We Worship

Isaiah 12

Worship is a life transforming activity.  And because Scripture tells us that we become like what we worship, we must be deliberate and attentive to whom and what we worship.  If we are careful and honest when we search out the things we worship, we may discover the answer is not as clear as we would like.  Our attentions are usually divided among many things and people each vying for our attention and worship; each doing its part to turn us into copies of itself.

The worship of idols and false gods diminishes and shrivels our souls and turns us into shadowy reflections of lifeless things while the worship of the Beautiful Creator is part of the process of being transformed into the image of the Son.  As Paul puts it, when God does the work of transformation we are changed from glory to glory.

In this chapter Isaiah erupts in a psalm of worship. He not only reminds us of our great God and all he has done, he engages us in worship.  Here we catch a glimpse of what full-blooded worship feels like.  We hear the voices of the people of God lift up the God they adore.  Here we engage with Isaiah and the throngs of thousands upon thousands of the redeemed.  And we begin by giving thanks.

The role and power of thanksgiving cannot be underemphasized in the life of the disciple.  In fact, a thankless disciple is a person who simply has not come in contact with their God.  At the very least, the habit of thanksgiving turns us out of ourselves and puts our minds and hearts on the great things of God.  When we are most consumed with ourselves – either through pride or anxiety – is when our hearts are darkest.  Thanksgiving is light.  It is the eternal light of a Savior who is always great and good.

The thing Isaiah hears the people of God giving thanks for is the triumph of God’s grace.  They are fully aware that God was angry at their sin and rebellion and they deserved his wrath.  Consequently, they are overjoyed that this same God turned away from wrath and toward comfort.  It turns out that in my sin I deserve the full weight of God’s wrath, but in his grace the full force of his anger fell on my Substitute instead.  The saved are eternally grateful for the exchange of wrath for comfort at the cross.

The worshiper knows the difference between trust and fear.  In fear there is no stability or strength, but in trust the Lord is known as both strength and song.  Those who trust in the Lord alone experience his power and care in unique ways, and their worship overflows in song.  The disciple should never devalue the benefit of singing praises to God!  Music touches us mind, soul, and body, and is an activity of eternity (Rev 5).  Could it be that when we sing praises to our Lord there is a taste of heaven on our lips?

And worship helps transform us into people who glorify and proclaim.  We lift him up because he is worthy to be praised – in all seasons of life and all circumstances I face, God remains great.  And though our praises do not make him greater than he already is, for God cannot be made greater, our praises and lives of worship may make him greater in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Engage in worship of the one and only God, and you will begin to find the joy of people who live in the kingdom of the great and glorious One.

An Extravagant Act of Worship

John 12:1-8

At the very beginning of the Passion Week, Jesus enjoyed a private moment with his friends and disciples. Jesus returned to Bethany, just outside of Jerusalem, and reclined at the table with Lazarus, recently raised from the dead. Getting ready to eat a meal together we have a man who just walked out of a grave and a man on his way there. But during this time, something both shocking and prophetic happened. Mary opened a bottle of extremely expensive perfume and anointed Jesus’ feet with it. Her act, which is an act of worship, as shocking and extravagant as it is, is something we need to learn to do.

There is a lot to learn about the act, the ointment and the reaction. The act is unusual, extravagant and even uncomfortable. Feet were usually washed by servants and not the lady of the house, and they were always washed with water, not perfume. Too add to the uniqueness of the moment, Mary lets her hair down in a display reserved for the intimacy of husband and wife and wipes his feet clean. With all that it is, Mary’s act is one of service, submission and ultimately, of worship.

Even the perfume tells us something. That type of perfume would have been rare in her world, as it (“spikenard”) comes from a plant that grows in the mountains in India. And Judas is good enough to tell us it is worth about “300 denari,” or what would have been an entire year’s wages for the average worker of the day. The perfume is rare, likely a family heirloom, and very expensive.

In this act of worship, Mary literally pours out the best of what she has on Jesus. In her act we see that there is nothing not worth “pouring out” on Jesus. The perfume became practically useless as it soaked into the ground, but it served the greater purpose of anointing Jesus’ feet as an act of worship for a Messiah on his way to the cross (12:7).

The act and the ointment tell us something. The complaint is probably even more instructive. At this moment of extravagant worship and service Judas breaks in with a complaint wrapped in pious practicality. The perfume was rare and expensive and now soaking into the dirt. Imagine the number of meals we could have purchased for the poor! But in retrospect, John makes sure we know that Judas was not being genuine – his was a corrupt heart that cared nothing for the poor, and would have liked the sound of 300 coins ringing in the money bag.

Because of the corruption of his heart, Judas mistook an extravagant yet appropriate act of worship for a waste. Without putting it into these exact words he responded to Mary by saying, “Jesus may be worth a lot, but not that much!” For Mary, there was nothing else she could have done with the perfume that was worth more than pouring it out on Jesus. For Judas, worshiping Jesus was a thing to be limited; there were things and objects in this world worth more than he was.

Here is where the story becomes hard for us: Mary is the example, Judas is me. I need to learn to worship Jesus the way Mary did – nothing in my life has greater value than when I pour it out on him. But more likely than not, my day-to-day decisions betray a different point of view. Have I learned to squeeze worship into the other “nice” things I do? Are there things in my life too valuable to me to pour them out on Jesus?

If Mary had decided to save the perfume for herself, this moment would never have come to us. But because she worshiped Jesus with it her act has served as an example for centuries of believers. If I keep my best for me and their normally “practical” purposes, nothing of eternal value may come of them. But if I pour them out in extravagant acts of worship, what can God make of them?

Prayer, Praise and the Uniquely Christian Life

James 5:13

The Christian life is a unique life. Following Jesus changes everything for us – at least it should change everything. This doesn’t mean we leave our jobs and families and live in communes in the forest. It means that the lives we lead are forever and irrevocably changed. As James closes his epistle, he wants to make sure his readers are left with a set of important thoughts ringing in their ears. The life he described up to this point transforms the way we view pain and suffering, the way we value and treat others, and the way we use our tongues, to mention just a few things. Now it is time for the final set of exclamation points on the descriptions of this uniquely Christian life.

Is anyone among you suffering? We know James’ readers are suffering; we know our neighbors are; we know the reality of suffering in our own lives. The question is not hypothetical, and James’ answer should unsettle us a bit. It is exactly when things go out of our control that our natural impulse is to DO something and not just sit around and take it. We want to take events and people into our own hands and rework the situation so we and our loved ones can avoid the pain we are in. James, however, says the most important thing we can do in the most complicated and confusing seasons of life is pray. Prayer is not the Christian’s back-up plan; it is our constant source of strength.

We pray to the Creator of the Universe – to the one who spun the universe into existence and holds the expanse of time and space in the palm of his hand. I pray to the Only Wise God. We pray to the God who walked among us in human flesh. He was born, lived and died truly human, and he rose again conquering death and sin. I pray to the Incarnate God. And I pray by the prompting and power of the very Spirit of God within me. I pray by God’s Empowering Presence. This is the uniquely Christian prayer.

Is anyone among you cheerful? We sometimes find ourselves in this season of life – we are blessed, we are happy, we are at peace in our hearts and minds. James tells us the right reaction is to sing songs of praise. Praise is an open door to the presence of God. When God’s people assembled at the Temple in the Old Testament, they we lead in praise and worship to the God who lead them out of Egypt and gave them a homeland. And when the presence of the Lord fell, they praised some more. At the end of all things when we catch a glimpse of the throne room of God, we encounter angelic beings and the redeemed singing songs of praise to God for his majesty, power, justice, forgiveness and mercy. We will, for all of eternity, be caught up in a chorus of praise to our God.

But we can add to James the words of Paul. Right now we may not feel the power, steadfast love and grace of God. We may be walking a different path. To us, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” Praise be to God for the comfort and compassion he gives in the midst of my suffering and pain. Praise be to this God in all seasons of life. Praise is not a seasonal activity; it is my constant response to this God who redeemed me.

If praise is not a part of my life, I don’t know who my God is.

Prayer and praise are consistent and universal activities in the Christian life. They are our constant companions in this uniquely Christian life.

Wrong Expectations

Malachi 3:13-4:6

In the final conversation between Malachi and Judah, God has a concern or two about Judah’s worship and their conception of him, and Judah has a final shot across the bow of God’s character and behavior. Judah has taken stock of the world around them, tried to relate that to God, and the two just are not jiving. Though some of Judah’s complaints have been ours from time to time, we need to be careful as we learn from God’s answer.

“Your words have been hard against me.” (vs 13)

There is nothing very nuanced about this claim – Judah has said some things about God that are hard to take, or as another translation puts it, they are “terrible” things to say. God’s answer to their “how” is devastating.

“You have said, 'It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape’.” (vs 14-15)

To say that it is vain to serve God would, of course, be a very hard thing to say to God. What they mean by “vain” is not, “arrogant,” but something that is futile, vapid, empty, or meaningless. We can hear their words as, “it is meaningless to serve God!” So what brings a person to this fairly radical conclusion?

As it turns out, Judah concluded their relationship with God was meaningless because their idea of a meaningful relationship was all wrong. In other words, they approached their relationship with God with the wrong set of expectations, and when they were (naturally) not met, they concluded the relationship was a joke. We easily do the same thing, and not just with God. If we enter a relationship with the wrong expectations, we become disillusioned when they are not met. And when this happens, who is to blame? So what were Judah’s false expectations about a relationship with God?

First of all, they expected “profit.” Again, this word is pretty straightforward – it means the gain from labor. They somehow expected that when they did their part in serving God and being good little Judeans, God would be compelled to do his part and reward them with financial and material blessings. To be blunt, this is a selfish way of approaching our faith and it treats God as if we are lords of the universe, and not Him. He is not at our beck and call.

Secondly, they expected that external acts of worship were true religion. They complained that “keeping his charge” and “mourning” were not producing the expected results. They were going through the motions expecting them to be a kind of talisman, a kind of magical incantation that would fulfill their spiritual requirements. But even Christ is clear on this problem: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me” (Matthew 15:8). True and acceptable worship is a natural and inevitable expression of what is in our hearts, not the other way around.

And third, they expected God would kill all the bad guys. They were angry that “evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and escape.” It is natural for us, in the certian seasons of our lives, to express this very thing to God. We are sometimes angry that evil people seem to be getting away with it. God’s answer, however, reminds us of a couple of very important realities. First of all, God sees all things and there really are moral distinctions with God (vs. 18). And as a result, they day is coming when the final line will be drawn in the sand and evildoers will be done away with (4:1-2).

But ultimately, God’s answer to these frustrations and accusations from Judah is his plan of reconciliation through his son, Jesus Christ. Malachi’s final prophecy about Elijah and his ministry of reconciliation is picked up in the Gospels as applying to John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.

God’s plan for broken and sinful humanity right now is to send his Son to live God’s life among us, to willingly die on a cross to atone for our sins, and to rise from the grave to give us hope for life eternal. And may I say, thank God!

Worship and the Glory of God

Malachi 1:1-5

One of the pitfalls of daily life as a follower of Jesus Christ is that we can grow cold to the wonders of God, half-hearted in our devotion to Him, and begin living life at arm’s length from the presence of our Creator and Savior. Malachi writes his book to a nation of nominal and lukewarm worshipers. Other prophets write to an Israel or Judah who are worshiping foreign gods and even sacrificing their children on the idols of pagan deities. Clearly there is something to be corrected there. But Malachi’s audience spends their time in the pews, singing the songs of worship, bringing their sacrifices, and repeating all the right words in service. But the words of Christ are true of them, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matt 15:8).

Into a culture where Temple worship is being reinstated, but the hearts of the people are still very far from God, Malachi writes to correct and provoke. Written in a series of conversations, Malachi is a tremendous insight into what God finds important about worship, how his people were blowing it, and what can be done to set it right. And from the very beginning, God puts our focus in the right place.

“I have loved you.” (vs. 2)

What Malachi actually says is more like, “I have loved you in the past, I continue to love you, and I will always love you.” God’s everlasting and faithful love is the very starting point in our understanding of what it means to engage in worship that is acceptable to God. In fact, God’s love for his people is the very cornerstone of his covenant with them. When Jeremiah speaks of the same reality he says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jer. 31:3). Notice who does all the work that makes this unconditional love of the Father possible – the Father!

God is his own reason for, his own grounding for, and his own source of power for his love for you. Only then can it be true that his love is everlasting, and that it continues in faithfulness through the years. If God’s love for you were based on you and your faithfulness, how long would that last?

But we don’t always feel loved, just as Malachi’s people respond with, “How have you loved us?” (vs. 2) God’s people were ripped out of their land a generation ago, made to serve as slaves in an evil empire, and now have the backbreaking responsibility of rebuilding their city, Temple, and culture. They don’t feel loved by God. We all feel this way at some point in our lives, and sometimes we express it in our frustration and even desperation. Here, God answers.

The conversation about Jacob and Esau is about God’s love for his people – it is about God establishing a unique relationship with those who belong to him, and that he will forever honor that covenant and love. God’s answer to the question, how has he loved us? I made your relationship with me possible, and I will honor it no matter what you do.

As a result of this life-giving reality dawning on us (“your own eyes shall see this”), we respond in worship of God’s glory. “Great is the Lord beyond the borders of Israel!” (vs. 5) In his righteousness and holiness, God punishes evil – Great is the Lord! In his grace and forgiveness, God creates relationship – Great is the Lord!

God-honoring and life-transforming worship begins with the recognition of the glory of God, and here we see his glory as a result of his love toward us. He loves even us – those who are not perfect, those who rebel against him, and those who in this life will never love him with a perfect and steadfast love. But to us God says, “I have loved you!”

Christ is Worth Everything

Mark 14:1-11

While Jesus, his friends and his disciples reclined around a table just hours before the crucifixion, Mary came into the room carrying the most expensive and rare thing any of them had seen. The alabaster flask of ointment was worth almost a year’s wages and was way out of the price range of anyone in that room. None of the men could have afforded it, and certainly none of the women could have. Chances are this rare flask of nard from the foothills of the Indian Himalayas was a family heirloom.

Mary broke it and poured it over the head and feet of Jesus Christ.

What a waste! The disciples, lead by Judas, immediately began to wag their fingers at the silly woman and list all the things that could have been done with all that money.

“Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” (14:4-5)

Just imagine all the food for the poor that could be bought with $40,000. How much clothing? How much shelter? The disciples chide Mary’s extravagant display with their pious practicality. Pouring that oil over Jesus like that was a waste.

Jesus had a different reaction.

“Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” (14:6)

By “beautiful,” Jesus means it was good, excellent, commendable, and even admirable. In other words, Mary’s act was far from a waste; it was behavior worthy of our admiration and imitation. Jesus tells the disciples they can still walk out the door and give to the poor—they will always be there. Jesus does not belittle or chastise the drive to be charitable and take care of those less fortunate than ourselves; he teaches them that he is worth more than anything else in this universe. And Jesus continues to admire what Mary did. She “did what she could.” She took the best she had and worshiped Christ with it. Worshiping and adoring Christ with everything she had was the best thing she could have done. Mary, without really knowing it, anointed Jesus’ body for burial. In the act of worship and sacrifice, Mary honored the will and plan of God without knowing exactly what was to come to pass. We do the same when we worship him. And wherever the gospel is preached, what she did will be taught and honored. This single, extravagant act of sacrificial worship still inspires us today. In contrast, the pious practicality of the rest of the disciples seems lame.

Jesus Christ has no hesitation telling us he is worth our all. Even in the face of all the nice and good things we can do for others, Jesus is still worth more than any of it. God’s glory demands my everything. We were made to find every ounce of our stability, meaning, joy, forgiveness, rapture, and purpose in God, and we find those things when we worship and adore him above everything else. When Christ tells us he is worthy of all our praise, it is not arrogance, it is love. If God did not reveal himself to us as the highest object of our affections, he would be concealing from us the fulfillment of our deepest longings.

By all means, work to help those less fortunate than yourselves, give aid to others when it is in your hand to do, but don’t use the disciple’s excuse to keep your best from Christ. Every good and wonderful thing in this life takes their rightful place when God is first. Every other use of your best is nothing but a waste.