Why Wrship? Men's Frum Thursday, March 13th, 2014 Man made t Glrify Gd Luke 17:11 - Jesus heals ten lepers frm a disease which made them defiled utcasts. They prayed fr his mercy, they beyed his cmmand; but after the healing takes place, nly ne f them, wh happens t be a Samaritan, a despised and feared utsider, cmes back t Jesus, "and with a lud vice glrified Gd, and fell dwn n his face at his feet, giving him thanks" - an act f prfund wrship and beisance. Jesus respnds with a questin: "Were there nt ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are nt fund that returned t give glry t Gd, save this stranger" - an utsider t Israel. Jesus cndemns the nine ungrateful lepers: but he cmmends the ne grateful Samaritan; and he tells the thankful man "arise, g thy way: thy faith hath made thee whle [r: saved, healed]" i. There is mre than a cncern fr etiquette at wrk here. His pint, I think, is this: the peple f Gd d nt treat Gd as the nine lepers have, simply as a means t getting what they want. T be sure, they turn t Gd in their need, they seek his gd gifts, but it is gratitude, nt greed and self-gratificatin, that mves them in the end, a gratitude that is expressed in glrifying Gd fr being Gd: "we give thanks t thee fr thy great glry" [Glria in excelsis]. When Jesus says, "nne are returned t give glry t Gd save this stranger", his pint is that the Samaritan, the utsider, is acting as a true Israelite shuld, while the ther nine lepers are acting like pagans wh refuse glry t Gd, and whse attitude t his gifts is ne f greedy selfgratificatin rather than gratitude. Remember what St. Paul says abut the ungdly and unrighteus in Rmans 1: "when they knew Gd, they glrified him nt as Gd, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginatins, and their flish heart was darkened....wherefre Gd als gave them up t uncleanness thrugh the lusts f their hearts... wh changed he truth f Gd int a lie, and wrshipped and served the creature mre than the Creatr....Fr this cause...gd gave them ver t a reprbate mind [a mind vid f judgment], t d thse things which are nt cnvenient [fitting]" (Rmans 1:21) All ten had lifted up their vice in entreaty and prayer t Jesus; but nly ne lifted up his vice t him t glrify Gd. All were eager t experience the gdness f Gd, but in nly ne was this gdness acknwledged in faith. As a result, thugh all ten benefit frm the unmerited kindness f Jesus, nly the Samaritan is tld "thy faith hath made thee whle". All ten receive healing in this life; but nly ne finds salvatin. tw principles f understanding and decisin in the life f men. self-gratifying lve f self t the pint f cntempt fr Gd's glry (mind f the flesh). grateful lve f Gd's glry t the pint f cntempt fr self (mind f the Spirit). lve f self t the pint f cntempt fr Gd; lve f Gd, t the pint f cntempt fr self. 1
As the Flesh (fallen man) uses all things, even Gd, t gratify and glrify the self; s the Spirit (regenerate man) uses all things, even itself, t give thanks t and glrify Gd. "glry be t the Father" - cnstant refrain f daily ffice; "glry be t Gd n high" - the climax f the Eucharist - rients us beynd urselves Glrifying Gd and enjying him fr ever utility - what is wrship fr? quesitn f utility and enjyment things are t be used as means t an end that lies beynd them - I g t the gym nt because i enjy it but t keep my wieght in cntrl, t make me lk gd, etc. but ther things are enjyed fr their wn sake, nt fr any further purpse sme peple use the game f glf t get utside, t be with friends, t make cnnectins etc. thers enjy the game f glf fr its wn sake - at the same time, they may have these ther benefits, but it is fr the sake f glf itself that they play, nt fr the side benefits what is wrship fr? use, r enjyment? much wrldly religin appraches Gd precisely as a means t an end - and ur wrship likewise yet even when we use Gd fr smething (health, wealth), that has a way f bringing us nward tward Gd in himself fr all greater gds are t be preferred t lesser gds and the gd we perceive in the lesser gd is present mre fully in the greater gd we like light f a candle in night, but we blw the candle ut when sun rises ther view: wrship is nt "useful" - yes yu can use it the same way that yu use glf - but prperly speaking, wrship is an end in itself, nt a means t an end Gd is the categry f things t be enjyed rather than used - and end in himself, rather than a means t an ther end s Bernard f Clairvaux' (11 th c. Cistercian mnk, preacher, mystic) we start with lve self fr sake f self natural man in his fallen state lve f Gd fr sake f self we lve Gd fr the gd gifts he gives lve f Gd fr sake f Gd - charity lve even f self fr sake f Gd (resurrectin) we wrship Gd indeed fr his wn sake, and nt merely as a means t anther greater gd - but in wrshipping Gd fr his wn sake we attain ur highest and true gd - it is in glrifying Gd that man finds true happiness as man "man's chief end is t glrify Gd and t enjy him fr ever" (Westminster Catechism) Test f this if we lse all the gifts we receive frm Gd, d we still accunt him wrthy f wrship? Satan thinks Jb will cease t wrship Gd then but in fact it is precisely when all ther gds fail that the all-sufficiency f Gd is enugh- and in fact withut Gd, there are n gds 2
Gd is infinite pwer, wisdm, and gdness all finite gds are as nthing cmpared t him measure f ur blindness that we prefer lesser gds t the greater where Spirit illumines hearts and pens the blind eyes in faith, we glimpse the surpassing beauty f Gd, we fall in lve with his gdness this is wrship which prevails even when all ther gds lst Augustine: Lrd thu hast made us fr thyself, and ur hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee (Cnfessins 1.1) Supreme testimny f the wrthship f Gd alne is fund n the crss with all gds remved, and all evils inflicted, Christ remains stedfastly turned tward Gd in faith and bedience My gd, my gd, why hast thu frsaken me he is frsaken, yet Gd is still his Gd Testimny f saints: Ps. 16 I have n gd apart frm thee Ps 73: 24-28 24 Thu shalt guide me with thy cunsel, * and after that receive me with glry. 25 Whm have I in heaven but thee? * and there is nne upn earth that I desire in cmparisn f thee. 26 My flesh and my heart faileth; * but Gd is the strength f my heart, and my prtin fr ever. 27 Fr l, they that frsake thee shall perish; * thu hast destryed all them that are unfaithful unt thee. 28 But it is gd fr me t hld me fast by Gd, t put my trust in the Lrd GOD, * and t speak f all thy wrks in the gates f the daughter f Sin. Let nthing disturb thee/ Nthing affright thee/all things are passing/gd never changeth/patience endurance/attaineth t all things/wh Gd pssesseth/in nthing is wanting/alne Gd sufficeth. St. Teresa Gd alne is enugh. Inward and Outward when Jesus asked what is the great cmmandment f the Law - he gives them tw cmmandments - the first and great, and the secnd like unt it - upn these tw, he explains, hangs all the law and prphets axim f Biblical religin that man was made t glrify Gd by his wrship f him "my duty twards Gd is T believe in him, t fear him, and t lve him with all my heart, and with all my mind, with all my sul, and with all my strength: t wrship him, t give him thanks: 3
t my put my whle trust in him, t call upn him: t hnur his hly Name and Wrd: and t serve him truly all the days f my life" yu can't lve Gd withut lving yur neighbur as yurself; yu can't lve yur nighbur withut lving Gd abve all there is a duble principle t Christian religin - vertical t Gd, hrizntal t man - and these tw dimensins cme tgether in the crucifrm Christ and his Church bth dimensins apply t the wrship f Christ by his Church vertical dimensin - the inward faith, fear, hpe, repentance, prayer, praise, thanks, praise, which we have tward Gd, - and which is summed up in the cmmandment t lve him with all that yu are, abve everything that is this culd be cnsidered as smething that exists purely in the individual, in his privacy, and amng mderns this is ften taken fr granted - religin is wht a man des with his slitude is a mdern view - religin a private act purely inward but this is nt the Biblical view - faith withut wrks is dead - and the first wrk f faith is t cnfess Jesus as Lrd - it is t be expressed utwardly in wrd( in cnfessin f faith, praise, sin) and deed (bedient service) - and in particular the service f lve ffered t the neighbur - the secnd cmmandment - it is in th elve we ffer ur neighbur that ur lve fr Gd finds its expressin - and what is the highest act f lve? it is t bring the neighbur t the knwledge and lve f Gd als s alng with the Biblical "vertical" f an individual's faith, hpe, and lve f Gd, there is the Biblical "hrizntal" - which is the believing cmmunity's crprate shared wrship f Gd if the inward faith and lve is the "sul" f wrship, withut which the uter frms are dead frmalism, s the utward crprate frms are the "bdy" f wrship, withut which the sul is incmplete r even (n analgy f wrks) is dead als! OT emphasis is n the cvenant peple f Gd - Israel as a hly natin is the first fact, and the individual Israelite h as his access and cmmunin with Gd nt as an individual but nly in an dthrugh his pariticipatin in Gd's cvenant with Israel cuntless witnesses t this idea thrughut OT - the jy f taking part in Israel's crprate wrship in the Temple, the srrw f being cut ff frm it - this carries ver int the "new and eternal" cvenant f the NT - nly deepened even further - it is as a member f Christ and f his bdy the Church that an individual has access t Gd - with angels and archangels and all the cmpany f heaven we have access t Gd in his heavenly and eternal temple variant f this image is that f the living Temple f the Spirit - 1 Peter 2 it is nly in the Bdy f Christ that we find ur true meaning as individuals - we are nt truly urselves except insfar as we participate in the life f Christ's bdy the Temple f his Spirit, which is the Church - whse wrk is first and fremst the wrship f Gd in Christ 4
1 Peter 2 4 T whm cming, as unt a living stne, disallwed indeed f men, but chsen f Gd, and precius, 5 Ye als, as lively stnes, are built up a spiritual huse, an hly priesthd, t ffer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable t Gd by Jesus Christ. 6 Wherefre als it is cntained in the scripture, Behld, I lay in Sin a chief crner stne, elect, precius: and he that believeth n him shall nt be cnfunded. 7 Unt yu therefre which believe he is precius: but unt them which be disbedient, the stne which the builders disallwed, the same is made the head f the crner, 8 And a stne f stumbling, and a rck f ffence, even t them which stumble at the wrd, being disbedient: whereunt als they were appinted. 9 But ye are a chsen generatin, a ryal priesthd, an hly natin, a peculiar peple; that ye shuld shew frth the praises f him wh hath called yu ut f darkness int his marvellus light; 10 Which in time past were nt a peple, but are nw the peple f Gd: which had nt btained mercy, but nw have btained mercy. Frms f Wrship Eucharist and Cmmn Prayer Eucharist - Sacrament f Christ's Bdy - the mystical Bdy, the Church - the cnversin effected by the Sacrament is ur cnversin int his Bdy - we becme what we receive but this crprate eucharistic sense underlies all f the Church's wrship, especially its cmmn prayer, as well as the ther sacraments by receiving Christ in his bdy sacrificed fr us we becme his bdy and ffer urselves in sacrifice thrugh him prayer is by nature cmmn - "ur Father...give us... frgive us... lead us... deliver us" - bdy praying thrugh its head - all prayer is the prayer f the whle church - there is nt ther kind nf prayer venite and Te Deum bring t ur cnsciusness and awareness the cmpany f church and saints and angels - precisely s that we can see ur destiny lies nt in islated selfish individualism but precisely in and thrugh the bdy f Christ - wrshpi trains ur individuality t find its place in relatin t Gd and neighbur in Christ Venite, exultemus Dmin. OCOME, let us sing unt the LORD; * let us heartily rejice in the strength f ur salvatin. Let us cme befre his presence with thanksgiving; * and shw urselves glad in him with psalms. Fr the LORD is a great Gd; * and a great King abve all gds. In his hand are all the crners f the earth; * and the strength f the hills is his als. The sea is his, and he made it; * and his hands prepared the dry land. 5
O cme, let us wrship and fall dwn, * and kneel befre the LORD ur Maker. Fr he is the Lrd ur Gd; * and we are the peple f his pasture, and the sheep f his hand. O wrship the LORD in the beauty f hliness; * let the whle earth stand in awe f him. Fr he cmeth, fr he cmeth t judge the earth; * and with righteusness t judge the wrld, and the peple with his truth. Te Deum laudamus. WE praise thee, O Gd; we acknwledge thee t be the Lrd. All the earth dth wrship thee, the Father everlasting. T thee all Angels cry alud; the Heavens, and all the Pwers therein; T thee Cherubim and Seraphim cntinually d cry, Hly, Hly, Hly, Lrd Gd f Sabath; Heaven and earth are full f the Majesty f thy glry. The glrius cmpany f the Apstles praise thee. The gdly fellwship f the Prphets praise thee. The nble army f Martyrs praise thee. The hly Church thrughut all the wrld dth acknwledge thee; The Father f an infinite Majesty; Thine adrable, true and nly Sn; Als the Hly Ghst the Cmfrter. THOU art the King f Glry, O Christ. Thu art the everlasting Sn f the Father. When thu tkest upn thee t deliver man, thu didst humble thyself t be brn f a Virgin. When thu hadst vercme the sharpness f death, thu didst pen the Kingdm f Heaven t all believers. Thu sittest at the right hand f Gd, in the glry f the Father. We believe that thu shalt cme t be ur Judge. We therefre pray thee, help thy servants, whm thu hast redeemed with thy precius bld. Make them t be numbered with thy Saints, in glry everlasting. OLORD, save thy peple, and bless thine heritage. Gvern them and lift them up fr ever. Day by day we magnify thee; 6
And we wrship thy Name ever, wrld withut end. Vuchsafe, O Lrd, t keep us this day withut sin. O Lrd, have mercy upn us, have mercy upn us. O Lrd, let thy mercy be upn us, as ur trust is in thee. O Lrd, in thee have I trusted; let me never be cnfunded. all creatin being drawn t its redemptin in Chirst by the HOly Spirit Cmmn Prayer begins in repentance (erred and strayed) ends in intercessin ffering and thanksgiving (acts f lve t neighbur and Gd) - at its heart, we apprehend by faith the wrk f Christ in redeeming us t Gd and drawing us int his Bdy - this is lgic f daily ffice ane f eucharist Why are we bred? Natural man is bred, because his capacity t knw and delight in Gd is s limited as we are rebrn, trained up int lve f Gd, then wrship grws mre and mre spntaneus, becmes secnd nature what begins in duty ends in delight - i sesken. 7