The Point of Worship

It is not about you. I know we like to think most things are about us. It’s our natural assumption. As we look at life and all the options that lie before us, we usually ask, 'What can this do for me?' When we come to worship, our perspective is not that much different. We all have different likes and dislikes, and we hold worship under the same microscope as other things. What fits my needs and what am I going to get out of it.

Perhaps we need to look again at what the point of worship is. By definition, to worship is to give praise and honor to something or someone, to hold them in the highest regard so that they are worthy of your praise and reverence. The Ten Commandments state, “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy,” reminding us that worship is supposed to be a regular part of our life, not something to be neglected. Lutheran worship was framed by Martin Luther as the dedicated time where we sing songs of praise, hear God’s holy Word, and receive the sacraments. It comes down to being engaged by that which we deem as Holy - our action with God’s action.

During the season of Advent we will be lifting up WORSHIP as the next Element of a Living Faith. Advent is the perfect time to talk about worship because it is the season of waiting in anticipation for God to make God’s self known. Advent is the season to remember why it is we worship, to remember that the creator of the universe, the unimaginable, the infinite, will become most commonly known in the form of a child. That which we cannot even fathom is made flesh and lying in a manger before our very own eyes of faith - Holy, impressionable, majestic, tangible, real.

I invite you to reexamine how it is you give honor to that which before you could not even grasp, God made flesh. Do you come looking for your likes… or do you come hoping to receive that which you could never be? How do you worship, when was the last time you encountered the living God in worship? Are you too hung up on the style, songs, or length or can you simply be and receive? As the world lights up and tries to distract you with visions of sugar plums dancing for you, I invite you to come and worship God made real. Come discover the true wonder of Christmas again.