Worship

I've been thinking a lot lately about worship. What it is, what it isn't. I'm coming to believe that it's not about me.

Except that it is, in that I'm human, and everything I've experienced - especially in the hours and days prior to the worship experience - come with me into that sanctuary.

At my church, there are two schools of thought about worship. Both believe that at the end of a worship service, we should be nearer to God, having learned what it means to be more like Jesus, and leave as a changed people. But we have discussions and ongoing dialog about how you get to that place.

One school believes the worship service should lift us up to where Christ is at, in all of His holiness. The focus should be entirely upon Him, and our humanity should be, well, if not disdained, then certainly discounted. The stain of human sin has no place in the presence of God. A subset of thought from this school believes the congregation should enter the sanctuary already at that level of holiness, or at least well on the way.

I subscribe to the other school of thought; the one that says a worship service should begin by showing us that Christ meets us where we are, in all of our failures, foibles, and fumblings as human beings, struggling to find meaning and purpose in life. And then it shows us what Christ did for us, what He can do for us, and what He will do for us.

But in all of this, I'm also trying to reconcile my new belief that worship really is NOT about us. Maybe that's what the Scriptures mean when they talk about a "sacrifice of praise." Because during this time I get to bring my brokenness into the temple, place it at the feet of Jesus, and say, "Lord, I choose to lay these burdens down and take this time to praise Your name. In this moment, in this place, I sacrifice my own needs and desires and declare unto the Universe that I am Yours, that You are my God, and are infinitely worthy of my praise."

Maybe that's what worship is really all about.