We are inviting people to step aside from their daily routines to touch and be touched by the eternal. Yet how many people when they enter the sanctuary expect to touch and be touched by the eternal?
In a world where one’s dignity and worth is daily under attack, we are invited to come into the presence of God, confess our sins and be healed in a way that restores us to full dignity and worth. In a world of confusing complexity, we are offered a glimpse into the central truth of eternity. In a world of hostility, violence and broken relationships, we are offered the possibility to experience a love that will not be defeated and to experience the power of reconciliation. In a world where evil seems to triumph and counter violence is offered as the only solution, we are invited to have our eyes opened to the great “nevertheless.” “Praising God compels us to recognize that we are not the measure of all things and that God’s love and everlasting kindness are the final word about our human condition.”
For the Christian church, worship is an invitation to share in the very Body of Christ. What I am suggesting is that this is not a metaphor but a serious existential possibility. It is very common in our society to hear many complaints about people’s experience of worship. The sermon is boring or too long or too short. It is too intellectual or too shallow. The music is not uplifting or the choir sings off-key. The seats are too hard or the service always runs overtime. In short, I just do not get anything out of it.
How might such attitudes change if they came believing that despite all its shortcomings, the experience of worship was a gathering in which Christ was truly present? That without disputing any of the above or other complaints in this experience of worship, Christ was addressing each of us individually and all of us corporately.
Moreover, as we worship we have the opportunity to proclaim Christ by our presence and participation. In the same way that many saw Jesus and saw nothing but someone who associated with the wrong type of people and had an inappropriate appreciation for the Sabbath, so there will be those who see in the church only something to criticize. It is an act of faith that enables one to see beyond the superficial and recognize the Word of God made visible.
