I was attending a Bible study, and someone was spouting off that the church should only engage in important spiritual matters, to be apolitical. The reality is” If the church agrees with hme on social matters, then it should speak, but if it disagrees with my take on political matters, then it should remain quiet. The bible takes a different view. Is. 58 is a stunning view of worship. We rightfully take much care in our worship here, to try to have it aspire toward a sense of reverence and formality.
Doing worship with such care has a lurking danger, as do all good things in life. One temptation is that we come to see it more as a play, a performance, with us as the audience, instead of full participants. We can then get seduced into shaving off its full message when we leave the theater, as opposed ot the sanctuary. Yes, we cross into a new world at the sanctuary threshold, but we go back outsie in the same God-suffused world that the sanctuary service tries to highlight.
Yet here we have the prophet tells us that God is also much involved in having the same sort of care devoted to the the life of one’s society. If I hear these words correctly, God is fully capable of turning a deaf ear to prayers issuing from an unjust society. That is chilling to hear of course. i certainly believe that a forgiving god can forgive societal evils as well as individual ones. Still, it is a different angle on prayer. Even if the prayers are sincere and emerge from a good person, if htye are stained by social ills, they may go unheard in heaven.
Paul gives me some needed buttressing for our view of worship here and our view of adult education as well. Paul warns us about our limited capacities, so it includes a warning against judging ourselves or others harshly, as our view is limited. Further, Paul warns us about making quick assumptions about who supports and opposes acts of justice if it does not agree with our own policy prescriptions.
We unapologetically offer worship fro grown-ups. Susie does a spectacular job organizing a Vacation bible School style worship for children. It is also oriented to a more sophisticated palate than the recent move toward a more entertainment driven service that appeals to a general audience. We fully realize that we may not be casting our net wide enough. Our hope is that we can do the best we can within the niche we occupy in the Christian spectrum. That places a greater burden on us to trumpet our particular niche in the worship landscape, especially to those whose tastes and desires would run toward a less exuberant worship style that is trumpeted at present.This is a sterling reminder that concerns for justice are every bit as vital to our worship time as prayers for those who are ill. Sickness in society counts as well.
No worship exists in a vacuum. Part of our worship points a picture of a world that works the way god wants this creation to be treated. At the same time, Jesus died on the cross for those of us who worship God but live in an unjust society. We do well to seek forgiveness for that. We do well to use this time to repent for that as well.That is a start but it is insufficient. Worship gives us shelter from the storm. It also gives us the courage and energy to face the world in our part in repairing it, in healing it.We may not be able to make a huge impact, one prayer at a time..
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