Righteous Worship
Pastor Mathew Magera – 3/12/17 – Sermon 216
St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Trufant, MI
To God be the Glory!
Grace and peace to you from
God our Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Fine dining. How many of you
would be able to go into a fine dining restaurant and know how to act, what to
say, what to wear? There are certain things that you do at such restaurants and
definitely certain things you do not do. You need to know which utensil is used
for each portion of the meal. You need to know how to position them on your
plate to show that you are finished or still eating. You need to know that if
someone at the table gets up to use the restroom you might need to stand up as
well.
In the movie Pretty Woman,
starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, there is a scene where he takes her to
a business dinner at a fancy restaurant. Julia's character has never been to
such a restaurant before and the scene opens with her being taught about the
courses, the cutlery, and the customs of dining at such a place. So, they get
to this restaurant and just after being seated she gets up to use the restroom
and as she stands the three other men at the table stand with her and she
clearly is unsure of what is happening. While she's gone, her order is taken
and she comes back having no idea what is going to be coming to her. She is
expecting a salad to come when in fact something else is placed on the table
and she has no idea what fork to use. Richard Gere tells her the salad comes at
the end of the meal and she begins picking up her forks and counting the prongs
on them to figure out which one to use. Her next course is escargot and extra
utensils are placed on the table that she had not been expecting and she has no
idea how to use them either. Eventually, one of the snails slips out of her
hand and flies through the air only to be caught be the waiter standing nearby.
Fine dining is its own
language. Yet, I think many restaurants don't speak this language anymore. A fork
is a fork is a fork, no matter how long or how many prongs it has. A few years
ago during a Christmas game I received a cheese kit that contained probably
five different and unique knives. I honestly could not tell you what knife is
used for what though I know they each serve a very specific function given
their size and shape. It's a language and because I may not use those knives
for the correct purpose, I'm clearly not placing the same value on those knives
as someone else would who knew exactly what they were for.
Such it is with God and
worship. Worship is a language. Relating to God is a language. It is a language
that has been passed down to us but it is also a language that like many things
that are passed down to us become less meaningful as time goes on. Even the way
we worship today is but a piece of what it was only a few hundred years ago.
But, there is still a certain etiquette that we use when it comes to God, when
we approach God, when we honor and respect God or even speak of him. There are
certain things that we do, certain things that we say that we consider proper.
Now, I don't buy into the idea that only one way of relating to God is the
right way. In fact, those thing that we say and the things that we do are more
so that we would find importance and value in how we relate to God.
However, if we are to not
regard God and worship in holy ways, what meaning will they have for us? What
saving power will they have over us if we treat God and worship like they are
just another part of life and nothing noteworthy of being any different than
going to McDonald's and ordering a Big Mac and fries? While the truth of our
salvation through Christ is intact, how much does it mean to us? If our
language about God is something that we just throw around immaturely, there is
not much value in it when we use God's name in a more serious way. If worship
is something that we just do, we're missing the value in the God's command to
remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
Do Not Take
the Lord’s Name In Vain
When it comes to the second
commandment, God wants us to find immeasurable value in His name, to see the
importance of it, that it might be monumental for us to use and to share. The
name of the very one who brought us into being, who has done good works in us,
has given us his name to use. When it comes to the third commandment, God wants
us to find value in the rest that he has given to us, to find value in the
encouragement to work hard in service to him through the week that this Sabbath
rest of worship would be seen as worthwhile and holy. Unfortunately, we do
throw God's name around in less than holy ways. We do find stress in the
Sabbath rest. But, why? Why do we do this?
Let’s think about using the
Lord’s name first. When we think of this commandment, we often think of using
bad language. I want to tell you this story. When I was maybe 11 or 12, I can't
remember, I remember being at home one day with my sister. We were about to go
somewhere and she was going to be driving. It was almost time to go so I'm
trying to get ready while she's on the phone. I couldn't find my shoes. I
looked everywhere. In the closet, not there. In my room, not there. Under the
coffee table, not there. I was getting super frustrated so I just shouted out
'where are my [fill in the blank] shoes?" My sister, although she was
talking to someone on the phone, overheard this and suddenly got excited saying
through the phone, "my brother said his first swear word." It's like
I had just been initiated into a club.
It's interesting how using
bad language is like an initiation into being cool. I run into this a lot when
it comes to comedians. Just a few weeks ago Lane and I went down to Grand
Rapids to see Bill Engvall and one of the things I like about his comedy is
that he is funny without needing to have any bad language. It's amazing how
people think their bad language makes them funny. My thought is that if you have
to add bad language to make your comedy funny, then you're obviously not funny
enough to be making people laugh. But, we are tempted to use this language
because we will be accepted. Now let me say this, I believe there is a
difference between using bad language and using God's name in vain. Both are
condemned in Scripture but there is a difference. Still, God gave us the gift
of language to be able to use it for good purposes. God gave us words to use to
build people up and encourage. God gave us his very name to lift us up.
So, I find it an interesting
paradox that we value the language we are discouraged from using and at the
same time devalue the language we are encouraged to use. Our ability to use the
Lord's name in vain, or to use it in the opposite way of what it is intended
for, does not only see us misusing the language God has given us to use rightly
but it actually sees us walking away from it altogether to where it has no
value. At that point, there is nothing to turn to. The hope that should be seen
as hope is now not as hopeful.
Remember the
Sabbath and Keep It Holy
Now let’s consider the
Sabbath rest, which we usually consider to be coming to worship. There was a
man who stopped attending church with his family on Sunday morning because he
decided it was prime time to go fishing and he could get more out of being out
in nature with God than in church with God. His wife was clearly not happy with
this idea. Suddenly he started coming back to church again and the pastor was
quite happy so he was sure to mention to him at the end of the service and said
it was wonderful that he was back at church again with his wife. He said,
"well, Pastor, it's a matter of choice. I'd rather hear your sermon than
have to listen to hers." Two of the main reasons I believe that people
skip out on Sunday worship is that they are either doing some sort of outdoor
recreation, or that there is some sort of school sporting activities. If I were
one of those people, I would likely be doing them because going to worship
seems like more work than rest. I can find enjoyment in sitting in a boat in the
middle of nature or I can find enjoyment watching my kid play in a Sunday
morning sport. It’s relaxing, more relaxing than worship. But, why? Because the
language of worship just is not as valuable anymore and when we become rusty,
it feels like work. I mean, when you come into this sanctuary on Sunday
morning, how many of you, by the time the service starts, have all the hymns
bookmarked, have your finger on page 56, have your offering envelope sealed and
sitting between the pages of the hymnal and your Communion card filled out if
we are having Communion?
Just like with any craft, if
you are not in worship regularly, you get rusty at it and it becomes more like
work than relaxation. Along with that is the temptation of being somewhere
else, doing something different. When I was growing up, we had a clock at the
back door of the sanctuary at our church. Well, when got a new pastor one time,
that clock mysteriously, or not so mysteriously, disappeared. People were in
the habit of looking back to see what time it was as if worship was getting in
the way of their day. I think we are guilty of this from time to time, checking
our watches, looking at our phones. What might that say about what worship is
for us?
I always say it is the work
of the Holy Spirit that brought you here today but you can bet the devil is
trying to get you to get up and go back home. The temptation to avoid this
resting day is stronger than ever. The Sabbath is made holy when we do not
neglect God's Word but regard it as holy and gladly hear it and learn it. In
fact, it is possible to remember the Sabbath but not to keep it holy. Keeping
it holy involves learning from what God has to teach us. How can we not only
remember the Sabbath but actually make it holy if we are not committed to that
rest? God's Word is the best language we're ever going to hear. We should
listen.
* * *
So, back to my image of a
fine dining restaurant. Does the etiquette that we use in a fancy restaurant
make the food any better? Not really. Assuming we get absolutely perfect food,
it is still going to our stomachs no matter which fork we use to put it there.
What makes it, not better, but more enjoyable, is our experience of that food,
the way in which we create a stage for it. So, God's very name may be a fork, or
a spoon, or a champagne glass. When used in the right way, it makes our
experience and value of the meal that we are eating much greater. It is made to
enhance the meal. The knowledge, then, of how to use everything in front of us,
how to interact with your tablemates and your server and how to present
yourself, may be like our honor and respect of the Sabbath. The more we are
involved and invested, the more we benefit from the experience of that meal.
And we remember that God himself is the meal, prepared and given to us freely
to nourish our souls with his tender goodness all because of his immense and
unending love for us.
Ultimately, what I believe
he is saying here in both of these commandments is that the worst thing we
could ever do for our soul is to starve it of God. When we honor His name and
sanctify his Sabbath, our souls are fed. These two commandments are given for
our benefit, not to sideline us from society, but so that we might actually
become better people in society, better Christians. Why starve yourself when
you have soul food right in front of you? God says, here's my name. Use it and
use it well. God says, here is a day of rest given to you so that you can be
fed with my Word, use it, use it well. The promise God is offering us is in his
name, the name from which comes our very salvation from sin and death. The very
name that gave to us Jesus, the very name that gave to us all that we have and
all that we are. The promise is in God's name itself, that when we speak of it,
when we cut into it, we reach that juicy center that is full of love, grace,
mercy, and compassion, oh it tastes so good to have the name of God on my
tongue. The promise is God's rest. The very idea that at the end of the week we
get one day of rest in his care is beyond what we can really understand. It is
not just a metaphor for our week in that God gives us a day of rest in the week
but it also shows us that at the end of our week that is our life, God is going
to grant us that eternal Sabbath rest that he has prepared for us in the giving
of His Son on the cross. The promise in these commandments is the very words
themselves, God's name, God's rest. Good for the body, good for the soul. To
God be the glory, now and always. Amen.