Getting Into Worship?
I am part of the Lutheran flavor of the Christian Church. Lutherans take our worship services very seriously. If you have ever been to a Lutheran service you have probably experienced that we aren’t known for getting into worship. Now that is a very loaded and subjective phrase, getting into worship, but hear me out. In a typical Lutheran worship service, no matter the style of music that is being used, you typically won’t see many hands raised in the air or a congregation swaying back and forth in rhythm to the beat of the kick drum or organ. In the modern evangelical world, those are the typical markers used to measure if people are really getting into worship. I should know. I led worship almost every Sunday for the better part of 13 years. The more hands I saw raised the more I was tempted to think that the Spirit was moving in a unique way. The more tear-filled eyes I saw looking back at me the more tempted I was to think that the Spirit was really moving. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. I’ll never know.
I say all this because this past week I was at a small worship gathering where I really did experience the Spirit move in a unique way. I didn’t sense the Spirit because the music was amazing, or because the preaching was amazing, or because of any other stylistic choices. We all sensed the Spirit because people were faithfully responding to Psalm 51:17 where David writes,
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
I was at this gathering to pray for and support some brothers and sisters who have had their worlds rocked in the last few weeks. These brothers and sisters were experiencing real brokenness and they had nothing else to offer God at that moment but their pain and frustration caused by their current circumstances. I remember standing there singing a song that I did not particularly resonate with and looking to my left. And there I saw a woman singing to Jesus with a sense of joy that was inexpressible. In the midst of her difficult situation, she was offering her brokenness as a sacrifice of praise to Jesus. And her sacrifice of praise was a gift to me. At that moment my heart was stirred to worship Jesus. At that moment I saw what true worship looked like. It wasn’t about the song selection, or the instrumental choices, or anything else that is really just a human preference. It was about broken people clinging to Jesus as Jesus held onto them in the midst of their brokenness.
So, I have no problem if you prefer the Divine Service or the latest Hillsong hit. I have no problem if you prefer to see your pastor in a robe or in jeans. I have no problem if you raise your hands in worship or stand at attention. I don’t think any of those are a measure of our worship. I still don’t really know what getting into worship really means, or even if worship should be measured, honestly. But I do believe that when God’s people gather and bring Jesus the real messiness of our lives, that act of faithfulness can spur other brothers and sisters on in their faith. So, I encourage you to look around in worship this Sunday. Maybe even quietly pray over the people around you and ask that Jesus meets them in the broken parts of their lives. May the Spirit grant us grace and strength to offer God our broken spirits and contrite hearts.
Grace and peace ‘til we rise in glory.
