What On Earth Am I Here For (2): Spirit and Truth

Preached September 16, 2018

For context read John 4:1-26 and Deuteronomy 6:4-9

 

What is worship? I think we often misunderstand this word, thinking that it refers to a particular style of music or liturgy or preaching. People will say, “Our worship is a blend of traditional and contemporary music.” And this is an accurate description of what happens at 11 o’clock on Sunday. But worship is so much more than music. Worship is so much more than what we do on Sunday morning. Rick Warren says, “Anything you do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship” (66). My worship professor at Duke said, “Faithful worship is the way God forms us through the story of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit in the practice of living according to the Truth. Worship begins with what God does in us” (Phillips, 2006, 17). What I hear when I hold these two perspectives together is that true worship includes both embracing what God is already doing in us – the ways God is shaping and forming us through the story of Jesus Christ – and responding faithfully, which brings pleasure to God.

So, what is worship? Worship includes every act that deepens our relationship with God. Years ago, when I first participated in Disciple Bible Study, I remember talking about worship. At that time I had a very concrete understanding of worship as something that happens at 11 o’clock on Sunday morning. I’m not even sure I saw prayer as an act of worship at that time. Someone in the group shared an image that stuck with me. He said, worship actually begins when we open our eyes Sunday morning and continues throughout the day. We worship as we prepare our minds and bodies to come to church. We worship as we give thanks for the food that nourishes us. We worship as we travel to church – especially when we are able to experience God’s creation on our way. We worship as we greet one another before the opening hymn. And then we worship through singing together, hearing God’s word read and proclaimed, and sharing a meal. And then, when we leave this place, we worship around dinner tables with family and friends. And through the afternoon we worship by giving our bodies rest or by gardening or by reading a good book. And at the end of the day as we crawl into bed we worship as we give thanks for a day of Sabbath rest.

The intentionality of this practice truly sets Sunday apart, marking it as the Sabbath. It also opens the door to understanding worship as something we can participate in at any time and in any place.  This is what drew me to the story of the woman at the well.

Contrary to all custom, this woman is not only talking with Jesus, she is debating with him. She points out “You say that the place where people must worship is Jerusalem” (Jn 4:20). And there is truth in this. Jews were expected to travel to Jerusalem for high holy days – it was as if God could only be found in the Temple. It strikes me that sometimes we still do this today. We limit God to this sanctuary and this hour, or we limit God to our daily devotion and our time of prayer. We fail to see that God wants to be in our lives 24/7.

Jesus replies to the woman, “The hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem... The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as those who worship him” (4:21-23).

Jesus is turning the concept of worship upside down with this statement. First, notice that we don’t have to go to the temple or a mountain or any special place to worship. Instead, Jesus makes it clear that the Father is seeking us. Friends, this is good news! God pursues us. God constantly seeks to be in relationship with us. Rick Warren talks about this in terms of friendship – God longs to be our friend. I see this relationship as even more diverse and dynamic – God’s love for us is like the love of a friend, the love of a parent, and the love of a spouse all rolled into one. God loves us with a depth and breadth that cannot truly be expressed by any love we experience on earth. We can only begin to imagine the fullness of God’s love for us. And God deeply desires that we love – that we learn to love – that we practice this love – that we live this love – in return. As the Shema states, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”

This brings me to the second point. True worshippers worship in spirit and truth. They don’t just worship at the Temple. Worship is so much bigger than that! We worship in response to God’s love for us. We worship when we delight in God. We worship when we invite the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us and even in spite of us. We worship when we seek the truth. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” It is in and through Jesus – the living Word of God – that we are able to worship in spirit and in truth.

But what is truth? In a world of fake news, where we disagree on just about everything, and question everything else, worshipping in truth is anything but clear. What does it mean to worship in truth?

First of all, it means worshiping with our hearts and our minds. God-pleasing worship is deeply emotional and deeply thoughtful. And this means that worshipping in truth is slightly different for each one of us. Rick Warren writes on Day 13, “If God intentionally made us all different, why should everyone be expected to love God in the same way?” In other words, the best style of worship for you is the one that most authentically represents your love for God.

Certainly, there are truths we all share. We believe in God the creator. We believe in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. We believe in the resurrection. We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe that we are the body of Christ. And we believe that these truths draw us together in love and send us forth to serve.

And yet each of us lives out these truths differently. I want to share Gary Thomas’s nine ways people draw near to God. This is also drawn from Day 13. Listen for the ones that best describe you. He writes: “Naturalists are most inspired to love God out-of-doors, in natural settings. Sensates love God with their senses and appreciate beautiful worship services that involve their sight, taste, smell, and touch, not just their ears. Traditionalists draw closer to God through rituals, liturgies, symbols, and unchanging structures. Ascetics prefer to love God in solitude and simplicity. Activists love God through confronting evil, battling injustice, and working to make the world a better place. Caregivers love God by loving others and meeting their needs. Enthusiasts love God through celebration. Contemplatives love God through adoration. Intellectuals love God by studying with their minds” (105).

I love this because it makes it okay that I love God through nature, and I love God through our liturgies, and I love God by studying God’s Word. There is a naturalist and a traditionalist and an intellectual in me. And I love that some of you love God by being an activist or a caregiver, and others of you love God through solitude or contemplation. And that together, with all of these different gifts and approaches, we love God in Spirit and Truth. This is our worship. This is what leads us to be the body of Christ in this place.

This brings me back to the question that is shaping our church-wide, 40-day spiritual journey: What on earth am I here for? The most basic answer is that you are here, on this earth, to worship God – to bring pleasure to God.

So I wonder, what does this look like for you? How might God be inviting you to worship in spirit and truth? What might you need to let go of so that you can worship God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength? What hurts and fears keep you from loving God completely? In addition, what practices do you need to pick up or do more faithfully? Are you open to letting God work in you to bring about the kingdom and in the process discovering God’s will for you?

John Wesley wrote this wonderful prayer called the Covenant Prayer. This week, as I have reflected on God’s desire to be in an intimate and life-giving relationship with us, and as I have reflected on the obstacles that keep me from worshiping in spirit and truth, I remembered this prayer. I hear in this prayer a deep surrender to God that opens the door and creates space for infinite possibilities. Will you stand and pray this with me?

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.