But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. — 1 Peter 2:9 ESV
Prayer Walk
Over the summer, I developed a bit of a habit. Our rector was on a sabbatical for the entire summer, and so there was occasion (eight Sundays out of thirteen weeks, in fact) where I would be preaching. My tendency was to go to the church on Thursday afternoons and practice my sermon to an empty sanctuary, and based on my “practice session”, I’d make adjustments to my sermon for when I would preach for real.
But that isn’t even the habit I mentioned earlier. Before I would do my practice sermon, I’d walk through our small church, weaving through the rows of seats. As I went by, I’d touch each one, praying for the people who would be inhabiting those seats in a few days, that God would use my preaching to shake up those who were too comfortable, comfort those who were afflicted, and also prayed for specific people in their deep and particular needs.
It was after one of those prayer walk through the church that I sat down, utterly exhausted, and not because I was out of shape. I was shot through with profound amazement that I was praying the whole time with a (correct) assumption that what we would be gathering to do the next Sunday truly mattered. Not only did it matter, it was incredibly essential!
That seems odd to think about, that an ordinary gathering for worship by God’s people in a particular context would matter so much. We are told—overtly or subtly—every day about what we should think truly matters. An infrastructure deal in Congress, a recall election, our stock portfolios, what sort of Christmas bonus we will get added to our paychecks—all these are viewed as pressing needs and so much that surrounds us gets attention on the news or in social media. We are bombarded with the implication that these matters truly move the world.
Making a Difference
In light of that, can the ordinary gathering of faithful Christians in public worship make a difference?
Yes, indeed.
The apostle Peter reminds us that we are a royal priesthood. In other words, followers of Jesus are crowned with honor granted to them by our King (“royal”) and we stand before our God in worship representing a needy world and then going out into that needy world in the power of the Holy Spirit, representing our King. So what we do during our time in worship, facing God and facing the world as God’s people, matters very much indeed if God calls us a royal priesthood.
We are a holy nation. We are set apart. Part of remembering how we are set apart for God’s glory is to glorify God himself. Don’t we do that in worship together?
And we, the people of his own possession, proclaim God’s excellencies. Yes, we do this in worship.
Importance of Meeting Together
God seems to believe our gatherings to worship him matter very much indeed. So much that the writer of Hebrews implores us to continue that, to “not neglect to meet together…but encouraging one another.” (Hebrews 10:25) We gather so that we draw strength and encouragement from each other as fiery logs connected together burst into warming flame.
And there is yet another reality: We are not consumers of self-actualization smorgasbords. We are children who were once rebels who enter the throne room of our King by His beckoning. We are His subjects and we need our King. We don’t make the call on what we require. God knows us. He created us and intricately knows our spiritual-emotional DNA and what we need so that we become more and more Christ-like.
All of which gets wrapped up in a glorious truth: Throughout Scripture, God’s people are called to gather together and declare their Savior’s worth, participating with “psalm, hymns, and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19), hearing the Scriptures read (Nehemiah 8:1-12), and preached (2 Timothy 4:1-5). We, sinners though we are, come beckoned by God into His presence as a particular people. And where does this lead? Eventually to Revelation 21:1-5, the new heavens and the new earth coming down here to renew our dwelling place for all time. In short, God bringing in His dream for this world finally and fully.
We, God’s people, are called to worship Him.
Whatever the venue, small or large or in between.
This leads to the new heavens and new earth.
Sounds to me like worshipping the Lord might not seem like much to others, but in the Biblical understanding of history, worship is how God delights in us bringing in His dream for this world, one hymn, one prayer, one sermon, one communion table at a time.
