Scripture:
Paul was very fond of the church which he founded in Thessalonica. In the opening passages of his first letter to the Thessalonians, he recalls how they turned their lives over to the power of God. Paul recognizes that they had to make a choice between forces which competed for their loyalty. In the end, they reserved their ultimate commitment for God alone.

Hear Paul's praise of the Thessalonians, reading from chapter one, verses 5-10: .... you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. [6] And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, [7] so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. [8] For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. [9] For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, [10] and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming. May God add a blessing to this reading from Holy Scripture.

Throughout his brief career, Jesus was tested many times by the religious leaders of his day. In this passage, they try to trap him by drawing him into a centuries-old discussion about which one of the 613 Jewish laws is the greatest. Jesus takes the bait, but avoids the hook, and in the process offers us 2 standards by which to live. Hear his challenging words found in the 22nd chapter of Matthew, verses 34-40:

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, [35] and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. [36] "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" [37] Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' [38] This is the greatest and first commandment. [39] And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' [40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Thus far the Gospel for this morning.

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable unto you O Lord; our strength, and our Redeemer.

Amen

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot: Four Quartets

Sermon:


This morning, my sermon is a response to many of you who have asked me to preach about worship. It seems fitting to address this topic today because this morning's order of worship includes a few minor changes, which I hope to put into context.

When I first worshipped at Plymouth Church last September, like any first-time-worshipper, I was looking to see if the order of worship felt more-or-less familiar. Those of you who travel and drop-in-on other congregations from time to time know that there is great variety in worship styles, even within our own denomination, the United Church of Christ.

For example, I would not feel at home if we were to process the cross -- as they do at Wellesley Hills UCC where my friend Craig Adams is minister. Neither would I feel at home if we were to have an altar call each week -- although when I was in high school, and visited all sorts of different congregations, I have a profound memory of responding to an altar call in a Baptist church.

Each of us is the same in this regard: when we come to worship, we are looking to have a familiar experience. This is the aspect of our faith that looks for comfort, routine, and ritual or to put it scripturally: Jesus Christ: the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

But if corporate worship is to be authentic, it must also entice us to move beyond the routine. Not only is worship a source of comfort; it must also be a time of challenge. Why?

• Because God is too magnificent to be contained in the eddies of our routines.
  
• God is too glorious to be praised only-and-always by the same hymns and anthems.
  
• God is too profound to be fully captured by our well-planned and structured liturgies.
  

If the purpose of worship is to transport us to a place where we begin to experience ourselves as the body of Christ; if it is to give us a taste of the kingdom of God while blood still flows through our veins, then we must come-to-worship fully prepared for the surprises which the Holy Spirit (and perhaps the worship leaders!) have in store for us. Don't forget: Jesus also said "Behold, I make all things new!"

But no one can be open to the wonder and excitement of God's promise unless we feel safe and secure. That's why it's appropriate for us to maintain rituals and traditions; and to establish an order of worship on which we can depend week after week. These are the cornerstones which provide the safety and security we require to open ourselves to innovation.

When we gather each week to worship, each of us makes a decision to become vulnerable in a special way. We choose to open ourselves to the most important contact a person can ever have, the touch of God...the intimacy of the Holy One, and to do this in public, sitting alongside friend-and-stranger in rigid pews.

What a great testimony it is to our spiritual thirst that we are willing each week to come here and invoke God's name; and what a great testimony it is to the grace of God that in this time together,

• something important,
  
• something larger than ourselves,
  
• something which transcends our understanding takes place,
  
  

and from time to time transports us to a place of compassion-and-love which we could never discover on our own.

God's grace is mediated by the various dimensions of public worship that come together in our experience each Sunday morning. The order of the service contributes to that experience, but so does the quality of the music, the architecture of the space, and the recognition of familiar faces in the pews. All of these factors are involved -- as well as the nature of the piety, the time and duration of worship, and the voice and direction of the preaching and prayers.

Altering any of these factors may cause us to feel off-balance, or empty, or distracted, or unfulfilled. Recognizing this, I have been careful to make very few adjustments in the order of worship which I inherited from Dr. Campbell. I was glad that it is solidly consistent with our Reformed tradition...and I have kept it in tact.

Still, the same order of worship, led by a new minister, is experienced differently. A new voice, unfamiliar movement in the chancel area, new emphasis in the prayers or preaching, any of this can feel like a significant change, even if the order of worship stays the same.

This is why it's important for a congregation to develop a clear understanding of the meaning of its corporate worship life, as distinct from the personal piety which each of us brings on Sunday morning. Together:

• how we worship,
  
• the praise we generate,
  
• the prayers that flow from our hearts,
  
• the compassion evoked by the stories we hear-and-tell

all of this comes-together in a way which is different from what any one of us experiences in private. I am in no way downplaying the importance of personal piety or "communing with God in nature". What I am saying, and what distinguishes this opportunity from all others, is that when we gather as a community to worship God -- the Holy Spirit unleashes new and surprising power.

In scripture, the church is referred to as the body of Christ. What does that image conjure for you? It reminds me that I can only experience the fullness of Christ when I am with a number of people -- particularly people who are different from myself. It reminds me that Christ is more fully present:

• when a congregation embraces a variety of approaches in its worship;
  
• when a preacher draws upon a range of styles in his or her delivery;
  
• when a benevolence committee offers the congregation all kinds of alternatives in which to invest their time and money as they seek to promote justice;
  
• when a new members class includes people with an assortment of religious backgrounds and a spectrum of interests and careers.
  
  

Or to paraphrase scripture: the eye is not the hand, and the hand is not the foot, and the foot is not the ear. But God has arranged the body in all its diversity so that there is no discord in it, and that working in harmony, it can discover a most excellent way. [1Cor. 12: 14-31] Not every congregation celebrates diverse approaches.

As Martin Luther King pointed out on numerous occasions, Sunday morning is still the most segregated time of the week. Another threat is that each congregation will identify so strongly with a certain way of approaching worship (or some other matter of church life) that it will close-itself-off from innovation and new opportunities.

John Gardner touches on this in his novel entitled Grendel,. It is are-telling of the Beowulf epic from the viewpoint of the monster. In one scene (a sarcastic commentary on worship) Grendel is secretly watching the priests of the tribe ritualizing before their gods. The monster remarks: There is no conviction in the old priests' songs; there is only showmanship. No one in the Kingdom is convinced that the gods have life in them. The weak observe the rituals, take their hats off, put them on again, raise their arms, moan, intone, press their palms together, but no one harbors unreasonable expectations.

For Gardner's priests, and for so many Protestants in mainline churches throughout America, it is not that worship lacks meaning; but that the meaning that-is-present-for-them in worship is moribund. How easy it is for weekly worship to slip into this kind of empty routine. How readily we may find ourselves satisfied with worship which embraces only familiar music, comfortable routines, friendly acquaintances, and thoughtful reflection.

I would hope that you are coming to see that my worship-leadership seeks to balance the importance of a routine, familiar, and somewhat predictable worship experience with a sense that on any given Sunday-morning, we might be surprised by the unexpected, and suddenly find ourselves face-to-face with an opportunity for awe or wonder, tears or a stunning realization. Because worship is about encountering and praising God, worship demands our active participation.

Ask yourself the following question: if worship, like theater, involves actors, prompters and an audience, who is playing which role? Most people feel that God is the prompter, the worship leaders are the actors, and the congregation is the audience. Such a view rationalizes a passive role for the congregation, and regards worship mainly as an activity in which the congregation evaluates what it is served.

Let me ask you to entertain a different model. I would suggest that

• the worship leaders are the prompters,
  
• the members of the congregation are the actors,
  
• and God is the audience.
  
  

All of a sudden, worship is no longer an experience of passive receptivity. If you are the actors, and God is the audience, it becomes obvious that a good bit is at stake, and preparation is needed.

While it may be the case that the activity we undertake as worshippers will give us a sense of comfort and healing, it will also shock us out of our routines, jar us from our glazed gazes, and make of us any number of unreasonable expectations. Jesus' teachings often shocked his listeners (and us!) in just these ways.

Earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, when the Pharisees hear Jesus' response to their question, the scripture records: "They were amazed; and they left him and went away." (Matt 22:22) Toward the end of his life, when the temple guards were sent to arrest Jesus, they returned empty-handed and excused themselves, saying, "Never has anyone spoken like this!" (John 7:46)

Such was the case with the Gospel reading this morning. The Pharisees were continuing their campaign to discredit Jesus as an authentic teacher. Having cleverly chosen a lawyer to be their mouthpiece, he challenged Jesus to name the greatest of the 613 commandments. Rabbis had disagreed about this matter for centuries -- and so it was a trick question. But Jesus responded with clarity and confidence, creativity and surprise.

There are many opportunities in daily life to show our love for God and neighbor -- but none is more obvious than the act of worshipping-God as a member of a Christian community. In worship, the love of God and the love of neighbor are brought together. We are drawn into community because in community, we come to know God differently than we would if we sought God only in solitary ways.

• In breaking bread together,
  
• in offering one another the peace of Christ,
  
• in confessing together before God,
  
• in praising the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as we sing,

in these ways and more, the love of God and the love of neighbor are brought together.

So let us own-up to the fact that our worship, by its content and feel, is a testimony to what we consider to be real. We all know what it's like when a service hits the worship-equivalent of a "home run". Somehow, in a way that has authenticity for us all, each of us is elevated above our private, individualistic connection to God. In its place, we are given the gift of connecting, at the same time, with both the transcendent and the immanent, with God and with our neighbors. Worship experiences like this occur as a result of an enormous amount of sensitive planning, seeking to integrate the countless considerations, some of which I enumerated earlier. And one more thing: they occur when, in addition to all the planning, we find a way to open ourselves to the spontaneous presence of the Holy Spirit.

Three reminders might pave the way for this: (1) Imagine if we were to gather at 10:30 am every Sunday morning, and miracle of miracles, expect to encounter the living and true God. Would that not be such an unreasonable expectation that even Grendel would cease his sarcasm, and perhaps join us? (2) Imagine if we were to gather every Sunday morning, wondering what God has in store for us, and how our gathered community will inspire-and-propel-us to lead altered lives in the week ahead -- that would set the stage for authentic worship. (3) Or imagine what it would be like to find our way to worship by 10:30 am for no other purpose than to praise God, and have our lives touched by Holiness...what a difference such focus would make.

Worship is a three-way street ,in which your preparation, and my preparation, and the preparation of the Holy Spirit mix together. Can you and I prepare, throughout the week, to praise God more fully when we come together? Can we allow ourselves to expect to encounter our Maker, the Lord of all the universe, when the Word is preached, the bread is broken, and the pieces passed?

I think we can. And as we do, I am certain that the living and true God will be among us in new and wonderful ways. Praise God!


Amen.