Why Worship Together?

reader's questions on worship

Is thw Worship Liturgy A Trap?

a reader writes:

<< My pastor talks about liturgy as if it were a trap. Yet, you assume that worship is liturgical. What gives? >>

Worship is liturgical. The word 'liturgy' refers to what the people do in praise of God. That's a pretty broad thing. It embraces God's praises within a direct worship setting, and that which is done outside of worship meetings.

Usually when someone says 'liturgy', they're referring to the order of worship in a worship service. If this is what is meant, then your pastor has a liturgy. Even a Baptist church such as yours. It probably goes something like this : your pianist does a prelude or your designated 'worship leader' comes forward and leads the congregation in praise songs, then the pastor comes forward and leads the congregation in prayer, then the readers come forward to read the day's Bible passages, then a hymn is sung from a hymnal, then the sermon, then the collection (received by singing a praise hymn to the tune of Old Hundredth), then another hymn, then a blessing to dismiss (probably Aaron's blessing). Like it or not, that's an order of liturgy! Indeed, while it's a relative newcomer on the liturgical scene, it's close to the same pattern Baptists and some Methodists and Calvinists have used for over 150 years. If something different was done, you'd probably get nervous really fast.

When used by a pastor of one of the liturgical churches (Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, or Lutheran), 'liturgy' is much more specific than that. They mean a specific family of liturgy that was developed by the main part of Christianity mostly over the course of the first 800 years, and is still developing today. It refers to the words, format, motions and rhythms of this style of worship service, with processional (incoming) and recessional (out-going) actions, Bible passages read from a lectionary, maybe even psalms done in chant form. It's referred to as the small-c 'catholic' (universal) tradition. People can lose themselves to it, find themselves through it or get lost because of it. To many, it becomes empty gestures and sleep-inducing habits; to others, it becomes a sustaining flow of the Spirit at work in their lives. I myself am one of the latter.

I don't recall ever visiting a non-liturgical Christian church (the Quakers come about as close as anyone in any religion does, but I haven't been with them). Even the most free have some sort of regular shape to their worship.

At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

Worship, alone or together

Another reader writes :

>> Is it possible to worship alone, or does worship have to
>> happen in community?

Any time you take time to thank or praise God, it is an act of worship. So it can be done by yourself -- indeed, the whole of life can be seen and lived as an act of worship.

However, worship is most definitive when it is not done by oneself, at least from a Christian view. In the New Testament and in the earliest generations of the church, Christians immediately gathered together to worship -- it was one of the first definitive actions they did. One reason is that most of them were Jews, and worshipping together was the key thing for their identity as Jews, so this carried over. (Jesus himself did so, as often as other Jews would allow him to.) They gathered even when gathering could cost them their lives, that's how important worship was to who they were. Another reason is that when you have this new joy, it begs to be shared with others who also know that joy. Still another reason is that each time they gathered, they discovered that they learned from each other about living the faith, and got the chance to use their Spirit-given gifts to build each other up. They were able to put their creativity to use in the worship of the gathered community, making art, writing songs and poems (several of which are in Paul's letters), all to the praise of their Messiah. They found that there was great power in praying together 'in agreement'. They were able to know who in their town shared their beliefs. They were able to share the bread and the wine in remembrace of the One who saved them. And, there was the experiencing of His presence where two or more are gathered in His name. Lastly, it was done as a precursor, a hint of what is to come -- a Kingdom of God where we live in harmony together with each other and the multitudes of heaven, not in isolated cells. This is the purpose God has in mind for us.

That worship often falls flat and sometimes fails to do even the most fundamental of its purposes is a function of our own distrust of each other, and ultimately, distrust of our Maker. Or just plain laziness.

more on worship, and on being a worshipper.

On Worship

A reader asks :

> I am interested to know what your thoughts are on worship.

Worship is when we turn to God in thanks and praise, and offer ourselves to serve Him. It is when we take action that acknowledges, rejoices and revels in His mercy; when we are still and quiet in awe of His greatness. It is when the people take action (leit-ourgia) according to His worth-ship (-> worship).

> Who should we worship - what person(s) is (are) the object
> of our worship?

God alone. As a Trinitarian, I worship three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That is all. I do not worship a theological approach, a churchly organization, a tradition, a pastor, or the Bible. In worship, those are all treasures that I take time to thank God for, but I must come nowhere close to worshipping them. All three persons are to be "worshipped and glorified" (so says the Nicene Creed); we are only now recovering our sense of worshipping the Spirit.

> Who and what are false objects of worship, today?

The main one, 2000 years ago and today, is Mammon (wealth), followed closely by socio-economic classism, power, nationalism, selfism, celebrity, race, and a comfortable life. Many people criticize the church for its strange way of treating people it supposedly loves; well, each one of these modern idols create far bigger cruelties than anything that churches do today.

> Why should we worship - what's the purpose of our worship?

Why? Because God is great, and we have so much to thank God for that we want to regularly set aside time in our lives to do so.

> How should we worship ... what are the (activities)
> proceedings of worship, other than those mentioned above?

"Worship" itself has no absolutely essential elements except giving thanks to God. But to me, part of the worship we're called to do is to open ourselves up to the hearing of God's Word, and to some good communication about what God is trying to get us to hear. Part of it is to act as Jesus called us to act in the Lord's Supper, to drink of Him and eat of Him and get Him into our systems. Part of it is that we are together, a gathering that the Spirit created into a unit, a Body. And part of it is that we take our concerns before God, acknowledging the only true source of mercy. Our life's work is in a sense worship, in or out of a worship service, our lives as an offering to God.

> Where should we worship - is there a special place, today?

Not really. Again, the absolute essential of worship is to give thanks to God. You can do that anywhere, any time. I think it's good and wise to have a specific place dedicated for worship, but if we had to do without that (such as if an oppressor ruled over us), we could easily do so. Christians worship on Sunday because it was on a Sunday that the victory was won, when Christ arose. That should mean something to us in choosing our worship time. But any time can be worship time.

> what is needed to prepare for worship?

see http://www.spirithome.com/worship2.html for some ideas on that.