COME! Let
us Worship!
That's
the theme this week throughout our scripture passages; waiting to be heard -
really heard - and thought about - and prayed about - and acted upon.
So COME! Let
us worship!
Naturally,
you're all thinking "Yes! Let's do!"
Worship
is, of course, a religious devotion to God, from the Old English meaning worthiness,
giving worth to something. So when we worship we are making God worthy. Sounds
easy, right? Or is it? Because it certainly wasn't for the folks in the
scriptures today.
Let's
start with Saul. Saul is "breathing threats and murder" against
Christ-followers, asking temple priests to help him catch and imprison or kill
any he found on his way to Damascus. This man made his living - and a good one
at that -from persecuting Christ-followers. He was so good at it, he trained
others how to do it. Saul was known for being one of the best in his field.
And
then God got involved - it's possible God had been speaking to Saul for a
while, but was being ignored (hey, we all miss signals or ignore directives
from time to time, right?) But - there comes a point where God will not be
ignored anymore - instead we are called to worship. With Saul, this entailed a
flash of light, a voice from God, direction to do exactly the opposite of what
he had planned, and temporary blindness. God is not always subtle.
So
there he is - from rich and powerful, to blind, unemployable, relying on
others. He becomes the recipient of mercy, and grace, and the healing of the
Holy Spirit. And - because we all love a little irony - the person who brings
these to Saul is none other than a Christ-follower, someone who was being
hunted by Saul and his colleagues.
Given
all this, is it any wonder that Saul's life is changed, that he's inspired to
worship God? He knows that he has now lost his job, his friends and family, his
social standing, his social network. He'll forfeit his house, his valuables,
even - as we later learn - his name (at least one letter of it, as he becomes
Paul). He's also put himself at risk, shifting from being a persecutor to one
who will be persecuted by the very men that he taught. Yet Saul did this,
receiving the sacrament of baptism even before he ate anything after 3 days of
hunger. He did this, having had this dramatic experience, that he might worship
God.
COME! Let us worship - knowing that we do not
have to face the same extremes and hardships that Saul did.
Let's
not forget the other character in the reading from Acts... Ananias. This man
has great faith. He loves the Lord! He loves to praise and worship - so long as
no one else sees him doing it. So long as he does not have to expose himself
for being the Christian that he is. It's easy to answer "Here I am! to
God, until God's request is not what you want to be doing. God says "I
need you to go and see the great persecutor Saul, and cure him of his
blindness." And Ananias says "Um, no. That guy's dangerous. He's got
a reputation. He's got friends and allies and I want NOTHING to do with
him."
And
God, being God - and as I said before, not always subtle - says "Go. I
told you so. He's going to work for me now. Let me judge his past, not
you."
Ananias,
at this point, really has limited options - and disobeying God's direct order
doesn't seem wise. So he goes, I suspect with fear and trepidation, maybe with
an eye roll or deep sigh. I suspect being in the presence of Saul - blind or
not - was uncomfortable and awkward. But Ananias did what God told him - an act
of worship and worth-giving despite his own fears and preferences and
prejudices. And it seems to have turned out alright - as we don't hear anything
about Ananias again.
COME! Let us worship - having learned from
Ananias to put aside our own earthly fears that we might have full trust in
God.
The Psalmist
today is basically saying - over and over again - COME! Let us worship! He is
reminding those who would listen, including us today, that we can come to God
for help, for healing, for life, for forgiveness, for joy, for security, for
comfort... and that we will be granted what we need. We are being invited to
celebrate that our mourning has turned to dancing, that we have been clothed
with joy. We are invited to let our souls praise God and not be silent, giving
thanks to God forever.
COME! Let us worship - that our lives may
express the same delight in being faithful, thankful, beloved children of God.
The Revelation
given to John shows a glorious, worshipful reality of the age to come. We get
only the tiniest glimpse of it this morning, but we hear of angels, living
creatures, elders, saints, myriads or myriads and thousands of thousands - all
praising God, giving worship to Jesus, the Lamb of God - power and wealth and
wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing. And every creature - EVERY
CREATURE! on earth, and in heaven, and in the sea, and under the earth - all of
them sing together to praise God. Every... Creature... regardless of their
place in the ecosystem, or if they are earthly mortal enemies, or if they have
already passed from our history. Ants and anteaters; lions and lambs;
dinosaurs, dodo birds, and wooly mammoths - all of them, together, giving God blessing
and glory and might, forever and ever. All for the joy of worship.
COME! Let us worship - with all of creation,
through all of the ages, putting aside our own ideas and ideals and instead
shouting a loud AMEN!
Feisty,
yes? And I'm not even at the Gospel yet.
We have
the disciples - 7 of them, anyway, fishing in a boat. Naked - which was
apparently normal, given the nature of the work. And there they are, luckless
all night, until a stranger on the beach tells them to put the net on the other
side of the boat. Maybe he's a weirdo, maybe he saw a school of fishes coming,
whatever: they try it - nothing to lose, right? - and they realise that this
was a lesson in trust, in doing what they may not understand at the time, in being
open to receiving abundance. We know the outcome - 153 fish, large ones, and
not a tear in the net. Miracle upon miracle; they could eat well, save some,
and sell the rest in market to earn plenty of funds for the coming weeks.
And it's
the faith of the unnamed disciple whom Jesus loves that allows him to see Jesus
for who he really is. And it's the joy and exuberance of being in the presence
of the Lord that has Simon Peter grabbing clothes (to be respectful) and
flinging himself out of the boat. And it's the wisdom of the other disciples to
bring the boat and the full net to the shore. And it's the gift of all of them,
for all of them, to sit and share a meal - with the Lord whom they knew -
before getting swept up in the busy-ness of the rest of the day. And it was
with a practical knowledge that Peter responded to Jesus that he would give up
his simple life as a fisherman, to go out and care for all of God's people -
the sheep of the Great Shepherd - to feed and tend and nurture them, even
though it would mean difficulty and distress and ultimately, a terrible death.
And
this they all did - eyes wide open, hearts wide open, with full respect and
love and awareness. Full of worship - the disciples followed.
COME! Let us worship! With faith and joy and
openness and trust, with love and care and commitment, responding with
enthusiasm to Jesus' invitation to follow him - wherever he will lead us.
So COME! Let us worship! In our hearts and
in our minds and with our voices and with our actions.
Let us
worship:
· on Sunday mornings, and
Thursday afternoons, and sick days, and sunny days.
- · when we want to, and when it's inconvenient, and when we have nothing else planned, and when we say we're too busy.
- · when we're in this church, and when we're at home, and when we're out shopping, and when we're on vacation.
- · when we're alone, and when we're with family, and when we have lunch with an atheist friend.
- · when - and where - and how - we feel is appropriate, without excuses, to give worth to God.
In our
devotions, in all we say and do: COME! Let us worship the Lord.
