Worship as a Means

(Originally written for purposedriven.com)

The last few messages I have heard on worship have discussed the similarity between our praise of God and the union of husband and wife in sexual intercourse. In both activities, the lover is giving all of one's self to the other in passionate devotion. The self-giving of both sex and authentic worship result in a unique happiness we experience no where else. Aristotle rightly saw such happiness as an end in itself. Such experiences are valuable for their own sake.

As a pastor, I have responded to this idea by gearing my teachings to culminate with an entrance into worship. Most of my teachings end with a release of our people to praise God through song, confession, or communion. The worship experience is the goal of all we do on Sundays.

Recently, however, I have found a place for worship not just as an end, but as a means. That is worship also has utility. It is valuable in accomplishing other things of high worth.

Perhaps we could bring back the sex metaphor again. Though there is inherent value in a husband and wife coming together in sexual union, in some instances that union produces a child. That is, the act of sex is both an end (an expression of joy between husband and wife) and a means (an activity which births a human soul). Worship too is valuable for its own sake, but I wonder deeply whether it may in fact be useful in overcoming some of the difficulties we experience as Christ followers.

In my opinion, the most troublesome characteristic of the church today, and through history, has been its infighting and division. Some times this has lead to differing church buildings on the same block. Some times it has lead to gunfire.

Because we have such different lives and such different experiences of the God who is real, it is no wonder that what we hold as primary in our theologies are different. God interacts with us where we are, with our specific baggage, predispositions, and struggles. Often this affects what we see as important in our theologies, what we see as problematic, and what we conclude is most worthy of our time and focus. Aside from irrelevant power structures, it seems that these differences, more than anything else, are what separate Christians of good faith. It is not that one side is wrong and the other is right. It is that God is working on us in deeply relevant ways which effect how we think about him and his activity in the world.

As an example, some of my favorite books recently are those published by Zondervan in which scholars from differing denominational backgrounds debate theological topics (Sanctification, Hell, Law and Gospel, Women in Ministry, etc.). The amazing thing is that all the scholars are absolutely committed to the authority of the Bible. All of their arguments proceed from its pages. In the end, however, these scholars come to differing, some times opposite conclusions about what God affirms.

How is this possible? How is it that we can be united to a common savior, a common history, a common text, common creeds and still find such divisions? Certainly such divisions hurt the very God we love, especially when such differences lead to schisms between Christ followers. How can we resolve this problem?

It seems to me that it is in shared worship that we will unite in ways that are beyond words and ideas. We can, despite our difference, encounter the same God together and find ourselves united in ways that mere concepts cannot provide. Through worship, we can experience God together in ways that are fresh, that transcend many of the places we find ourselves at odds.

NT Wright and Marcus Borg begin their wonderful book "The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions" by taking communion with one another. Despite their deep differences in their historic understanding of Jesus, theology, and practice, they still could share the same table in common devotion to the Jesus who is real. Many large church conferences offer similar opportunities when laity and clergy from quite different perspectives and theological commitments can sing the same song and worship the same God, even though their theologies may be for the moment incompatible.

It is because we do not worship an Idea--do not worship a systematic theology--that this is possible. We worship a Person: three in fact. The Trinity is alive and active, shrouded in mystery yet vibrantly present to all. Because God is personal and not ideological it is no offense to him if we worship with those who have different thoughts. In the end, our doctrines are simply maps or pictures by which to guide us toward God, but at the end of the day, we must--along side Thomas Aquinas--see them as "just so much straw." It is the actual living God that is important and our shared participation in his life.

May we take more opportunities to receive Communion with our brothers and sisters from different denominations and backgrounds. May we find places to sing together, serve together, and love a broken world together. They will know we are Christians, not because of our unified thought. They will know we are Christians because we love one another. Through out the New Testament, the shared meal--the Jesus meal--is the symbol of love. It is easy to love those who are like us. The real test of our transformation as Christ followers is whether we love those who are different.

As we move into a post-denominational world, it is through worship that Christ followers will find their shared identity.

Pictures by seminary student Mike G here.