WATCHWORD:
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim,[c] where our ancestors worshiped?”
21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:19-24
O nations of the world, recognize the Lord; recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. 8 Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his courts. 9 Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him.
10 Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!” The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.
He will judge all peoples fairly. Psalm 96:7-10
Meditation:
Going Back to Church
I suspect all of us are going through a period of adjustment, when we consider returning to the physical confines of the church building for worship service. It’s been pretty comfortable sitting in that living room, still in our pajamas, cup of coffee or tea at our elbow, remote in your hand, already to worship the Lord with the worship service streaming on your TV.
Still, for Carol and I, and many of us, Communion is an important part of our worship, and we have really missed that. Oh, we have had the blessed elements in hand from our church, and we have the script, but something is missing when it is just she and I.
We worshipped together at Zion last Sunday and that was good, taking communion together was a welcomed part of our worship. Now we are in Illinois and Saturday evening we worshipped at St. Paul’s Lutheran, including communion, for the first time since March. But still, it is not quite the same, you know, tipping the mask for the Body of Christ and sipping the wine of His Blood. It just seems the reverence of the sacraments is—how do I say this—different.
Since I brought up the matter of the mask let me share with you a comment made by a friend of ours. She said she “preferred not to have a mask in worship because she felt it silenced her praise of God.” I think I understand what she saying, wearing a mask in church is a distraction. And I believe for those of us who have allergies, or respiratory problems, the mask is more than a distraction.
I thought about that comment and, while I understand what she was saying, I don’t think I fully agree with it. I think our worship of the Lord is not so much through the mask as it is through the heart. Our worship is within the depths of our being. When we partake of communion, for example, we are reminded how our Lord gave His life to take away our sins and welcomed us to eternal life. That is something that is more than a cerebral process, that is almost a coronary process, within our heart, within our soul.
But, you know, the mask is a necessary evil, as they say, in the same category of why we cannot breathe under water without devices, or leap tall buildings in a single bound without a jet-pack. It is science, proven science. In this day and virus age, we cannot stay healthy without that little face-covering. We tolerate it. We double back to our cars to retrieve it because we sometimes forget. And, if we were honest with ourselves, we would admit a degree of resentment toward those with naked faces.
Alright, let me wrap this up. We all want to get back to worship in our churches. We want to worship the Lord as we did at the start of this year, before this new normal started in March. St. Paul’s instruction to Timothy regarding worshiping the Lord in truth and in the beauty of holiness has not changed. We worship exactly as we did when we first embraced Christ, only our surroundings and our routine has changed. So, go forth and Worship the Lord in the Beauty of His Holiness. Amen.
Some Words:
Of God and Man
Down to the seas I go, to read a book and rest my soul.
I sit and read and read then read some more, until at last
My eyes grow weary.
I pause and watch as endless people trod to and fro;
Each intent upon making their footprints upon the sand.
As if to say, “look at me God, I exist, I belong, here I am.”
Slowly, surely the incoming tide laps at the shore;
Like a hungry cat at her bowl.
The setting sun signals retreat to the comfort of hearth and home.
I arise before the sun and return to the shore to find unmarked, pristine sand.
I stand and muse at mankind’s feeble attempt to change God’s eternal plan.
–Earl O. McKinley
Morning Prayers:
Lord, grant me tenacious winsome courage as I go through this day. When I am tempted to give up, help me to keep going. Grant me a cheerful spirit when things don’t go my way. And give me the courage to do whatever needs to be done. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
