Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Worship and the Story that Goes With It

What is worship?
Gosh, another topic that’s been tackled probably much better than me by other more intelligent people. What many have already related is that the definition of worship need not be narrowly defined within a religious space, although that is what it has been. The meaning of worship is simply a placement or stress of value. The thing which is most important to a person is by definition what that person worships.

Biblically, the gospel of John chapter one states clearly that: “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” What you worship draws you near to it. One or the other, God or godlessness, will ultimately take you up into it and transform you. What is also significant is that worship is a choice and that that choice is exclusive. Wright’s two rules: “You become like what you worship” and, (if directed at God) “worship makes you more truly human” is something I could not have said better (Wright, 148). What you see as valuable is what you align yourself with. There is only one thing humanity reflects, and so there is only one thing that can make us more truly human: God.

Wright’s chapter on worship is invaluable to this conversation. (While relating worship to a world-class concert) “What happens … is that everyone present feels as though they have grown in stature. Something has happened to them: they are aware of things in a new way; the whole world looks different. It’s a bit like falling in love” (Wright, 147). Falling in love is such a fitting and beautiful way of describing the process of worshipping God.

Worshipping to our fullest and in return being filled requires our utmost selves. Our truest selves, as we have discussed doggedly, is caught up in the fact that both we and God are creative. Music is parcel to that creativeness and richness. Music is but one element under the broad and wonderful category of creation. One of the best reasons for the worth of music in a worship setting is that done properly it unifies us, a prayer full of drama and suspense performed corporately. This corporate performance is crucial to our identities and to the ability of us to tell the Biblical story engagingly as a body.

Which leads us to the Story itself. As Wright says in his portion dedicated to Scripture, the story the Bible tells is essential. The Bible provides a history and a catalogue of God’s activity among humanity. The Bible provides definition and authority to the mystery of humanity’s source and destination. It provides a setting and niche for God’s work to take place. “Christian worship is praise of this God, the one who has done these things” (Wright, 150). The gift of praise lifts up and exalts God, but not any god. It is the God of the story we have received. We can only praise the proper God within the proper story. Our humanly praise acts as a signpost to the Kingdom and the Kingdom story.

How should it affect us? Humility, humility, humility! When we stand as specks underneath the majestic and vast sky of God’s creation and story, as part of a bigger picture and larger story, we find our own rightful place: as servants. Without the story and without setting our sights on what is truly worth being praised, we become central. When the leaders of worship see fit to mold the experience entirely around themselves and with themselves they make it a smaller space for everyone. We grudgingly push out any outside movement or energy in favor of a time and space we are in control of and in which we are most comforted. Instead of, as Wright put it, making us “grow in stature,” we shrink in on ourselves and become inbred and ultimately self-worshipping. We are simply setting up ourselves as some petty usurpers sitting on a throne soon to be occupied by a much greater Lord.

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