Today is the last Sunday in the Christian year. Next Sunday,
Advent will begin; and we will once again wait for a Messiah who will deliver
us from bondage. But this morning, the church calendar still says that it’s New
Year’s Eve. And on New Year’s Eve, we look ahead in anticipation of what will
happen in the New Year. Each year on December 31, when we celebrate our secular
New Year, we wonder what will happen
in the future. But on the last Sunday in the Christian year, we know what will happen. As Christians, we
believe that one day, Jesus will come again, and God’s kingdom will arrive in
fullness bringing peace, love, and healing to all. We may not agree on how that will happen; and we certainly
don’t agree on when that will happen;
but we all do agree that it will
happen someday, and on that day, the world as we know it will be transformed.
This morning also brings us to the end of our journey
through foundational Christian practices. We began our travels with prayer,
moved through Bible study, and continued with simplicity, community,
generosity, and gratitude. That brings us today to the practice of worship. In a way, we’ve saved the best
for last; because all the other practices that we’ve considered are based on
worship. It’s the foundation on which we base all our Christian behavior.
So maybe we should consider briefly what worship is – and
what it isn’t. Most people think that gathering in church, singing hymns, listening
to a sermon, and joining in prayer guarantees worship. But that’s not the case.
What makes all these actions “worship” is the attitude that is underneath them.
Worship, very simply, is the act of
acknowledging where our ultimate loyalty lies. Singing and praying and
preaching are only worship if, as we do these things, we are acknowledging that
Jesus Christ is our ultimate authority. Otherwise, all our pious actions are
just so much show.
It isn’t an understatement to say that the entire Bible
deals with worship in one way or another. Noah worshipped God when he followed
God’s instructions and built an ark. Moses worshipped God when he went to
Pharaoh and told him, “Let my people go.” King David worshipped when he moved
the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem; and King Solomon worshipped when he
built the Temple. The prophets told the people over and over again that true
worship was showing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. Jesus
showed his followers what worship looked like through his life of acceptance
and compassion.
And in this morning’s scripture reading, we actually get a
glimpse of worship in heaven. First, we get up close and personal with the
throne of God himself. Then, we see twenty-four elders surrounding God’s throne.
They might represent the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles. They
wear golden crowns, and are robed in white. Next, we see four fantastic flying creatures,
covered with eyes, who praise God day and night. Finally, we witness the very
heart of worship, as the elders fall on their faces before God, offer God their
crowns, and give God glory, honor, and praise.
It seems like an odd way to worship, doesn’t it? We have
never once fallen flat on our faces
in this sanctuary. We haven’t even tossed a golden crown or two toward the
altar. But an ancient congregation would have recognized this scene as the very
essence of worship. The King was crowned as the ultimate authority; and he was
also worshipped as God’s earthly representative. When people approached the
King, they would have fallen flat on their faces in front of him. That
acknowledged both the authority of the King and the loyalty of his subjects. Although
we think of it as a political statement – something like bowing to the Queen of
England – in those days, it was a religious act, as well. And so, when the
white-robed elders laid their crowns before God’s throne, it was a profound
statement. By giving up their crowns, they were giving up any authority that
they themselves had, and accepting God’s authority in all areas of their lives.
And that is the foundation of real
worship!
On this day when we anticipate Jesus Christ’s eternal reign,
it’s worth asking ourselves whether we really do worship him in the way that he
should be worshipped. Do we really accept the authority of Jesus Christ in all
areas of our lives? Oh, I know that we would never cheat on our income taxes;
we don’t covet our neighbor’s wife (at least, not very often); and I’ve never
yet dug up a body in our recreation park that one of you murdered and is trying
to get rid of. But those things are easy. Don’t murder…don’t steal… don’t
covet. Sure, we can do all that. But what about some of the other things that
Jesus told us. How about the commandment to love your enemy? Hmmmm…. That one
gets ignored a lot when it’s inconvenient. One of my friends has a bumper
sticker on her car that says, “When Jesus says ‘Love your enemy,’ I think he
means ‘Don’t kill them.’” In a world in which violence is so acceptable, whose
side are we on? You see, if Jesus is really
going to reign forever – and we claim that he is – and if we truly want to
worship him – and we say that we do – then we have to give him authority over all of our lives. After all, in the
Kingdom of God, there is no room for violence, or hate, or selfishness.
So, maybe you’re thinking right now, “Well, I might as well
go home! If I have to give Jesus Christ authority over every part of my life,
I’m never going to be able to worship
as I should.” But you’d be wrong. Worship is an amazing thing. The more we
worship, the better at it we become. That’s why I say that worship is the
foundation of every other Christian practice. The more we worship, the more we
want to encounter God; and that leads to more prayer. The more we worship, the
more we want to understand what God is saying to us in scripture; and that
leads to reading the Bible more frequently. The more we worship, the more we
want to please God in every way; and that leads to greater gratitude and
generosity. The ancient church got it right when they proclaimed, “Lex orandi,
lex credendi.” That’s a Latin phrase that means, in essence, “What we proclaim
is what we believe.” We don’t decide to believe and then worship; we worship,
and that worship forms both our beliefs and our actions.
So on this New Year’s Eve of the church year, I invite you
to look ahead to the time when all creation will be remade in the image of
Jesus Christ. The book of Revelation describes the fullness of God’s kingdom in
chapter 21: “I saw a new heaven and a new
earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was
no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming
down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her
husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the
dwelling of God is with people, and he will live with them. They will be his
people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He
will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning
or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’” That’s what
will happen when Jesus Christ rules completely! Shouldn’t we worship him
completely, too?
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