Life Covenant Church

The other morning I was running and suddenly realized I was worshiping. It was especially quiet as it was too early for many cars to be out yet. The air was crisp, the sky a beautiful blue streaked with wispy clouds, and the trees on Arlington Ave. were reaching the peak of their fall color. And as I ran I realized my prayer had shifted from my list of requests to a stream of praise for the Giver of all good gifts.

I reflected back on a conversation I had a while back with a skeptic who had grown dismissive of the church. Among his charges: “Worship is nothing but escapism. It is just a form of denial – a petty excuse to run away from the real problems in our lives and in the world around us.”

He had a point. Worship can be used for empty escapism, though it need not be. If we simply tune out reality, shutting off our problems and pretending everything is rosy when it isn’t, worship will be of limited benefit to us. It’s still better than escapism via TV or some vice, but it no doubt will leave us hungry for greater substance. Think of this type of worship as the spiritual equivalent of cotton candy.

But this need not be the case, for at least two reasons. First, to worship – to really worship – means that we bring our whole selves to the event, warts and all. Look at the Psalms! Joy and sorrow, gladness and anger, longings fulfilled and longings frustrated, mountain-top happiness and deepest grief – it’s all there. There is no hint of escapism because the full spectrum of human emotion is brought to the table. The Psalms remind us that God is not looking for sanitized worship. When we come to the communion table, sing, pray, give, come under the Scriptures, exchange a smile and hug with a brother or sister – we need to come honestly, bringing all that we are to our meeting with God.

Second, to worship is to connect with ultimate Reality. Is it alright for us to let our problems get smaller for an hour and simply focus on the greatness of God? Absolutely! I’m not talking about worship as a denial of reality; it is the embracing of a greater reality. You may have had the worst week of your life, worthy of a country western ballad. That is real (and again, bring that with you to your act of worship). But realer still is God. Has God become less as a result of our struggle? Are we any less his beloved children, bought with a price and adopted into his family? Does the cross cover any less of our sin? Has the power of the resurrection in any way been diminished? And as we celebrate Advent and anticipate our Lord’s return, is our ultimate future in any way changed?

Such worship is not escapism. It is rooted in the reality of the good and bad of life as we experience it, and in the greater reality of the One who holds our lives in his hand.

So here, friends, is my invitation and my challenge: As you celebrate these last weeks of Advent, be a fully-engaged, wholly honest worshiper. Both on Sundays and as you meet God in the days in-between, bring your whole self, joys and pains alike. And bring that self to the God who is bigger than our experience of the moment – the One who loves us, who died for us, who holds our lives in his hand.

And while you’re at it, take a minute to express thanks to those whose service is making worship happen. It takes a lot of people: musicians, tech people, children’s workers, set up, imagination crew, pray-ers….

Lord bless you friends, and we’ll look forward to being with you this weekend –

Tim
Mt 6:33