Proper Worship

Reminiscere - February 20, 2005

John 4:19-26

(adapted from a sermon by, John C. Drosendahl, Pastor, Peace Lutheran Church - Goldsboro, NC)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

A few weeks ago, I talked about the old Army motto, ‘be all you can be’. Well, that also fits when we talk about worship. When we talk about worship must also talk about the Divine Service. The Divine Service is the Order of Holy Communion. In the Divine Service, both laity & pastor want worship to be the very best it can be, for it is the heartfelt desire of every Christian to experience the joy of salvation each Sunday and Festival Day.

When we discuss this, we need to ask the question, “By what criteria are we to measure our worship service against, to see if it is really all it can be?” There is where we can use the Gospel for today to help inform us, as Jesus offers to us a couple of excellent measuring sticks for today’s gathering for worship, and for every worship service. In our text, Jesus declares, not once, but twice, that worship is to be done in Spirit and in truth. Twice He states that these to criterion are to be met in worship. Today, we will examine this and hopefully come away with a better understanding of proper worship.

We don’t always understand what it means to worship “in Spirit”. Sometimes we are tempted to think this only means our worship needs to be somewhat spiritual. Let us not be fooled. The world throws that word, “spiritual” around all over the place. Unfortunately, too often, it has little or nothing to do with anything that could be recognized as what God means by the word.

There are many so-called Christian sects, and Christ-less religions such as Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism that all speak about spirituality and seem to have a spiritual element to their worship. The only problem is that they have the worst possible spirit as the object of their worship - the devil himself! Yes, anything that claims to be spiritual and focuses on something other than God, in Christ Jesus, is of Satan. Such worship is no better that the worship of the golden calf, for the true God is replaced with an idol, a fake, fraudulent and false god who fails to rescue, redeem & save. You see, spiritual worship depends on what spirit you worship!

Jesus makes it quite clear what He means by worshiping “in Spirit”. He reminds us that God is the very Spirit we worship, and none other. The true God is to be the center of Christian worship. So central, in fact, that almost every single word and action of the Divine Service is from God Himself! Yes, that’s correct. Almost every single word of our liturgy is from God Himself - recorded for us first in Holy Scripture. What He speaks to us through the Pastor, and what we speak back to Him in the liturgy is His word of Scripture!

In some Christian circles, to worship in spirit is that we need to get the spirit flowing, it needs to be a "worship experience" that gets us feeling good. If I really "get into the spirit of worship", and that is based upon what I feel, then what is it I feel? The feelings could be from God. They could just as well be from Satan. They could also be produced by what I had for breakfast.

The truth that I am a sinner and the truth that I am given the forgiveness Christ purchased for me are the truthes that come to us in the Divine Service. These truthes may or may not make me "feel" good. Christ's gift of forgiveness comes to me in the Word and Sacrament, whether I feel them or not. In fact, sometimes the Law has got me thinking about my sins so that I may not focus upon the freedom given to me in my forgiveness. Even when I do not feel it, the reality of sins forgiven is the real truth of the Divine Service, wrought by the Holy Spirit. That is what worshiping in Spirit is all about.

God initiates worship. Everything done in worship points us to the very acts of God who forgives us through the sacraments of baptism, absolution and Holy Communion. And if that weren’t enough, genuine worshipers worship in Spirit, literally. The Holy Spirit is present, and Christ Jesus comes to us as He is also personally present, and gives to us all the gifts He purchased through His life, suffering, and death.

In true Christian worship, we are lifted out of the culture and this world by the Father, He takes us out of this valley of tears to dwell safely in Him. We do well not to overlook that small, 2-letter word “in”, for by believing “in” Jesus, we are truly, and really in Him, buried in Him by baptism into death, and raised to life in Him - daily to live a new life forevermore, secure in our Savior!

Another problem we have is, that we don’t always appreciate worshiping “in truth”. Perhaps we take God’s truth for granted or find it boring; diminishing the importance of the doctrine which Jesus Himself holds so dear. We are tempted, like the Samaritan woman, to get so caught up in the wheres, whens, hows or whys of worship, that we lose sight of the What of the Divine Service: the doctrine of salvation in Christ Jesus.

Without the *what* of that doctrine centered solely upon the cross of Jesus, we end up like the Samaritan woman, worshiping what we don’t know. Thinking we do know, like she did, but with our priorities all askew, we find ourselves unsuspectingly replacing the truth of worship with falsehoods!

Truth? Jesus proclaims that He is “the Truth.” Too much other stuff often passes for truth in Christian worship. Sometimes the truth that is the central focus of worship is the people gathered, what they are doing for God. What we do is not the truth of worship. What Christ is doing however, that is the truth that bring peace, and passes all understanding.

When Jesus walked the earth, He came to reveal the truth right in the middle of our world, filled with all kinds of falsities. Leaving no doubt as to who Jesus was, He boldly claimed the Old Testament name of God as His own, answering her question about the Messiah, the Christ to come by proclaiming to her, Ego eimi, or, “I (the one speaking to you) AM (he)”. As Moses at the burning bush once asked the Lord which God it was that would rescue the Hebrews by Moses’ hand, God said, “tell them, I AM sent you”.

Jesus, the great I AM returned for an even greater rescue than that Red Sea escape. For Jesus came as the Way, Truth, and Life to bring us to the Father. He is Truth personified as it were. Truth that sets you free from the Great Deceiver, the devil, once and for all. For Satan no longer has claim to you. The price of the wages of your sin& death, has been paid by Jesus Christ, who at the cross redeemed you with His holy precious blood & innocent suffering and death. There, once for all, Jesus showed Himself to be the truth which sets you eternally free from sin, from death and from the devil.

Truth is, Christ is the Word who present in the spoken Word in our Divine Service today, and is working the miracle of forgiveness and the granting of faith. Christ is the Word, present for us Christians to eat and to drink. Christ is the Word, present and blessing those gathered around Him, and sending us back out into the world in His truth.

Truth is, God is the main actor in worship, bestowing His gifts, and His Spirit moves us to respond in prayer and praise - thankful for the incredible gifts He is bestowing. It is called the Divine Service, because the Divine is serving us with the riches of His grace in Christ.

Dear friends in Christ, I beg of you, by faith, treasure all the more this Divine Service given to us from God as true worship. With its liturgy as the words & works of God the Spirit Himself to forgive us, save us and grant us life forevermore - is there anything else more valuable? We gather so that He can bless us - feed us - nourish us - strengthen our faith. The Spirit gathers us together, so that the Truth, Christ, can set us free.

You are blessed, by the Truth of the gospel - by Jesus Christ Himself. In the Gospel proclaimed in our Divine Service, it is none other than the very love of Jesus declared to us and given to us. It is Jesus Himself who comes to us, in Whom we believe as our Redeemer, and Who is the Truth Who sets us free! Come receive His mighty gifts, for that is indeed, proper worship. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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