Worthy of Worship

At the end of Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus and the manger scene, there are a few verses that catch my eye. In the middle of Luke 2, we read,

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!’

But really, it’s the last verse in the passage that seems to catch my eye which may seem odd because it reads as a very simple sentence:

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

It’s this verse that helps me focus on the nativity scene. Here, in Bethlehem, the Messiah was born. A celebration free of balloons, streamers, and cigars. No media, little family, no fanfare. One would think the Savior of humanity would enter the world in style, not in this humble manger. But maybe in this subtle scene in Bethlehem, with Mary, Joseph, the three wise men, and the baby Jesus, we come across a portrait of what the Israelites had been anxiously awaiting for so long. They had found one they could truly worship. Fyodor Dostoyevsky writes that ‘it was the greatest need and comfort to find someone or something holy to fall down before and worship.’ This is what we find at the manger. The one that is worthy of worship. A tangible God.

One of my favorite passages in the bible is found in Habakkuk 2: 18-19:

What use is an idol once its maker has shaped it – a cast image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in what has been made, though the product is only an idol that cannot speak! Alas for you who say to the wood, ‘Wake up!’ to silent stone, ‘Rouse yourself!’ Can it teach? See, it is god and silver plated, and there is no breath in it at all.

In the manger, we see Jesus, the likeness of God, the fusion of divinity and humanity, wrapped in cloth. And we find one that is truly worthy of worship. No more golden calves. No more snakes. No more faith placed in the law. Jesus Christ. God wrapped in flesh. God’s breath giving him life. The greatest need of man fulfilled in the physical state that God had relegated himself to. Jesus. The one finally and truly worthy of our worship. Maybe the thing that bothers me with the birth of Jesus more than anything else is that although the suspended promises and prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled, that Jesus doesn’t seem to do squat with the first 27 years of his life. Promises are fulfilled, but only momentarily. We still wait to receive the good news for 27 years. Suspended promises still hovering. Then again, I guess that’s not all that different than Jesus’ death and resurrection. Once again, evil conquered and yet, the promise of the new heavens and the new earth still hanging over our heads. Maybe God just likes to tease us.

Foreign Worship

Over the past week, I have been a part of two unique worship services. First, last Friday, our chapel service was completely in Spanish (both music and readings). And to be honest, I understood less than 10 words the whole time. Then on Sunday, my Religion in America class visited a Greek Orthodox church. Over half of the divine liturgy was done in Greek. I could at least understand this a little bit better. Both of these experiences were quite foreign to me, not only in the sense of language, but also in the center or focal point of the service. Neither of them had a sermon, which was something completely new to me. I have spent so much of my church life with a focus on the preached word, both growing up, and even more so once started exploring the Reformed church. Preaching has always been central. In both services, there were some bible passages read, but nobody expounded upon them from there. They let the bible speak for itself, free from the interpretation of one man or woman and their meditation and study upon it.

In the Spanish service, the focus was on the musical part, while in the Greek Orthodox service, the central aspect was the Eucharist. I had never seen so much attention paid to the breaking of bread together. It was clear that community and union through the body of Christ was very, very important to this tradition. It’s about the body of Christ coming together and remembering that we are truly the body of Christ, the representation and aroma of God to the world around us.

For me, both of these services placed me outside of my comfort zone as far as worship styles go. But I think this could be a very important practice for followers of Jesus to take hold of in the years to come: visit other churches and worship together as the one, holy, catholic church, not as a critic or pessimist. People worship differently with than us. It’s just a fact. But it is quite a challenge to focus one’s mind and heart to enter a worshipful state when hardly anything can be understood. Worship can sometimes be convenient and second-nature to us. If that’s the case, it is time to visit another tradition, to worship in a new way, and in that process, maybe we will begin to see God in a new way and see ourselves in a new way. Maybe we get too caught up in whatever emphasis our church has (for me, the sermon) and we forget that worshiping God can extend far beyond our own practices. Maybe we should learn from other Christians and unite with them as the body of Christ and not just amputated arms and legs doing our own thing.

A Few Articles

Here are some articles I’ve had sitting around for a while.

The first is an article about abortion rates, specifically about the dramatic decrease in teen abortions.

The second is of a different nature. Entitled, “A Return to Tradition,” this article by US News explores the rising popularity of tradition in regards to church and church services. Worth your time.

The last article I would like to note is about worship artisans. If you do not know what that term means, you should probably read this article. It’s a bit long, but very informational.