means you can be prepared to sing the songs before you even walk through the doors. This will be done for both traditional and contemporary services. And regardless if you listen before or during worship, pay attention to the lyrics. What are they saying? Do they match the theme of the service, which is a goal, but doesn’t always happen. What can you take away from it? How does it make you feel? Do you agree with the thoughts conveyed, why or why not? These are things to help you prepare

And then the final piece is to be ready to worship before you walk through the doors or turn on the stream. Go to bed early the night before so you are well rested. Leave early to get here a little early. If you rush into worship late and are all harried, do you think you will be centered and focused? Probably not. So, come to worship early and have some time of quiet contemplation and prayer in preparation for worship, releasing the things that might hold you back from fully entering into the worship experience. You can also use this time to turn over to God all the things happening that might be distracting during worship, and one the things that worship should do is to help us deal with the manure in our lives, and I have a specific message about that coming up in a few weeks.

One of the things that people who study creativity note is to change up routines in order to keep your mind active, opened and engaged. And so, if you come into the sanctuary and sit in the same seat every time, do you know what your mind does, or can do? It says, “oh, I know this, and I know what to do” and it can shut down so that you think you’re paying attention, but you’re really not. So, and I know this is a radical idea and maybe what gets me in the most trouble, you can sit in a different spot, and this applies to those worshipping online, and then your mind says “hey this is different, different is good. I need to pay attention to this.” Then your mind is primed to be responsive to what’s happening.

I strongly encourage taking notes during worship because it helps your mind to remember key ideas through writing them down. I know that doesn’t work for everyone, but it is a strong learning habit, and this is true not just during the message, but the Spirit will speak at different times and I know that if I don’t write it down, I won’t remember it, and that’s truer the older I get. So, take notes. In addition to paying attention to the words of the songs, also pay attention to the other words we use in the liturgies, which is a fancy word for the words we say, but it’s an important word because liturgy literally means the work of the people. And that helps us to remember, once again, that the “language of the gathered is about us, not about me.” And because it’s about the community, that means that there are times in which there are going to be things that don’t work for you, the song doesn’t resonate, the message is off, whatever it is, but I can almost always guarantee that it will be working for someone else, and we celebrate that. And when it isn’t working is a great time to pray to God to give thanks that it’s working for someone else, that we get to do this together, and ask for the Spirit to be open to other parts of the service.

Once the message has begun, pay attention to what the preacher is emphasizing as the main point. If you did you pre-work did that match your idea? Is there something that the preacher saw in the text that you didn’t see, or is there something you saw that was not touched on? Make note of those things. Focus on picking up the one or two points that you can take away from the message, and write those down. Normally even the worst sermons are going to give you at least one thing to remember, even if it might be something you think differently about. And if there is something with which you disagree, know that’s okay, but please give the preacher the benefit of the doubt that they have done lots and lots of work in preparing for the message. And if you are upset with the message, try and figure out why. Is it because the words touched us in an area where we are sensitive or truly need to be pushed in our faith lives?  If that is the case then it’s not about the preacher, but instead about where they spirit is pushing.  And the truth is, if you are routinely hearing from the same preacher and they are not occasionally making you upset with something they have said, then they are not doing their job.

Another step is to absorb distractions with gratitude. First it means there are other people there, and I’ve literally preached to an empty sanctuary, and so I give thanks for you being there, and you should too.  And that includes the sound of children because a church without the sound of children is the sound of a dying church. So rather than fussing and fuming about the distractions, and therefore taking you away from the worship experience, instead lift up those distractions, thanking God for their presence, or asking God to touch them, so that rather than being a distraction it instead becomes a blessing and can keep you centered.

I’ve mentioned this before, but the theologian Soren Kierkegaard has said that worship is like the theater, which is a metaphor that others have used. And the way most sanctuaries are set up, you might think that those at the front are the performers and you are the audience. But, what Kierkegaard said was that that’s wrong concept; we are all the performers and God is the audience, and so we all need to be participating, and this is especially true during songs. As Methodists we are a singing people. It’s one of the ways we participate and its also a way that we learn theology and faith. And there are many reasons why people say they don’t sing. One is they don’t know the songs, but we are now changing that by making the songs all available in advance. And the second is because they don’t think they sing well, and therefore don’t sing. But, this is a new thing. A hundred years ago, or 200, everyone sing, well or badly, because it was what you did. You don’t have to bawl, but sing as you can, make a joyful noise to the Lord, and I might also note the psalmist says to sing new songs to the Lord. So, participate in worship through song. I can guarantee you it will not only improve your experience of worship, but the whole experience of worship will be improved for everyone.

Last week we talked about sacrificing for others as being a part of what it means to live in love. And worship can be a sacrificial activity. There are times in which we don’t feel like worshipping, for many different reasons, and we can come up with lots of reasons why we can’t go to worship, but these are the times in which it is most important to go, and so we say that these are my people, and to say to God, “I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to do this, but this is your time and I am giving it to you,” and we trust that God is going to reach into our lives in these moments and touch us. And being present helps everyone else as well, and so if you come into worship joyfully, you might also offer up a prayer for those who are making that sacrifice that God will speak to them in that special way during that service.

And finally, is to remember that worship does not end when the last note of the postlude is played. As someone said, “we come to worship on the lookout for God and we leave worship on the lookout for people.” And so, consider what was said, or done or sung during worship and talk about it with someone else. This could be a great thing to do at coffee hour, or on the drive home, or at lunch or dinner. See if others got the same thing out of the message, or if they heard something else. Ask yourself, how does this apply to my life, my family, my children, my friends, my job, my community, my walk with Christ, etc.? Then after you’ve contemplated it and talked about, make a plan for what you are going to do. Is there some change you need to make, something else you need to do, something you need to stop doing, someone you need to talk to about this issue? How is this impacting your faith life or the life of the church, and what are you going to do about it?

Worship doesn’t just happen, because worship is about giving the best that we have to God, of worshipping fully with mind, heart, body and soul. Worship is about bowing down to God giving praise and glory for what God has done, to hear the story of the faith and to find our place in that story so that we may pass it on to future generations. Worship is a way we come to encounter God’s word and what God is saying to us as individuals and as a community, where God is calling us and pushing us and leading us, and when we are not prepared or when we are only hearing but not truly listening, then we are not opening ourselves up to God’s presence or God’s amazing grace.  We need to prepare to be here, to do the work to celebrate together, to bring our desire to be in the presence of God here in this place, and to do it together so that we will never be the same again that we will be changed and transformed into the people of God and that we will worship in Spirit and in truth and discern what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God. I pray that it will be so my brothers and sisters. Amen.