If you’ve spent your life in church as I have, the special vocabulary of church as well as the common events of Sunday gatherings are like a comfy old blanket from childhood… washed of course. If, however, you are new to the entire idea of church, our terms and many of our doings must seem strange to you. Probably as strange as “going clubbing” is to me. Sorry I just don’t get it.
A few years ago a group of friends started faithfully attending our church in Massachusetts. They kept to themselves in the back… up in the balcony… slipping in late… slipping out early. When the senior pastor finally found out who they were and got ahold of some of them to try to get to know them and to hear their story, they had some explanations for their “odd” behavior. They were new believers and, although they enjoyed our services, they were puzzled why we “wasted so much time singing.” The preaching made sense to them, but our weekly spiritual hootenanny seemed a squandering of their precious minutes. So they came in late, got a sermon, and left as soon as the pastor concluded it to avoid any Jesus-shindig that might break out at the end. We decided that some sermons on worship were in order, because we weren’t “wasting time singing.” We were worshiping Jesus. Christians worship.
Weorthscipe is not a popular brand of Norwegian mouth wash, as one might think, but is the Old English origin of the word worship, which means “to ascribe worth.” Worship is worth-ship, showing honor to that which is honorable, reverence for that which is revered.
In this sense, worship is any right-honoring response by people to what God is or what God does. So, if I recognize that God is Holy and respond to this holiness by dedicating myself to His purposes, that is a form of worship. If I respond to God’s love for the hurting by reaching out a hand of help to them, then my charity becomes an act of worship. If I recognize that all that I have comes from Him and respond to this knowledge by paying tithes to His Church, then my giving become an act of worship.
So, back to our singing. Christians sing in church because they are practicing the most obvious sense of worship; they are praising God for who He is, thanking Him for what He’s done, and reaching to Him to connect with His presence as they meditate through song on Him. Prayer and celebration and gratitude and spiritual communion all blend together in the heart of the singer standing together with the congregation before God, before Christ, ascribing honor and worth and glory and power and dominion to Him… not just over the world that He made, but over we who sing His praises together.
Worship is not a new-fangled invention by the Church to give artsy types like musicians, poets, and song writers something to do in the church service. Humans have known since ancient days that music, poetry, and singing have a special place in the human experience, a profound impact on heart and soul. Hence, the old saw, “Music calms the savage beast.” This, of course, brings us back to “clubbing,” proving that only some music calms the savage beast, and raises our awareness of concerts and radio stations, CDs, streaming services and the like.
We live on love songs and love poems and find in them our own heart’s desire for human connection. They put words to our feelings and rhythm to our longings. We use them to commune with or reach out to another on a special level. Think of the myriad of scenes in romantic comedies and ancient plays where the would-be lover serenades at the window. We find Romeo there courting his Juliette, and Cyrano de Bergerac speaking from the shadows. There too, we find drunken idiots like Ben Foster’s character in Get Over It, belting out an off tune appeal for love from the girl who jilted him… and let’s not forget young John Cusack holding his boom box over his head as it plays “Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel in the famed, Say Anything. We know adoration, and we know that music and poetry and singing is a powerful expression of that emotion… that’s why the whole audience sings along with Neil Diamond when he lyrics love to his “Sweet Caroline.” Hold a flaming lighter over your head, lift your cell phone flashlight high, for we are moved to serene meditation by the shared experience of sweet songs.
There are, however, better songs to sing, better things over which to serenade, a better object for our devotion. This is worship.
One whole book of the Bible, indeed, the longest book of the Bible, called Psalms, is dedicated to the poetry of worshipping Hebrew prophets, inspired by the Holy Spirit in their celebration of God. They meditate on his goodness, stand in awe of His power, and even give voice to trust in the midst of sorrow and struggle. They teach the congregation in song how to worship the Creator “in Spirit and in truth.”[1]
Christians are worshippers. They should hardly be able to contain the impulse. But sometimes they need instruction, and they need to step out in faith to cultivate the practice… not unlike children who need to be taught to say please and thank you, and, in learning to do so, become all the more mindful of respect and gratitude.
Christians are worshippers. Try it. You’ll be glad you did.
~Andrew D. Sargent, PhD
[1] John 4:24.
