revjohn
Worship for MadMonk
Posted on: 01/08/2007 20:31
Hi All,
MadMonk said he would be interested in hearing my take on worship, which is more invitation that I really need to chip in my two cents worth. It is ummmm a bit longish.
Worship is the act of creature giving reverence to Creator. The Greek verb proskuneo which is the dominant Greek word that is translated into the English "Worship" carries this interesting definition: a dog licking his master's hand.
Proskuneo also includes doing reverence to and crouching in homage. I want to run with the definition that includes the dog because it has a proverbial advantage. We have heard the proverb about ingratitude or "biting the hand that feeds" that proverb is the antithesis of worship.
Let me explain with some help from our canine friends. Dogs are pack animals but not all animals are able to participate in the hunt so the hunters wolf down more food than they need to satisfy their hunger. They engorge themselves because that is how they carry the excess back to the rest of the pack. When they get home the pups gather around and lick their mouths, which helps to trigger the vomit reflex and the pups then get their share. Incidentally this is why puppies are very intent on licking their master's face. They aren't giving kisses they are trying to get you to hurl so they can share in your most recent meal.
As the dog matures it recognizes that you do not feed it in a genuinely canine fashion. You have hands which are perfectly suited for the task of carrying their food to them so when your dog is excited, particularly after you have been out it will lick your hand in an attempt to get something good from you. Still, if you allow it they will quickly move from your hand to your mouth because that is what they understand by instinct will give them the treat they are looking for.
Unless you starve your dogs they will be content with some physical attention.
We worship because we have traditionally understood that the Lord our God is also our provider. Every good and perfect gift comes from God's outstretched hand in some fashion. We engage in proskuneo (worship) when we lick God's hand and we are rewarded as God provides our daily bread and maybe a scratch behind our ears or a good vigorous belly rub.
Our dogs thrill at that contact and we who worship experience the same kind of thrill at having God's attention directed to us. In our excitement we fawn over God, licking his hands (worshipping) as a sign that every good and perfect gift we have received, will receive or hope to receive must come from those hands.
From this perspective worship is not simply about what we can get God to bring up for us, nor is it about fawning and falling all over ourselves in God's presence. It is the sheer joy of reunion and the ecstacy of togetherness.
True worship for the Christian then is pretty much the same thing though we communicate it in a slightly different way. We participate in the sheer joy of reunion, not just God and ourselves coming together again but rather the whole of the pack. God, our brothers and sisters and ourselves come together and rejoice that the gathering has happened. We acknowledge God has come among us and we are mindful that every good and perfect gift that we possess has come to us through God's hands
Puppies do not think that the food their parents bring up for them is a miracle. It is, as a matter of fact most natural for a puppy to take nourishment from it's mother. First it suckles and then after it is weaned it starts with pre-chewed and partially pre-digested morsels until it has the ability to participate in the hunt.
We do not think that the bulk of God's providential love is miraculous either. It is, as a matter of fact, most natural for us to take our nourishment from the labour and gifts of others, first from breast or bottle, then from jars until we are big enough to track down our own meals from fridge or pantry.
Our Spiritual nuture also follows a natural path. We are read to from scripture until we are able to read it for ourselves or set it to music and sing it with the congregation.
In all of this we remember, and we acknowledge that everything that we have need of is delivered to us via the hand of God.
The family dog also has another behaviour that we capture in the use of proskuneo and that is the crouch. In a clearly defined pack the Alpha is most notable by its posture (this is another reason why posture is so important in dog shows"”it gives the appearance of a commanding presence) all dogs but the alphas exhibit a bit of a slouch while moving and will crouch slightly when still. The Alpha is always the biggest looking dog. We who are not Alphas or, in the faith relationship, who are not God do not share in a godly posture. We are smaller than God. Hence we bow our heads in prayer. When we bow our heads we slump our shoulders and present as shorter than we truly are
The final lesson from the family dog that is not captured in proscuneo is rolling belly up. This is a significant behaviour in that it is exceedingly rare even within an established pack. A failed challenge of the Alpha ends when the challenger prostrates itself. In that defenceless position the upper neck is vulnerable to the jaws of the Alpha but a bite is not usually lethal, the bones of the spine offer some protection to the vulnerable throat.
When a dog rolls over onto it's back that is a different story altogether. The dog's belly is exceedingly vulnerable and a single bite can effectively disembowel. The only time a dog will engage in this behaviour is when they trust that the pack member they roll over for will not actually harm them. Yes they are probably hoping they will get a good belly rub but if they didn't trust you there is no way you would put your hand on their belly and expect to keep it safe.
Our prayers of confession reflect this behaviour. We confess our faults, failures, sins and short-comings. Exposing our most vulnerable side to our God all the while trusting that we will not feel savage jaws tear out our throat or spread our guts out all over the place. When God's grace flows it hits us with all the warmth and pleasure that we see on our dog's face as he endures his belly rub.
Another Greek verb Therapeuo is often translated as "to heal" but it also has a definition of "to wait upon menially" and I think that particular definition is a lock for us with respect to worship. We come to lick God's hand as thanks for God's providence, prostrate ourselves before him as indication of his strength as leader, go belly up in his presence as an indicator of our trust but we also come to join with God in the service of the community of God's children. We bring ourselves to the table and offer ourselves to God, promising to be his hands and feet.
In our worship we graciously thank God for all that God has given and done for us we also make that gratitude known by submitting our skills and talents and allowing them to be deployed in whichever manner best serves the community of faith and the children of God in the world.
Formally we worship God corporately (The Sunday Worship Service) whereas we informally worship God individually (The Christian Life) whenever we are not engaged in corporate worship. In that respect it is relationship/lifestyle rather than obligation/time constraint.
Grace and peace to you.
John
Comments
Alex
Posted on: 01/08/2007 23:24
Why do we need or are inclined to worship corporotely? (The Sunday Worship Service)
leenane
Posted on: 01/09/2007 03:12
Hi!
RevJohn: Wow, what a well thought out and articulated analogy. Thank you for that. I work with many people who are guide-dog users. I wonder if I have your permission to share that with them?
Alex, you ask
'Why do we need or are inclined to worship corporotely? (The Sunday Worship Service)."
My personal need for corporate worship doesn't come from a sense of being duty bound or obliged to go. For many years I was out of the church, mostly because of being a guilt ridden catholic lesbian. I couldn't see how I could reconcile those two separate parts of my identity. But I felt a growing need to seek out corporate worship. I feel blessed to have been called to the United Church. The need for worship was like a growing hunger gnawing away at me.
However, I don't see Sunday worship as just a spiritual battery charger, even though yes, sometimes it does that. I don't just see it as a community growing, gathering and caring for each other, even though I do see that too. I have an active private prayer life, and so don't just see it as my only opportunity to connect with God - but it is a place where a special connection often happens for me. It's not the only place where I engage with scriptures, but there is something special about listening to our sacred stories proclaimed and explored. Those are some of the reasons I need to worship corporately. What about you?
Leenane
revjohn
Posted on: 01/09/2007 08:17
Alex,
Thanks for posing the question.
Since I have already opened the door to comparing Christians at worship with the family dog let me continue.
Dogs are pretty self-sufficient. If you decide not to feed them and they get hungry enough they will find their own food. Gruesome stories abound of dogs not being fed who eventually do bite the hand that should have fed them, among other more tastier and fleshier parts attached to the hand that should have fed them.
Hunger is a powerful thing.
Sometimes the hunger within us is so great that we have been known to eat our Master's flesh at his own invitation. And for a while it satisfies that particular hunger.
Dogs are social animals. They can live on their own but they have a drive that pushes them to form packs. Stray dogs, even though they be entirely different breeds will pack together. The lone wolf of legend is either an outcast looking to start a pack or one that will shortly no longer need one.
We come together because, I think, we have similar drives and comfort levels.
We can be alone but one of the greatest fears of many a human is to remain alone forever. To have no one to talk to, or touch, or laugh with, or cry with,
Even the most aggressive introvert finds that there are days when they need other flesh and blood besides themselves just to provide a presence for them.
I have two dogs at present. Samuel a 22kg Samoyed/Lab cross. Who is very affectionate. And Rose a 10kg Terrier/Lab cross who has her moments but prefers to have some distance.
At all times during the day Samuel evidences a need for closeness. He follows us from room to room. He isn't so needy that he has to leave the room when we leave, he generally waits patiently until it appears we aren't coming back. He can be left alone through the day without resorting to chewing or soiling but when we do return he is no study of decorum. I'm glad he finally got control of his bladder but as a puppy it wasn't unsual for him to pee with joy when I came home from taking the garbage to the curb.
Rose, as I said can be pretty independant. She will make a decision about whether or not the chair or the other end of the couch is a comfier place to sleep and more often than not recognizes that neither compare to my bed so she will run up the stairs and stake out her place before anyone else gets the same idea.
At night things are different, everyone crashes and that is when she needs to be close. The only problem that presents is that she has a greater capacity to lie with her head on my ankles than I do to allow it.
Rose has a purpose, she is Samuel's companion. She is what he chews on when he is lonely. Though she is not afraid to let him know when she has had enough. She gets quite vicious about it too not that it ever seems to phase him.
So I think it is an instinctual drive to form relationships that leads the Christian into corporate worship.
It is socialization that allows us to understand our immediate pack but also to be blended with other packs as the need arises. And sometimes we find, regrettably, that the need to leave one's pack of origin for a new family is our greatest need,
I am by nature an introvert. New people make me edgy. My closest friends forget this from time to time because I don't have any reservations about being around them. As soon as the balance tips between established friends and strangers I become a bit more reserved.
Because I have moved from faith community to faith community I have had to leave behind the familiar to greet the unfamiliar. If it weren't for the socialization of the Church (which gave birth to the proverb the Church is the Church is the Church) I would surely flounder badly.
Of course it helps that Christian pack mentality sees clergy as being the Alpha or at least a strong challenger to the established Alpha. :)
Even so, there are familiar rhythms and patterns in most congregations and that allows even an outcast the potential to find a place if the rest of the pack allows it.
Grace and peace to you.
John
revjohn
Posted on: 01/09/2007 08:17
Discerning,
You have my permission to share what you find useful.
Grace and peace to you.
John
MadMonk
Posted on: 01/10/2007 08:42
RevJohn:
I really, really appreciate this. I'm going to print it off so I can read it in bits at my desk, and I will respond here.
Ola,
Mm
MikePaterson
Posted on: 01/10/2007 10:32
Well done, John.
I see worship as a way we, in company, locate ourselves in relation to our experience of the world and the universe. There are many things that engender emotions in us that we have no other way of expressing.
But we just had a covenanting service, using Wesley's very challenging words. I blench a bit but say them and mean them. And I will not say words I wouldn't want to be held accountable for.
The Lord's Prayer is enormousty challenging as daily preyer and I have to roll a bit my own way to deal with what "who is is heaven" specifically means, but I do get the impression that for many "believers" these are not words but a kind of sound to be made. That's fine for them, but I find it makes me feel frustrated and a bit of a jerk. If the words are hollow, so's the experience and so's the help it can provide. And God becomes a kind of pasteboard cut-out.
As you probably know, I'm not a Biblical literalist. A part of the reason is that too many passages of the received Bible are clearly nonsense.
So, for example, I check out a bit when God is grindingly always identified as "He" and "Him" - not because I have a rabid political view of sexism but because, in the context of worship, it is totally meaningless to me... and indication that the words have stopped mattering.
Do the words matter or is it a play-act? And how much do they matter?
Do Biblical literalists find it easier ti skate around the words of prayers that are too challenging or simply dumb???
MadMonk
Posted on: 01/17/2007 23:31
RevJohn said of worship:
It is the sheer joy of reunion and the ecstacy of togetherness.
Amen. The dog comparison was actually disturbingly true for me in a lot of what you said, and only because I love dogs so much I am able to relate.
I really want to thank you for the time you took in writing that, and the effort you took to respond to my inquiry about what you thought worship was all about.
It confuzzles me sometimes. I do believe in people getting together corporately and naming blessing and curse; however, I am still unsure what qualifications are needed for God to be present to such a thing (if God even is.)
For example, is it enough to say to someone, "I'll pray for you" or do we actually then have to go kneel and say something, (or not kneel! haha) Has the gesture of prayer fulfilled its mandate, (even through grace) or do we actually have to go through the motions too (assuming the "prayer" is a faithful person.)
Is there actually a directed energy, or is prayer lip service? Is it merely the focusing of the soul and the community on what needs to be named?
I like worship. I like gathering. I'm just not sure what it's all about.
Peace,
MM
sylviac
Posted on: 01/18/2007 08:52
madmonk I believe it is written somewhere ?These people worship me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." I believe we are suppose to come before the Lord with a joyful and thankful heart and rejoice in His goodness.
revjohn
Posted on: 01/18/2007 09:23
MadMonk,
Hi,
You asked:
I am still unsure what qualifications are needed for God to be present to such a thing (if God even is.)
The only criteria I have ever seen is that two or three are gathered together in His name. To extrapolate from that, and fairly I think, relationship is implied in the gathering as is intention.
So something more than three Christians bumping into each other at the grocery store is called for. And yet, if there is a strong relationship between those Christians and God it is conceivable that right there in the frozen foods section there could be worship.
You also asked:
For example, is it enough to say to someone, "I'll pray for you" or do we actually then have to go kneel and say something, (or not kneel! haha) Has the gesture of prayer fulfilled its mandate, (even through grace) or do we actually have to go through the motions too (assuming the "prayer" is a faithful person.)
For the one being prayed for there are a number of ways that they will be uplifted. That a friend or fellow Christian will offer to pray for them may be enough to convince them that they are not alone and take a more hopeful attitude. For others actually going into prayer right then and right there will be the lift that they need. It is another dimension of relationship. I have friends that I would stop traffic for if they requested prayer in the middle of an intersection. I have friends who would not make so bold a request because they would be embarrassed by me stopping traffic for them. I have friends that I would not stop traffic for because being that much in the limelight of any moment would be painfully uncomfortable for them. I also have friends that I have prayed fervantly for and about without knowing why I felt the need and without getting any kind of confirmation for on their end about an unexpected blessing delivered in the moment I felt so compelled. I have also prayed to the point of tears for a desired outcome only to have both heart and soul bruised seriously by the answer I feared most.
Prayer is only meaningful gesture when it has the strongest possibility of being an actual event.
You asked:
Is there actually a directed energy, or is prayer lip service? Is it merely the focusing of the soul and the community on what needs to be named?
From where I sit prayer is a conversation not at all unlike how you and I converse here. With the exception that I can read your responses to my musings and that is not always so with God. There are moments when I feel a response, not so much a yes or a no but the perception that the concern has been lifted and someone else is now looking after things.
I would argue against the directed energy theory in that it makes God appear to be at my beck and call and I think that very much demeans the relationship that we enjoy. If I am going through the motions it would be simple lip service and I should not expect much. And then, just like when I make an off the cuff comment when dealing with my other friends things can snowball into something I never intended but can use to great advantage. There is an element of naming at times which is like throwing a communal brake on and allows us to stop for a moment and consider options and possibilities.
Grace and peace to you.
John