Walter Brueggemann has analyzed the various high festivals of ancient Judaism (Passover, the Day of Atonement, Hanukkah) and concludes, "The main point would seem to be, 'You must show up!'" For Israel, the regular holy days with singing, sacrifice, and much more were obligatory. You must show up! And why? "In order to give visible attestation that you are publicly aligned with the Lord and the Lord's people"... like a woman I knew years ago who had grown totally deaf, but still showed up every week for service. When asked why, she said "I want to be clear about whose side I'm on."
In America, we treasure "freedom of worship," our "freedom to worship the way we want." Unfortunately, that freedom slyly twists itself into a freedom not to worship. Worship feels optional, something we do when it's not too inconvenient. Don't you wonder whether our casual, might-or-might-not attitude is our undoing, letting a cloud of "my preference" or "my lifestyle" block our view of God? To be in worship just now and then is about as effective as trying to speak French or unscrambling a differential equation once in a great while: we're always playing catch-up instead of reveling in the moment; we're still scraping wax from our ears and miss what God's trying to tell us. If I go jogging once every ten days, why am I surprised to be breathless and cramped? Worship is exercise, discipline, obligation.
But this kind of talk feels heavy. Today we can't say "You must show up!" But we can say that, in order to understand worship, you have to worship. Lovers never get anywhere if they keep one another at arms' length; you put in the time, you have to get close, and often... Decide if worship is going to be huge in your heart and schedule - or not. Check your ego at the door, unwrap your inner self from all the agendas you think are so urgent (but are really mere busy-ness) - and be curious. Imagine you are a child on your first holiday at the beach: feel the sand beneath your feet, notice the other beachgoers, scan the horizon, get into the rhythm of the regular, predictable, powerful waves lapping in now, and now, and now. We enter the place, we sing, we profess, we pray the same prayers every week, we sing, we listen, we sing... You go back home, but you have that conch-shell you found, and even at some distance you can still hear the roar of those immense waves.
But you must show up. And not just bodily: show up personally, emotionally, intellectually, never sitting back devising your critique, but pushing open the window of your heart, the door of your mind, to let God in, for the work of sanctifying to begin, and continue. It's a discipline: the more you worship, the more you worship.
James
james@mpumc.org
9/11, the Tsunami and Katrina: Reflection and Remembrance This Sunday evening at 7:00, we will gather in the sanctuary for prayers, reflections by Dr. Howell, and music by Les Ackerman and the Brass Act quintet. The public is welcome!
Sunday's sermon on Exodus 1-2, and the nature of heroism in the face of disaster, may be heard by clicking here.
Are you also receiving a weekly email to the Myers Park UMC Family? If you are part of (or wish to be via the internet!) this Church, and wish to receive our emails about what's going on, and ways to serve (especially around Katrina), click reply and let us know!
