A State of Worship

I had the opportunity to officiate several weddings this past month. That’s not something I get to do often, and I enjoy it, especially because it’s a chance to be around people with whom I don’t regularly worship. The same is true of funerals, and Christmas Eve, and Easter, too. We celebrate and acknowledge monumental moments alongside extended family and friends, and almost inevitably, the congregation consists of as many strangers as regulars.

And because I act in those settings just like I act on a normal Sunday at Sardis, I receive a universal response: “I’ve never been to a wedding/funeral/Christmas Eve service like that!”

Many are delighted to find that such services can be joyful, or humorous, or creative, or deeply intimate, or warm, or inviting, or laid back, AND still be reverent. To be sure, there are also always a few who are significantly disappointed that such services are not performed more traditionally, or seriously, or judgmentally. After all, love, displayed in true commitment, and the resurrection of the spirit, and the birth of Jesus are not events that should be enjoyed, ARE THEY? God needs you to be solemn so as to be sacred!!!

Worship is not separate from ordinary life.

I think too often, we act as if worship, or the acknowledgment of God, or the practice of being righteous, are somehow separate from ordinary life. What a shame!

Let me tell you something, my reverence for and my obedience toward God doe not change based on my demeanor, nor upon my location, nor by the garments that I’m wearing. When I swing my little girl on the playground swings, and she screams, “Higher than the clouds, Daddy!” I am aware of God’s presence. And when I spin a yarn, and maybe share a drink with a couple of old friends, I am aware of God’s presence. When I sing with windows rolled down; when I shop at the grocery store; when I drive my car; when I walk on the greenway; when I pray the Lord’s Prayer in unison; when I share the bread and cup with others; when I’ve got a clerical robe on; when I’ve got sweatpants on…I am aware of God’s presence.

Worship is about becoming aware of God’s constant presence in every moment.

Worship is not invoking God’s presence, and then acting as if the cameras are rolling, and then going about our business when the director yells, “cut.” First of all, how do we invoke, or invite, or welcome a presence that never leaves us? For God is always present!

Worship is about becoming aware of God’s constant presence in every moment. If we work for such an awareness, then a marriage is every bit as worshipful as a wedding, whether we’re in pajamas of tuxedos; The swirling spirits of the saints who calm us, empower us, and fill us in quiet, vulnerable, unexpected, ordinary moments are just as worshipful as a thoughtful eulogy; The feeling of renewal and rebirth (and the channeling of that energy into our everyday living!) is just a worshipful as the candlelit Christmas Eve service.

Yes, Sardis, worship can be a tangible point: a marker of something important, something sacred, something to be revered. But I would argue that worship is ALSO the thing we do in between such markers: Life, messy and crazy and wonderful, lived in awareness and awe of the One who created us, just as we are!