"Everyday Worship"
Romans 11:33-12:2
April 26, 2009
"Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"
"Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"
God does not depend on us. It's the other way around. We can ignore God but we cannot thereby eliminate God. God is. And God has placed us in an awesome creation.
We are not God's benefactors nor are we God's counselors. Therefore, we do well to hear God. When we listen for the Lord and respond it is called worship.
Worship takes place in the context of God's creation - of which we are a part -- not the whole.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
What does it mean to "offer our bodies as living sacrifices?" For one thing, it means that life with God must honor the material and seen as well as the unseen or "spiritual." In a place and time that loved to distinguish between mind and body - spiritual and profane, Paul was inspired to tell believers to offer all of it to God. There's not a thing in creation in which God does not long to delight. That includes our bodies as much as our souls.
Offering like this is a lot more than giving up an animal carcass that we purchased or raised with great time and expense. God does not want to be at arm's length with us -- not after everything that happened with Jesus. God does not want a present from you; God wants you - all of you.
Paul says that is anything from "spiritual worship" to "reasonable service" - the translations differ. The Greek allows all these meanings - and any combination you want to make with those four words. Worship and service meet in the Greek word latreia. The acts of worshipers and priests are described that way - but so are the actions of a faithful servant. Both senses are valid because worship is an act of service, be we together or on our own. The idea logikos, the other word, can be "spiritual," "reasonable" or both. One thing is certain. Worship is meant to influence the way we live. The way we live expresses worship.
The question is this; what or whom do we value? What or whom do we worship?
We usually think of worship in the context of Sunday morning; the Lord's day. The Ten Commandments looks on God's resting on the seventh day of creation and commands us to keep the day holy. It's to be a day of rest and reflection. Of course, Saturday is the seventh day by our reckoning. Early Christians celebrated the resurrection of Jesus on the first day - Sunday - as a feast day.
The two are brought together in a mindset that we need to reacquire. Paul told us not to conform to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Come to see things differently! The Lord's Day is a chance to do that.
For Christians, Sabbath should be a state of mind and we should give ourselves a day to take delight in God and God's work. It's not all sleep and Bible reading. It's saying no to the absolutely smothering rush, boredom, and anxiety that passes for life today. The Sabbath - or Lord's Day - is a God given, God commanded way to get head and heart straight for everyday life. That's because Christ calls us to a lifestyle of everyday worship! What you do here - and what you do for the rest of the day can change your life! It should; it really should.
I've been reading a remarkable book by Norman Wirzba entitled Living the Sabbath. It has made the central importance of worship crystal clear to me and I'd like to share some of his thoughts this morning (I already have).
In our gathered worship and in the way we live our everyday lives, God wants us to develop the sense of delight God had on those first six days. Remember how God said "good!" after everyday? God wasn't kidding! We know how sin messed things up - but we also believe God has done everything needed to bring about restoration. That's what Easter's all about! Look for the good God has created! Make this your mindset and leave behind seeing everything and everyone for what they can give or the harm they might bring to you. It makes a great difference!
Learn how to take delight in the world around you. Even if it's a painful time for you, can you find respites of peace? All this will enrich the way you come to times of gathered worship and what you will take into the coming week.
If you are too busy to let this sense of delight sink in; you are too busy. Don't settle for what's cheap and phony. We want to be entertained but
We usually settle for so much less. Please don't settle for less! Going out to get the paper on a cold morning, there are times when the stars are out and the cold slaps me in the face. I look up and get awed to joy! Then there are mornings I grab the paper to get the ball scores and business reports. One is just getting by - and the other is delight! We're all in this together!
When we are mindful of God and our place in this marvelous creation; worship breaks out. This paragraph by Wirzba deserves a full reading. Consider it with heart, mind, and soul.
"But we have not sufficiently reflected on how our bodies can contribute to or detract from the glory of God and how individual bodies, when properly oriented to God, will inevitably contribute to the nurture and well being of the social body. Thus as churches we tend to concern ourselves little about what we eat, how we dress, the places we shop, the kinds of homes we live in, the cars we drive, and the occupations we choose -- as if these activities or habits were not occasions to honor God's grace and express our worship. We have divorced worship too much from our everyday lives and placed it in a purely spiritual realm, not realizing that in doing so we have rendered it abstract and anemic, cut off from the flows and patterns of daily life. Rather than having our worship grow seamlessly and spontaneously (more honestly?) from the activities we perform daily, we have confined it to special buildings and times that are susceptible to the fabrication and hype - the deceit of vainglorious and "empty words" (Eph.5:6) - of the moment." (p.159)
Wirzba writes, "Weekdays, if they are to serve as good preparation for the Sabbath, must in some way be a participation in and manifestation of Sabbath goals." God's Sabbath goals are delight in the goodness of what God made. Can we not delight in the same -- and learn how to live into such delight? God is love. Can we not learn how to engage in serving the sense of holy delight God puts into our deepest and best being?
I've heard about how a couple of you are getting together to read scripture together. It's more than a dry study. You've discovered this sense of delight in simply being together with God. It's worth more than any $150 ticket to any game or concert anywhere. It's free! It's eternal! It's worship!
I've experienced the way a bunch of us got together to put on a community supper. It was work, yes. But it was a delight to the heart! It was worth more than any $150 dinner for two at a fancy restaurant. (If anyone who was there disagrees I'll pay for your meal!) It's free! It's eternal! It's worship!
I've seen how some of you have worked past serious breaks in your relationships and how trust and understanding has replaced hurt feelings. It's delightful! It's free! It's eternal! It's worship!
Today we will leave the sanctuary to fellowship and then have a quarterly meeting. We call them "business meetings" but we're wrong. The old Baptists used to call them "covenant meetings," which is much better. Yes, we'll have a chance to worship in everyday life. Will our meeting look like a Sabbath or business meeting? I'm optimistic that delight will rule!
As we go to the week ahead how will we worship? I leave us with a question Wirzba asks. "As a simple test, we might ask: how would we, practically speaking, praise God if we could not use words or pens?"
How would you answer that one?
TAKING IT HOME: EVERYDAY WORSHIP!
LEARN IT BY HEART!
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:1,2a
This is one of the most important of biblical ideas. Read these over very carefully and think about the words' meaning. Speak them aloud so your ears can help your mind and heart comprehend.
WHAT IS "A SPIRITUAL ACT OF WORSHIP?"
Pastor Steve pointed out that the Greek words here can be taken a number of ways without any contradiction. Think about what each combination might imply.
· "spiritual worship"
· "logical service"
· "logical service"
· "spiritual service"
WHAT WOULD IT MEAN FOR YOU TO OFFER YOUR BODY AS A "LIVING SACRIFICE?"
Think about how life would be different in you gave yourself to what you know of God's priorities. What first steps might you take? Find someone to share this with and pray for each other to take this step.
WHAT IS YOUR ANSWER TO WIRZBA'S QUESTION?
"How would we, practically speaking, praise God if we could not use words or pens?"
