What's it worth to ya?
Hear this description of Christian worship:
On the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president. . . But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead.
This is an extraordinary description of what we do in worship. Not so much for what is says, or how it is written - for it's a pretty simple piece of writing.
What makes it extraordinary is that it was written by a fellow named Justim (Justin Martyr) - around the year 150 AD.
Isn't it incredible that what Justin said his church did 1,850 year ago is exactly what we do in church, here, today?! I just think it's astonishing.
There are two little things that stand-out about what he said.
One, he said that worship wasn't just what happened on Sunday morning when everyone was gathered - remember? AFTER the service people took communion to the sick and shut-in. Worship extended outside the church service and into the world.
Two, a key element of worship was described by Justin, that I think many people would not consider a key element of worship today: giving.
I think most people in most churches today probably see giving as a necessary thing to keep church operations going. Most people like to walk into their churches and still have the heat, light, and water turned on - and at least someone who acts like he/ she knows what their doing behind the pulpil and altar!
But, that's not why we should give. Giving monetarily of ourselves is just as much an act of worship as singing, praying, or taking Communion. And, thanks to Justin, we know that it has been for at least 1,850 years.
Last week I had the chance to go to a different church in the D.C. suburbs and sit in a pew. It was really nice to do that for a change, and not be 'in charge' of a single thing!
When I got to the church - beofre I got out of my car - I took out my wallet and put the amount of meny I was going to give in my breast pocket, so that when the ushers brought the plate around I would be ready. The service started, the service went on, and the service ended - and no one came around with a plate!
After the service I took a good look around the room. There were several different 'stations' that worshippers could go to during the service. At the time for communion, before you wnet back to your seat you could go light a candle in one part of the room, you could go and be prayed for by a group of people waiting to pray, you could write out your prayers on a big piece of paper that was attached to a wall, AND you could walk over to a box and place your offering in it.
At their church, you had to make a conscious effort to give to God and His Church. You had to actually get out of your chair, walk across the room - out of your way - and place your envelope, check, or cash in the box.
What this church had done, was they had made their offering system into an intentional act of worship.
I didn't care for everything the church did - I mean it was fine, it just wasn't my 'cup of tea' - but I loved that.
Worship. Do you know where the word comes from? It comes from the Old English word worth-ship, and it literally means to ascribe worth to something.
We do that kind of thing all the time. Every day we make hundreds of decisions as to what is worth what. Is eating out tonight worth it? Is taking the time to search the whole living room for the remote worth it, or should we just change the channel with the button on the TV. Is the price of the object we're thinking of buying worth the price? Is paying someone to mow the lawn worth it, or should we just do it ourselves.
Everyday we show by our actions and our words how much our spouces are worth to us - our children - our property - our country - our jobs - our health - our well-being - etc.
And then comes the really big stuff. Is God worth getting up on a cold rainy Sunday morning, when it would be so much nicer to sleep in? Is God worth all the effort of a Bazzar this year? Is God worth making an ethical decision, when an unethical one might be a lot more tempting? Is God worth the 5 bucks, 10 bucks, 50 bucks, 200 bucks I put in the plate each week,when it would be nicer to have the extra cash especially with gas prices as they are? Is God worth the time we could spend studying the Bible, time we could spend praying, time we could spend playing Bingo at Egle with the elderly residents, or the time laboring for the church?
"Churchy" stuff isn't the only way we worship God though. I fully believe that giving worth to our marriages, to our children, to our schools, to our country and the world, to our planet, to our own health (physical and mental) and to the people who we love and the people we don't even know is 'BIG' stuff too.
Answer those questions 'correctly' at any one time and you're worshipping. You're ascribling worth to God. You're showing God that you think He's worth it - even after he's show us how much we are worth to him all the time - with each sunrise, with each heartbeat, and with each blessing God showers down on us morning by morning.
This morning's Gospel lesson (Matthew 25:14-29) is a tough one. This is one of those bits of the Bible that scholars argue over its meaning. Who is the Master? What do the Talents represent? Who are the people who invest the talents, or not?
He's what I think this passage is about, without taking up too much time: It's God saying that those who are given great things by God are expected to yield great things. Much is expected of those to whom much is given. We're to ascribe worth to the gifts and blessing that are given, and we're to ascribe worth to the One who gives.
I don't know about you, but this one gets me. I don't get all that caught up in the 'thou shalls,' and the 'thou shalt nots.' I get most of them right most of the time.
It's the fact that God is expecting great things from me that gets my knees knockin' together pretty good.
God's expecting me to show that he is worth something to me, even as God shows that I am 'worth it' to Him all the time.
I'm to show that God is worth it here, in church. Worth-shipping God in some of the very same ways that my brother in Christ Justin did 1,850 years ago. With my prayer, with my song, with my taking of Holy Communion, and my giving. I'm to show that God is 'worth it' to me in my home, at the mall, in the deer stand, selling tickets at the bazaar, and in how I love my wife and daughter.
Come, let us prepare our hearts and minds to worth-ship. If for no other reason than God thinks we're worth a whole, whole lot.
On the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president. . . But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead.
This is an extraordinary description of what we do in worship. Not so much for what is says, or how it is written - for it's a pretty simple piece of writing.
What makes it extraordinary is that it was written by a fellow named Justim (Justin Martyr) - around the year 150 AD.
Isn't it incredible that what Justin said his church did 1,850 year ago is exactly what we do in church, here, today?! I just think it's astonishing.
There are two little things that stand-out about what he said.
One, he said that worship wasn't just what happened on Sunday morning when everyone was gathered - remember? AFTER the service people took communion to the sick and shut-in. Worship extended outside the church service and into the world.
Two, a key element of worship was described by Justin, that I think many people would not consider a key element of worship today: giving.
I think most people in most churches today probably see giving as a necessary thing to keep church operations going. Most people like to walk into their churches and still have the heat, light, and water turned on - and at least someone who acts like he/ she knows what their doing behind the pulpil and altar!
But, that's not why we should give. Giving monetarily of ourselves is just as much an act of worship as singing, praying, or taking Communion. And, thanks to Justin, we know that it has been for at least 1,850 years.
Last week I had the chance to go to a different church in the D.C. suburbs and sit in a pew. It was really nice to do that for a change, and not be 'in charge' of a single thing!
When I got to the church - beofre I got out of my car - I took out my wallet and put the amount of meny I was going to give in my breast pocket, so that when the ushers brought the plate around I would be ready. The service started, the service went on, and the service ended - and no one came around with a plate!
After the service I took a good look around the room. There were several different 'stations' that worshippers could go to during the service. At the time for communion, before you wnet back to your seat you could go light a candle in one part of the room, you could go and be prayed for by a group of people waiting to pray, you could write out your prayers on a big piece of paper that was attached to a wall, AND you could walk over to a box and place your offering in it.
At their church, you had to make a conscious effort to give to God and His Church. You had to actually get out of your chair, walk across the room - out of your way - and place your envelope, check, or cash in the box.
What this church had done, was they had made their offering system into an intentional act of worship.
I didn't care for everything the church did - I mean it was fine, it just wasn't my 'cup of tea' - but I loved that.
Worship. Do you know where the word comes from? It comes from the Old English word worth-ship, and it literally means to ascribe worth to something.
We do that kind of thing all the time. Every day we make hundreds of decisions as to what is worth what. Is eating out tonight worth it? Is taking the time to search the whole living room for the remote worth it, or should we just change the channel with the button on the TV. Is the price of the object we're thinking of buying worth the price? Is paying someone to mow the lawn worth it, or should we just do it ourselves.
Everyday we show by our actions and our words how much our spouces are worth to us - our children - our property - our country - our jobs - our health - our well-being - etc.
And then comes the really big stuff. Is God worth getting up on a cold rainy Sunday morning, when it would be so much nicer to sleep in? Is God worth all the effort of a Bazzar this year? Is God worth making an ethical decision, when an unethical one might be a lot more tempting? Is God worth the 5 bucks, 10 bucks, 50 bucks, 200 bucks I put in the plate each week,when it would be nicer to have the extra cash especially with gas prices as they are? Is God worth the time we could spend studying the Bible, time we could spend praying, time we could spend playing Bingo at Egle with the elderly residents, or the time laboring for the church?
"Churchy" stuff isn't the only way we worship God though. I fully believe that giving worth to our marriages, to our children, to our schools, to our country and the world, to our planet, to our own health (physical and mental) and to the people who we love and the people we don't even know is 'BIG' stuff too.
Answer those questions 'correctly' at any one time and you're worshipping. You're ascribling worth to God. You're showing God that you think He's worth it - even after he's show us how much we are worth to him all the time - with each sunrise, with each heartbeat, and with each blessing God showers down on us morning by morning.
This morning's Gospel lesson (Matthew 25:14-29) is a tough one. This is one of those bits of the Bible that scholars argue over its meaning. Who is the Master? What do the Talents represent? Who are the people who invest the talents, or not?
He's what I think this passage is about, without taking up too much time: It's God saying that those who are given great things by God are expected to yield great things. Much is expected of those to whom much is given. We're to ascribe worth to the gifts and blessing that are given, and we're to ascribe worth to the One who gives.
I don't know about you, but this one gets me. I don't get all that caught up in the 'thou shalls,' and the 'thou shalt nots.' I get most of them right most of the time.
It's the fact that God is expecting great things from me that gets my knees knockin' together pretty good.
God's expecting me to show that he is worth something to me, even as God shows that I am 'worth it' to Him all the time.
I'm to show that God is worth it here, in church. Worth-shipping God in some of the very same ways that my brother in Christ Justin did 1,850 years ago. With my prayer, with my song, with my taking of Holy Communion, and my giving. I'm to show that God is 'worth it' to me in my home, at the mall, in the deer stand, selling tickets at the bazaar, and in how I love my wife and daughter.
Come, let us prepare our hearts and minds to worth-ship. If for no other reason than God thinks we're worth a whole, whole lot.
posted by Fr. Rick Morley at 4:59 PM
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