Several years ago in England, a man wrote to the editor of the British Weekly. In his letter, the writer reported that he could not remember any sermons preached in any of the churches he had attended. Because of that, the man questioned whether sermons were really as important as preachers thought they were. “I have been attending a church service for the past 30 years and I have heard probably 3,000 sermons,” wrote the man. “To my consternation,” he continued, “I discovered that I cannot remember a single sermon!” As a result of that letter, many readers of the British Weekly wrote replies. They were published in the Letters to the Editor column. One letter seemed to go to the heart of the problem posed by the listener to all those sermons. This letter-writer stated: “I have been married for 30 years. During that time, I have eaten 32,850 meals – mostly of my wife’s cooking. Suddenly, I have discovered that I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet, I received nourishment from every single one of them. I have the distinct impression that without them, I would have starved to death long ago.”
We come to worship to be fed, spiritually fed. You come to worship for any number of reasons, the music, the fellowship, the peaceful setting, maybe even the sermon. Yet Sunday worship is vital to being the church. It is how we grow in our relationship with God as a community of believers. That is why one of the 6 Great Ends of the Church is “The Maintenance of Divine Worship.” Last week we talked about “Proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind” asking what it is you proclaim in your life? Can you share the love of God with a stranger or friend and then say “Come and See” inviting them to church. Today we will continue our proclamation when we join together in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Remember Paul declares, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, YOU proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” Last week I shared the responsibility of proclamation with you and now I’m advocating that you are proclaiming God when you taste and you drink of the body and blood of Christ. You are telling the story, sharing the meal, uniting as the body of Christ.
We are responsible for ‘the maintenance of Divine Worship’. You see divine worship is all that brings us together in God through Christ. That is why we are practically bumping into the sacraments. I was so excited when Mary asked to have Audrey baptized here, in her grandmother’s church. At first the baptism was to be last week, so we could spread out our sacraments, first a baptism then communion. But then calendars changed and I realized it was God creating the fullness of worship in this moment. We are nourished by the blessing of God’s claim on new life, on Audrey’s life, at the very moment we come to Christ’s table proclaiming his claim on our lives.
Proclamation comes with a promise. Peter said to those coming to faith, “Repent and be baptized…for the promise is for you and for your children… everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” That promise of the Holy Spirit is twofold. First we have forgiveness of sins as a promise of baptism. As water washes bodies, the sacrament proclaims the promise that God graciously washes away sin.
The second promise is the gracious gift of God to all including infants and children. John Calvin took the phrase “for your children” to silence any opposition to infant baptism, declaring the act as God’s seal, or signature on the promise. When I sprinkled Audrey’s head with water, God was signing her with God’s love. Of course babies have no need for forgiveness of particular sins, but infant baptism is God’s promise to a child, saying that through Christ we belong to God, are part of Christ’s body, and in him have God’s love and forgiveness (Feasting on the Word, A2, p. 402). Our prayer is one day Audrey will proclaim her own faith in God. Today we proclaimed that promise to Audrey, as we reaffirm God’s baptismal promise to us.
Baptism, communion and preaching are the life blood of worship, the trifecta of experiencing God. Today we experience all three- water, wine and bread sandwiching God’s Word. William Temple, the renowned archbishop of Canterbury, defines worship as quickening the conscience by the holiness of God, feeding the mind with the truth of God, purging the imagination by the beauty of God, opening the heart to the love of God, and devoting the will to the purpose of God (Matthew R. Mounce). That is what we as the church are charge with maintaining, the fullness of divine worship.
This week I shared a glass of wine with a friend, actually a bottle of very nice Zinfandel. She had not eaten so she ordered some flatbread to nibble on. I made sure we both had water to drink to stay hydrated. As we sat at table, I looked down to discover three things were present – water, wine and bread. The same three elements Jesus used in the sacraments; water for baptism, bread and wine at table. More than 2,000 years have passed but the same three staples of life populate our fellowship and our sacraments. So when the Holy Spirit unites with them we have a deeper experience of God. Jesus took the common and made it holy. By the Holy Spirit and God’s divine love we experience God in living ways through worship and sacrament.
Barbara Brown Taylor tells of a time when she served as the coordinator of Christian Education. People came up to her continually asking for more Bible study, so she engaged seminary professors to teach courses. But attendance was not very good. People had been asking for Bible study but didn’t come to the classes offered. Then it dawned on Barbara that “Bible” was a code word for “God.” Her parishioners didn’t want information about the Bible; they wanted God, an experience of God, a relationship with God.
Do you remember that old joke about the sign in a Presbyterian church listing Adult Education classes? The sign showed an arrow pointing in one direction with the caption “This way to a seminar about God” and a second arrow pointing in a different direction with the caption “This way to God.” I think many Presbyterian used to go to the seminar about God. But things are changing. I’ve noticed, as Barbara Brown Taylor noticed, that more and more of us are less interest in a seminar about God and more and more interested in a relationship with God (Proclaiming the Six Great Ends of the Church, J. Small, p. 78).
Experiencing God is the goal of divine worship. We come every Sunday to sing and pray, to hear God’s word, to be claimed by God and fed by God in this time of worship. Every week we strive to create a sacred moment, and by the grace of God sometimes we succeed. We like the early church “baptize, and devote ourselves to Christ’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and prayers” (vs. 42). The more we can immerse ourselves in the sacraments, in God’s teaching, in prayer, the more we sense the power of the divine. That is why I ask you to touch the waters of baptism, as you leave worship; the same water you heard poured out with God’s love. Bump into the sacraments as you touch the waters and share Chris’s meal. Soon you will taste and sip the body and blood of Christ. Allow the fullness of Christ to unfold in your mouth as you swallow this holy mystery savoring God’s love. In that moment be thankful and protective of God’s divine worship.
Amen.
