The Call to Worship

This week, I wasn't really inspired to write anything specifically related to the worship theme for this Sunday. So I dug up something I already wrote that has just been sitting on my hard drive. Recently in reading Mark Labberton's book, The Dangerous Act of Worship, I began to think about the meaning of the various parts of the worship service as they relate to the issue of justice. Much of what I write, here, is based on Labberton's book, especially as it relates to justice. I expanded on the issue of justice by also discussing how acts of corporate worship build community.

From time to time, I'll post these thoughts. This week I start at the beginning of the service and the "Call to Worship."


The Call to Worship

What Is It? A call to worship is a re-focusing. It is a call to take pause from the rat race we call life. Our focus has a way of warping as we go about our daily life. God’s presence and true Lordship can be drowned out by all of the noise and stress of our reality. Other things scream loudly at us. A call to worship calls us to recognize a different reality. It brings God back into focus and calls us to place Him back on the throne of our hearts. The most important thing to realize about the call to worship is that we do not call ourselves to worship, GOD CALLS US. It is based on Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all of your might.” To start a service by singing, “I will worship with all of my heart” doesn’t quite qualify as a call to worship. Worship does not start with us. It starts with God calling us. The Bible is full of calls by God for people to worship Him. Two of the most common calls to worship that are chanted every morning by monastics are Psalm 95 and Psalm 100. A true call to worship implies that we have heard Him calling us to worship Him, so “Come, let us worship Him and bow down…” Let us acknowledge God’s rightful place, “For He is our God and we are His people.”

How Does It Form Community? For those who accept this call and gather, they are gathered TOGETHER in His name for one common purpose; to worship God. Our individualism is set aside and as a community we do the work of worship. We together acknowledge and bow our hearts before God. He is our God and we are His PEOPLE. I am no longer just an individual worshiper. I have been gathered by God into a community of worshippers. A worship leader who starts off a service with, “How are you doing today?” is not recognizing the purpose for which we are gathered. He/she is taking the individual “temperature” of the room to see what must be done to move individuals "into the presence of God." This type of greeting reinforces individualism. The traditional greeting of worship is, “The Lord be with you” and the congregation calls back, “And also with you.” This is a recognition of the presence of God that exists in Christian community “where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there.” If two or three people come together around a meal, you have community. If two or three people come together and recognize that God is in the middle of that gathering, there is true Christian fellowship.

How Does It Confront Injustice? The call to worship is an invitation beyond all other power. This world is a loud mix of often competing and disordered powers that burden us and weigh us down. God calls us to bow before the power that is above all powers. God’s call is both a command and invitation in that it is not like the call of powerful people/institutions who make their demands on us and “manipulate” our submission. God gives it to all who have ears and he says, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30). Mark Labberton says, “At the start of worship, the Lord invites all who have ears to hear. This call goes to God’s people as a whole as well as to individuals. The qualification we bring is our neediness, NOT OUR STATURE….God calls us ALL to worship….The call is based on the power and grace of God, not on our own power or worthiness. It places everyone on even ground.” Therefore a church that is called to worship is a church that is not divided by race, class, levels of education, or stature. It flies in the face of power structures that divide and reward people based on their status and positions in life. We are equal at the foot of the cross.

How Will It Look? How can a congregation be called to worship in ways that make sense within its cultural setting? The work of the people (liturgy) must be in the “language” of the people. As people walk into the worship space as individuals each coming from a different place, how can we gather them so that they hear God’s call to drop everything for the next hour or so and worship? What can be done to encourage people to recognize God’s presence within the community gathered to worship? For those new to the Christian community and who are unfamiliar with corporate worship, how do we create an environment where they can, maybe for the first time, begin to hear God calling them to worship? Will we use a song, scripture, a prayer, a poem, art or visuals? What medium does God want to use to call us to worship Him?

Call to Worship
By Vicki Beeching
2005

Verse 1
The blazing sunrise
The endless oceans
The spinning planets
All reveal their Maker's pow'r
They shout His glory
They shine His beauty
Their voices cry an invitation to us all
They are summoning every soul
Summoning every soul

Chorus
This is a call to worship
Let it echo all around the earth
This is a call to bow down
And give God the glory He deserves

Verse 2
We have gathered
To praise our Maker
We've come to worship Him
For we have heard the call
Let ev'ry nation and all creation
Join us worshipping the holy God of all
As we cry out to all of this world
Cry out to all of this world

Bridge
To the north and the south
Let this invitation resonate
To the east and the west
Let this invitation resonate
'Til the north and the south
'Til the east and the west
Overflow with praise

Worship Focus for the Second Sunday after Pentecost: Walls around Time

Scriptures for the Second Sunday after Pentecost

Isaiah 49:8-16a, Psalm 131, I Corinthians 4:1-5, Matthew 6:24-34

When I was a kid growing up in a holiness denomination, there was still a lot of legalism surrounding the observance of Sabbath. I remember when I was 10 I traveled with my parents to the General Conference of our denomination. It was held in a small town in the middle of Indiana. This town was home to two denominational headquarters and a bible school. One of the fun things to do in this little town was to go swimming or canoeing in the lake. One hot, humid summer Sunday, I headed down to the lake in my swim trunks ready to plunge into the lake to cool off. That idea went right out of the window as soon as I got to the lake and found the beach closed. A big sign on the fence, quoted the fourth commandment, “Thou shalt remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” Underneath this biblical command was the local ordinance banning any swimming or boating in the lake on Sundays. I was at a loss as to how swimming in a lake on a hot day was breaking the Sabbath.

Although we have to be careful not to go to legalistic extremes, we should remember an important principle of which the Sabbath reminds us. That principle is the consecration of time.

And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation. (Genesis 2:3 NIV)

To “consecrate” means to set aside for a special purpose. When God consecrated the Sabbath, He set it apart. What God sets apart becomes holy. Since God declared one day to be set apart as Holy, it became law in the Fourth Commandment of the Ten Commandments. Specifically, the law stated that people were not to work on the Sabbath.

Laws always lead to “what if” questions. They beg for further clarification. In Jesus’ time, the Sabbath had been clarified over and over through a set of very specific “don’ts” that went way beyond the spirit of the law, or principle of consecration. The Pharisees could even tell you how many steps you could take on the Sabbath before you were considered to be working. Of course Jesus got in trouble for “violating” the Sabbath. In one instance Jesus responded by saying, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

Jesus reminded us that consecrated time is a blessing. It is something we need. It is something that God gave us for our good.

The consecration of time is something we just do not know in this crazy, fast paced, stressful kind of lifestyle we tend to lead. So we must ask, “How do we consecrate time?” Consecration, or setting apart, has to do with creating borders or boundaries. Do we regularly set boundaries to create “holy” time in our lives? By holy time, I mean time that is set apart for fellowship with God and others. Holy time is time for true rest and recreation (or re-creation). What types of activities bring us into fellowship with God and others? What brings us true rest and renewal?

If we hope to successfully set apart time for these purposes, we have to set some boundaries around certain time periods. I hate to say it, but if we don’t impose some strict boundaries we will find that our consecrated time will be invaded by the same old, same old. We will find that business, urgent demands, chores, work, and even mindless activities that don’t truly renew will all find their place and crowd out “holy time.”

Here are some traditional ways that Christians have consecrated time.

1. Sunday. Christians have from earliest times viewed Sunday as a holy day. It is the day when Christ rose from the dead. It is the symbolic, “eighth day” of the new creation. It is our tradition to set this day (especially Sunday morning) aside for corporate worship. It has been a time when the community of believers do the "work" of worship together (liturgy). In this day and age all kinds of things crowd their way into this consecrated time. Work schedules, sports on TV, shopping, chores, and recreational activities that we don’t seem to have any other time to get in, all invade this special “holy” time. Of course there is no hard and fast rule (legalism) that says that Christians must go to church on Sunday mornings, and in fact many can’t these days. But for those of us who can, have we set a boundary around this time? Do we have a time set apart for gathering with other believers on a weekly basis for worship?

2. The Christian Year. Early Jewish Christians marked their year with observance of Jewish holy days and periods. Over time, Christians began to mark time with special days and periods of their own. These “holy times” connect us with God’s story and bring us into it. Eugene Peterson, author of the Message describes it in his book entitled, Eat this Book, as follows, “…the sweeping tidal rhythms of the church year in which the story of Jesus and the Christian makes its rounds century after century, the large and easy interior rhythms of a year that moves from birth, life, death, resurrection, on to spirit, obedience, faith, and blessing.” Instead, our years tend to be defined by annual events that add stress and create debt. Tax deadlines, birthdays and holidays which obligate us to spend money, the back to school rush, holiday preparations and lots of pre-Christmas shopping, and so on, all crowd out this beautiful and traditional way in which Christians have consecrated time. Taxes, holidays, and shopping are inevitable. But are there ways that we can consecrate the cycle of our year by setting apart special holy days and periods?

3. The Daily Office. Again, early Jewish Christians were used to praying at certain set points throughout the day. This practice was later developed by monastics into daily times for the "work" of prayer (offices). Lauds, Vespers, Compline, and others are names monks used for appointed consecrated times of prayer each day. We may not have the luxury of living in a monastery where the day is ordered around prayer points. But do we set boundaries around time periods each day to spend in prayer? Do we have that quiet time and space away from the intrusions of the day just to be still or to meditate on God’s word? What kind of boundaries do we need to construct to protect the blessing of time with God?

When we carve out consecrated time in our lives by placing boundaries around special days, hours, and minutes, we make an important acknowledgment. We acknowledge that there are limits to what we can do. We get caught up in trying to squeeze it all in and get it all done. We feel like we can’t afford to stop and rest. Some of us may even feel guilty. We may feel like the world is on our shoulders and everything is going to fall apart if we don’t just get that extra thing done. Life begins to speed up and pass by in a blur of deadlines, goals we have to meet, and obligations that must be fulfilled. Consecrating time acknowledges that the world rests on God’s shoulders and not our own. Setting aside time for true rest, prayer, and worship gives us a better perspective and helps us to set our priorities straight.

Without being legalistic, think about when and how you could place some walls around your time. How can you create that breathing room for worship and true rest?

I’ll leave you with a couple of readings from this coming Sunday’s lectionary scriptures. Why not carve out some time to meditate on them?

Psalm 131 (the Message)
1 God, I'm not trying to rule the roost, I don't want to be king of the mountain. I haven't meddled where I have no business or fantasized grandiose plans. 2 I've kept my feet on the ground, I've cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother's arms, my soul is a baby content. 3 Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always!


Matthew 6:25- 27 (NIV)
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

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Worship Focus for Trinity Sunday: Befriended

Scripture Readings for Trinity Sunday

Genesis 1:1-2:4a, Psalm 8, II Corinthians 13:11-13, Matthew 28:16-20

The Trinity is the most foundational of all Christian doctrines. Without the Trinity so many of our important beliefs make no sense. Yet the Trinity itself is a concept that makes no logical sense. We use all kinds of illustrations to try to help ourselves get it. They all fall short because on a logical level the Trinity is a confusing contridiction: The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, the Father is not the Spirit, etc...

Where logic fails, we are left with mystery. I don't think it is a cop out to say that things that are not explained logically are simply mystery. That is not a dismisall. It is an admission that logic falls short of being able to explain all.

There is a line in the song, "Befriended" by Matt Redman that says, "Invited, invited deep into this mystery." Logic can take us so far. Cutting edge science might even be able to take us further into explaining apparent paradoxes. But we are invited deeper into the mystery of the life of the Triune God.

So let's focus on this invitiation that begins with this statement: God is love. Theologian John R. Franke says, "From all eternity God has been involved in giving, receiving and sharing in a fellowship of love as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." Think of the ways in which God seeks to bring us into this fellowship of love as you read the verses of the song, "Befriended" by Matt Redman.

Verse 1

Befriended, befriended

By the King above all kings

Surrendered, surrendered

To the Friend above all friends

Here I think of the Father, Lord God, creator of the universe. His act of creation was an act of sharing love. He created us to be in communion (friendship if you will) with Him.

Verse 2

Invited, invited

Deep into this mystery

Delighted, delighted

By the wonders I have seen

Here I think of the work of the Holy Spirit by which we experience the fellowship of God's love which is truly a wonder and delight.

Verse 3

Astounded, astounded

That Your gospel beckoned me

Surrounded, surrounded

But I've never been so free

Here I think of the work of the Son. As I am brought into the life and love of God through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, I am truly astounded that I see this love perfectly lived out only by one man as I read the pages of the gospel. I also think about the discipline (not legalism) of the narrow road that is the only path to true freedom.

Verse 4

Determined, determined

Now to live this life for You

You're so worthy

My greatest gift would be

The least You're due

This is my response as I am brought into the mystery of God. It is not a "grin and bear it" works mentality. It is the gift of God's very love and grace establishing an inner confidence and fortitude to love and serve God. God brings us in, so we can bring others into this amazing love that is only found in God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Even the gifts that God gives us and ignites through the Holy Spirit are simply manifestations of His grace at work in our lives. The only gift I have to offer back to God is what He has first given me. As I give back to God with a thankful heart, somehow the circle of God's love is expanded. The Triune God (Tri-Unity) reaches out and continues to enlarge the COMMUNITY of God's love. It is truly amazing that we are invited into this mystery!

Worship Focus for Pentecost Sunday: Unity and Diversity

Scripture Readings for Pentecost Sunday
Acts 2:1-21, Psalm 104:24-34, 35b, I Corinthians 12:3b-13, John 20:19-23

The ongoing presidential race has been a historic and interesting one. One thing that is clear to me from this race is the natural tendency for people to polarize. Of course a lot of this polarization is fed by the media. But the media also reflects the basic tendency for people to divide. If you listen to what the cable news channels are talking about you will see that it has little to do with issues. Instead the pundits spend countless hours talking about divisions that exist in our country. This presidential race is interesting because no matter who wins, it will be a first. If Obama wins, he will be the first African American president. If Hillary wins, she will be the first woman. If McCain wins, he will be the oldest ever to take the oath of office. It is no wonder so much of the talk is about who is the most electable. All of this electability talk revolves around issues of race, gender, and age. We hear endless analysis of poles which group voters into categories that not only reflect race, gender, and age, but also education levels, income levels, and blue collar vs. white collar workers. Division just seems to be a natural human competency. We tend to divide and then unite with people whom we most identify.

There is a story found in Genesis 11:1-9. It is the story of the Tower of Babel and it is sort of the counter story to the Pentecost event in Acts 2. According to the story of Genesis 11, the people who were scattered came together for one purpose. "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." Division starts with pride. Our divisions happen when we get together with other like minded people so that we "can make a name for ourselves."

The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them...."

There is strength in numbers so we tend to group with those like ourselves. The problem comes with the superiority that often comes with group identification. For instance, how has and how does America display this type of superiority in the world? Within our own country, which groups have been the "winners" and which have been the "losers?" Winning and losing breeds deep resentments and divides. In fact, it seems as though groups that gain more and more power tend to always do so at the expense of other groups. Great injustices such as African slavery and genocide of Indigenous populations were used to the benefit of some in our own country, the scars of which still run deep and divide us.

That is why God opposes such "unity." It almost always blatantly raises itself up against God's justice. So what happens in the Genesis story?

Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel--because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

God frustrates their efforts to unify. He divides the people by giving them diverse languages. However, we know that this did not really solve the problem. Now people just had another reason to unify and divide.

God's vision for unity is much different. It is radical and is not something that comes naturally to people. It is a vision of unity and diversity. We see God's plan unfold in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost. In an upper room in Jerusalem there was gathered a small group of people who were alike. They were all from Galilee. As in Genesis God "came down," this time in the form of His Spirit. There was a rushing wind and tongues of fire and all of the Galileans began to speak in other languages that they did not know. As we see in Acts, "...there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language."

This time God took a group of people from one culture who spoke one language and gave them different languages, not do divide but to unite. The day that the Church was born it went from being a small group of people who were all the same to a much expanded group of diverse people who were from all over the world. "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."

God's vision is for unity in diversity. The power behind this unity is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings us into fellowship with God and each other. It is a fellowship of love that unites and does not divide. God does not strip us of our unique identities. But those things become secondary to the fellowship of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the mind of Christ. It is only by having the mind of Christ that we can be unified in our differences. If we want to know the mind of Christ, we only have to look at the cross of Christ. The mind of Christ is one of total humility.

"...then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:2-8)

And by His Spirit, as we love and serve each other, God uses our diversity to bring about unity. He gives us His grace to pass on in the form of diverse spiritual gifts.

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.... 12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (I Corinthians 12:2-7; 12-13)

In the Body of Christ it does not matter if we are Jews or Greeks, Black, White, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, young, old, or in between. God does not erase who we are. In fact He ministers His grace within the context of who we are in the form of spiritual gifts. Like the song says, "How beautiful is the Body of Christ!"

When we see division within the Body of Christ, we have to ask if the Spirit of Lord is being allowed to work among us? Things like language, culture, and location may always make it difficult for us to worship together on earth. But do we continue to define ourselves by our divisions? Do we seek the good only for our own (fill in the blank)? The unity in our diversity is a direct measurement of how much we have the mind of Christ. And it is a direct measurement of how open we are to the Spirit's work.

I think that humility is at the center of worship. Humility cannot be faked through postures of worship. Humility is lived. Humility is the natural outcome of the work of the Holy Spirit. Pride brings division. Humility brings unity. The love and unity among God's people is the best form of worship!

I don't "imagine" that someday I will join John and Yoko Lennon so that "the world will be one." It sounds like a beautiful vision. But when I think about it, it feels more like it could turn out to be a terrifying nightmare. There is no stopping humans when they come together. And there is no end to the atrocities that we are capable of committing when we think "our group" is right and justified. Even if we don't have "heaven and hell to live and die for" we will find something else. Even those who value tolerance can become very intolerant of those labled, "intolerant." If we aren't fighting for God or country, we will find something else to war over. Instead, I pray that God will help me by His Spirit to lay down my life for others. I pray that God will unify His Church under the mind of Christ. There is nothing scary about a unified group of diverse Spirit filled people willing to give up their own rights simply to love and serve this world. That is the only hope for true unity!

Worship Focus for the Seventh Sunday in Easter: Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Scripture Readings for the Seventh Sunday in Easter

Acts 1:6-14, Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35, I Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11, John 17:1-11

The Ascension of Christ is something that we often don’t think much about. It is sort of an interesting story that sits between Easter and Pentecost. Jesus promises the disciples that they will receive power from the Holy Spirit and that they will become His witnesses. Then He begins to rise up into the clouds until He disappears. The disciples were all still looking up when two men dressed in white (angels) appeared and basically told them that it was useless to keep looking up because Jesus had gone up to heaven.

This story just seems like a nice ending to the gospel. Jesus was born, He lived, taught, did miracles, was crucified, on the third day rose, appeared to the disciples, and disappeared into heaven. But the Christian community of the New Testament saw this event as something more significant. When we read the New Testament Jesus’ exalted place in heaven is mentioned often. In fact Psalm 110:1 is the most often quoted Old Testament scripture in the New Testament. It reads:

The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."

The early Christians understood real power. Jesus, their friend was now their advocate. What an advocate to have! Here is someone who knew them because He had lived their life and now He was seated in the place of highest authority. When he appeared to them after the resurrection He showed them that he was no ghost but was made of human flesh and bone like them. He ascended in the flesh. And now human flesh was seated in glory. No wonder the New Testament writers talked so much about hope!

After Jesus ascended, the disciples returned to Jerusalem and began to wait for what Jesus had promised – power. Waiting isn’t easy. We don’t like to wait. I’m sure it was no different for the disciples in that upper room. But what they had witnessed at the ascension probably made the wait easier. They knew that Jesus had the authority to deliver on His promise. And He did. As we know, the Holy Spirit came in power on the day of Pentecost.

What we see next is an explosion of Christianity. It is recorded in the book of Acts. The name “Acts” tells it all. It is a book of empowered action. What we may overlook is that it is also a book of “Waits.” The early Christians understood that power came from God. There was no need to strike out on their own. Instead we read about them waiting on the Lord in prayer often with very powerful results. These early Christians had all of the odds stacked against them. They were up against skepticism and severe persecution at times. They had little or no political clout. But they continued firm in their resolve. They understood that Jesus was not only the risen Savior but also the ascended Lord with all authority. They experienced this power through the Holy Spirit. What we see in the book of Acts is a calm, directed, yet powerful and unstopable movement. This movement happened because of worship and prayer. As the early Christians waited on God, their perspective on power and authority was kept straight. They knew that God was in control.

Worship helps us to keep our perspective straight. In worship we know and declare that, “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11). Worship reminds us that Jesus, who is highly exalted, is also our friend and brother. We have an advocate who is on our side because He understands our life. In worship we experience God’s power through the Holy Spirit. Worship reminds us that we don’t have to “jump the gun” and charge ahead taking matters into our own hands. Worship reminds us to humbly wait on God for wisdom, direction, and power to act.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. (I Peter 4:6-7)

We Wait on You

We wait on You.
For it’s not by our own power and strength.
We wait on You.
Holy Spirit please descend upon this place.

To Your will and to Your way
Lord, we surrender.
Our hearts are open wide to Your love.
Help us follow You always and forever.
We need Your holy fire from above.

We Wait on You, by J. Brooke Fenwick, copyright 2001. All rights reserved.