On Presence: Why Are We Here?

October 9, 2011

Hebrews 10:19-25

Why are you here today?  Why did you show up? If I took the time to let each of you answer, we’d probably discover a lot of different reasons.  Perhaps you’re here out of habit – you’ve gotten up and come to church every Sunday for so long that being here is just in your blood.  Perhaps you’re here because you were dragged here by a parent or a friend.  Perhaps you’re here because you like the music and you enjoy the fellowship.  Maybe your reasons are more spiritual: It’s been a rough week and you need to hear a word from God.  You want to encounter God and be challenged to grow in your faith. Or maybe you just want to praise God.

This week, as I’ve reflected on why we show up for worship each Sunday, I’ve realized that there are many reasons why we are here – reasons that may vary from week to week – and even reasons why we sometimes skip church to do other things.  This made me realize that wondering why we show up may not be the right question.  The deeper question is, why does our presence in worship matter? Why does it matter that we showed up today?

I think the answer is simple: It matters that we showed up because God showed up first.  If we go all the way back to the beginning, when the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, a wind from God – the Holy Spirit – showed up and swept over the face of the waters (Gen 1:2). Before anything else existed, God showed up. 

And when the Israelites were oppressed and enslaved in Egypt, God heard their cry and showed up – revealing himself to Moses in a burning bush (Ex 3) and then leading them through the wilderness as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex 13:22).

And when Elijah became discouraged because the Israelites had forsaken their covenant with God, God showed up in a still small voice on Mount Horeb.  And when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the firey furnace, God showed up and delivered them from the fire – there were four people in the furnace that day (Daniel 3:25)!

And when the people of God were feeling utterly abandoned – “a day when sin was as black as could be, Jesus came forth to be born of a Virgin, dwelt among men, my example is he” (Glorious Day). Our God is a God who shows up!

So as the people of God, we are a people who show up because our God loves us so much that God showed up first.  Showing up matters. But showing up is only the first step. We worship this God who has constantly sought to be in relationship with us – first through Moses and then through the prophets, and ultimately through His Son Jesus Christ.  Our presence in worship matters because through our worship we strengthen our relationship with God and God’s people – we strengthen the most important relationships we have.

Let me share two of the many ways that we strengthen our relationships with God and one another by showing up on Sunday: First, our presence in worship helps us to remember the story; and, second, as the gathered community it gives us time to encourage one another.

First, we gather each week to tell and remember the stories of the Bible. Remembering is so much more than recalling.  Remembering the story is more than just hearing the story told again. Remembering is this active process where we both recall a story and reflect on the implications for our lives today. Much of what we do in Sunday School and preaching reflects this kind of remembering – we remember in order to be challenged and changed.

Our passage in Hebrews today is an example of this kind of remembering: “Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)... let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (10:19-22).  Notice the “therefore” – it should make us wonder what came before.  Why are we confident to enter the sanctuary?  Because God promised to make a new covenant with us through the prophet Jeremiah, and that covenant has been fulfilled through the blood of Jesus Christ.  Through the blood of Jesus our sins have been forgiven. At his death a new and living way was opened for us when the curtain of the temple was torn in two. This curtain separated the main part of the temple from the Holy of Holies where God was most powerfully present.  When the curtain was torn, we were given direct access to the Holy of Holies; through the flesh of Jesus Christ we enter into the very presence of God. 

We remember the story of Jesus each Sunday through our music, our creeds, and through hearing the word read and proclaimed.  We remember in order to become a part of the story – the story of the people of God – the story of a God who is powerfully present with us.

Perhaps the most powerful remembering comes as we gather at the Table.  In the Great Thanksgiving we pray: “On the night in which he gave himself up for us, Jesus took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples saying, take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.  When the supper was over, he took the cup, gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples and said: Drink from this all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

This remembrance – called the anamnesis – is more than remembering the events of two thousand years ago.  Through our prayers and our actions at this Table we gather with Christ today in the same way the disciples gathered with him on that Passover night, and in the same way Christians have done and will continue to do for generations to come. Sharing the bread and the cup is a powerful act of remembering that invites us into the story that has gone on since the beginning of time, and will continue until we feast at His heavenly banquet with all the saints.  Our remembering leads to repentance because through our remembering we come to know the One who loved us first – the one who is so powerfully present in the bread and the wine. As a forgiven people we affirm that we can “hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful” (Heb 10:23).

So we gather in worship to remember.  But we also gather to encourage.  The author of Hebrews is clearly writing to a church that is weary and perhaps discouraged. Listen to his words: “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (10:24-25).  Do not neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some – we need each other!  Your presence matters! Don’t fall out of the habit of being present in worship. Meet together so that you can provoke one another to love and good deeds.  The word “provoke” means to incite, stir up, enrage.  Worship is a place to shake things up! Pester one another, hold each other accountable. Get into one another’s business in order to build up the kingdom. Have the courage to speak the truth in love.  Don’t let a brother or sister in Christ sit idly by – push them to love and good deeds as this is a faithful response to the One who became flesh for us.

Provoke one another, and encourage one another.  We need encouragement, because living as a Christian in today’s world is hard.  We are surrounded by temptations on every side, and challenged by people whose beliefs are different from ours.  We may be afraid to stand up for what we believe, or uncertain about the correct course of action.  As the body of Christ, we must encourage and provoke one another so that we do not fall into sin.  

John Wesley understood this, setting up class meetings for the first Methodists.  Class meetings were groups of about twelve people who met weekly to pray, hold one another accountable, and give their weekly tithe.  Wesley’s three rules guided their accountability: First, do no harm; Second, do all the good you can; Third, attend upon the ordinances of God.  The classes would provoke one another to love and good deeds, holding each other accountable, especially when they fell; they would encourage each other to do all the good they could and avoid evil.  They would pay attention to whether their brothers and sisters in Christ were going to church, participating in Holy Communion, and doing daily devotions.  They would pester one another about finances and tithing.  This sounds intimidating! On the other hand, this kind of accountability makes for faithful Christians who love one another and God.  So provoke one another and encourage one another, so that we can hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.

I hope you know how much it matters to God that you showed up today.  Beyond remembering the incredible story of our God who always shows up; beyond encountering Jesus Christ who offered himself once and for all on a cross that our sins might be forgiven; beyond serving a God who invites us to pester and encourage one another so that we might not become discouraged or weary or persist in sin.  Beyond all this, I hope you know how much God loves you.  We worship a God who always shows up.  Our faithful response is to do the same.