TRANSFORMING ROUTINE INTO LIBERATION
Far too often we move through the liturgy of a worship service waiting for an anthem, a hymn, or the sermon to address our needs for spiritual nourishment. We forget that the service of worship is structured to incorporate our true self into the nurturing relationship with the God who created us in the Divine image.
I think we need to re-evaluate our understanding of salvation in a society that is obsessed with individualism. From the beginning of time, humans were meant to be in relationship with others. Even those desert monks who chose to leave society, still focused on their relationship with God. As 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “And now abide faith, hope, and love and the greatest of these is love.” That which separates us from God and neighbor is called sin.
When Jesus began his ministry, one of his first acts was to call others to be his disciples. Those disciples built the church. We are saved as part of a community of faith. As is clear in both the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament, our communities of faith are not made up of the super-intelligent or the super pious. God chooses to work with imperfect communities to reveal the kingdom toward which we are moving.
When we seek to participate in anti-racism ministry, we need to revitalize our participation in the parts of worship that can give us courage and vision.
CALL TO WORSHIP
Both the PRELUDE and the CALL TO WORSHIP are an invitation to leave daily routine behind and spend some time renewing our relationship with God who created us and loves us into a future that reflects God’s intention for all of creation. Jesus often refers to this as the Kingdom of God. Frequently we pray the Lord’s Prayer and petition God that “God’s Kingdom Come and God’s WILL BE DONE ON EARTH as it is in Heaven.” For a brief period of time, we are to focus our attention and our whole being on participation in God’s answer to that prayer. While it is not the only focus, it would be good if the pastor occasionally structured the Call to Worship to draw attention to the anti-racism aspect of our spiritual journey. What does it mean for us to focus on God’s will with respect to the consequences of racism in God’s beloved world.
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
For those involved in addressing racism in our society, it is accepted that we who are White experience advantages in our society that is structured against Blacks and other People of Color. Not because we are mean or evil, but because we are humans that have advantages because of our color. Too often, when we hear that verbalized, we become defensive or paralyzed by guilt.
Our worship provides us with an alternative direction in our journey. We participate in a faith that enables us to confess our guilt because we know through Christ, and the experience of the disciples, that by honestly confessing, God offers us a forgiveness that enables us to grow in our faith. If you are aware of Alcoholics Anonymous, you witness an example that the opportunity to grow into wholeness begins with the confession, “I am an alcoholic.” Imagine that same redeeming and healing power being present as we confess, “I am a racist.” Again, a pastor could structure such an invitation into prayers of confession in our worship services.
THANKSGIVING
When we come to the prayers of thanksgiving and intercession, we have another opportunity to nurture our spiritual journey. When we offer thanksgiving to God, we are not saying, “I thank you God for recognizing that I am a superior person and rewarding my faithful activity,” as Jesus illustrated in the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee. The truth is the exact opposite. We are standing in wonder (or kneeling) and acknowledging a powerful experience of GRACE. We are witnessing to how grace has worked in our “sinful lives,” and how that displays how a Graceful God operates in our world. Therefore, we dare to also petition God on behalf of other conditions in the world. This includes the toxic pattern of racism that destroys the beautiful rainbow of diversity that God offers us.
OFFERING
Too often we respond to the offering opportunity with the mindset that this is a necessary practice that interrupts true worship because it helps fund the activities of the church. Yet the offering invites us to take an action that testifies to our relationship with the Divine reality and can effect grace even through small actions with grateful intensions. The act of giving releases one of the cores of our true self as we reflect the image of God from whom generous love flows. While it does help fund the activities of the church, that church is enabled to both act to nourish grace among members and reach out to display that grace in our larger community both in the neighborhood and throughout the world. In effect, we are recognizing a Divine act of reparation.
BENEDICTION
If you feel a little overwhelmed by all of this, stand and receive the benediction. This is the final blessing that petitions God to empower us through both big and small ways to live a life that reflects our faith that God was in Christ reconciling the world to God’s self and not counting our sins against us. We are ready for the week ahead.
