My watch tells me a lot about myself. It’s a smart watch…and every day, it tells me if I’ve moved enough…if I’ve stood enough…and if I’ve hit my exercise goal for the day. It will tell me my heart rate…it will evaluate the quality of my sleep, and it will tell me exactly how many steps I’ve taken. When I hit my goals…my watch lights up and celebrates.
There are things my watch won’t do. It won’t diagnose me, or tell me about my overall physical health…that’s called a doctor…but my watch does help me measure those lead metrics…those goals and practices that can lead to better health…and that is something for which I’m grateful…almost all of the time.
I wish. Oh, how I wish, that there was a tool equally helpful for measuring the state of my spirit. I want a watch that measures the depth of my relationship with God. I want a watch that tells me:
- “Way to go Todd! You’ve closed your prayer ring for the day!”
- “Oops. You need to show 20 more minutes of compassion!”
- “Get back to reading the book of Deuteronomy Todd! Just three more chapters!”
Yes, I’d love something that can measure what I need to do to deepen my relationship with God and my love of Jesus.
But…as much as I check with Apple…or Android…no, there is no app for this.
So instead? Do you know what I…and if you’re in the same boat as me…what you…have to do? It’s really very simple.
We walk.
We walk. We take steps. We put one foot in front of the other. And we walk.
Welcome to the season of Lent at Trinity, where for the next forty days, we are going to be talking about these steps that we take…these things that we do…we call them faith practices… practices that draw us closer to God.
During this season we are going to focus on the ideas within Pastor Adam Hamilton’s book called “The Walk.” And together, we are going to think about increasing our step count…our spiritual practices.
Pastor Hamilton has identified five different areas that we are going to focus on during this season of Lent. The first step that he talks about is worship and prayer. The second is study. Then serving, then giving and finally, sharing. That’s it. Five ways that we walk as we move forward in our faith.
You see, in a lot of ways, it is like our health. We can’t just decide to be healthy, and it magically happens. (Believe me, I’ve tried!) But if we decide to eat more nutritiously, to exercise, to drink lots of water, to sleep better and to reduce stress…then our health will get better.
Likewise, Hamilton’s premise…which I totally buy in to…is that if we grow in each of these five faith practices, then the health and depth of our relationship with God will get better.
So, let’s think today about worship…about what it is…about what we are doing here today. I’m just going to start with a direct quote from Pastor Hamilton from his book. He says simply: “You were created for worship.”
The fundamental truth of worship is knowing and accepting that there is something bigger than you…something greater than yourself. There is something larger…more powerful…superior…and wiser than you. There is something responsible… responsible for creating us…responsible for creating everything. We call it God. Others may say it’s a higher power.
Whatever you call it, the first step in worship is to recognize that there is a creator…and that we are the created. And as Hamilton says, “Worship is the primary, and appropriate response of the created to the creator.”
I’ve mentioned before one of my former colleagues who had a saying, beautifully embroidered, framed and hanging above his desk that said, “There is only one God, and you aren’t it.”
When we worship God, we are acknowledging that we are not the be all and end all of the world.
Now, while this sounds obvious, it’s more complicated than you’d think. Because deep down…there is this desire that humans have for the world to revolve around us. We don’t like to talk about that, but it’s true. We often center our decisions, our words, and our actions around what is good for us…not what is good for our neighbor…or the world.
In fact, Hamilton points out in the book that the root of the word “worship” actually comes from an old English word, “Worth-ship,” Worth-ship recognizes that someone else is worthy of our honor, glory and praise.
When we worship, we worth-ship. We recognize the glory, power, majesty and goodness of God. Worship isn’t about us. Worship…your being here today…is all about God. We are not the audience. God is.
And to worship is to step fully into the relationship that God wants to have with us.
One of my very favorite times of the day is when Lori and I get home from work, and we sit down, usually in the Living Room, and we tell each other about our day. It’s just 15 or 20 minutes…not a big deal…but it has really become an important time…an important part of our relationship. It is a connection. A check in.
We set our routines and our task lists aside just for a little while, and we just talk about our day…about who we saw…about the meetings we went to. We don’t go into detail…but we just check in…was it a good day or a bad day? Were we busy? Mellow? Frantic with things to do?
We check in this way every day. It is one of the ways that we show our love for each other…by listening to the other talk about what they experienced.
Worship works the same way. When we come to worship, in person or online, we are stepping out of our normal, daily routine, we set aside our task lists, and we connect with the Holy One in a way different than we can do anywhere else.
In worship we live out our relationship with God.
- In the music, we sing our praises.
- In the prayers, we give thanks, and we ask for what we need.
- In the sacraments, we come into physical contact with the holy…with the real presence of God.
- In the scriptures, we hear the stories of God’s people, and we learn what God wants for our lives and for the world.
- In the sermon, we are reminded of God’s promises, of God’s love, and we are challenged (and hopefully) inspired to follow Jesus.
Now I know, people are crazy-busy. And I occasionally get asked: “How often should I worship?” How often should we worship? My answer is always the same: We should worship every weekend. And then the person who asked eyes usually get kind of big. “Really? Every weekend?” Yes. Every weekend. That is the goal. When God set aside the 7th day as the sabbath, it wasn’t a one-time deal. God knows that human life is cyclical…rhythmic. Every week we gather for worship because God created it that way. It is what’s best for us. It’s how God wired us. Again, Pastor Hamilton’s quote: “You were created for worship.”
Now I know that it’s not always possible to be here every weekend. I get that. I am a parent too, and I understand schedules…and the complicated nature of life. I know that sometimes we’re traveling. And I know that sometimes we get sick and can’t make it. I understand that.
Sometimes I run into people at Target or the grocery store, and they see me, and their eyes get big and the first thing they say to me is “I’m sorry…we’ve been really busy…we haven’t made it to church in awhile,” and I can tell that they feel guilty. Here’s the thing: of course, we miss you when you’re not here. And we feel your absence…. because we are a community, and we are better when you are here. But we’re not keeping track. There is no scorecard. And more importantly, God’s love is not dependent on any kind of attendance record. Grace doesn’t work that way.
However, we know that a relationship can only grow when we choose to live it out. And so, I’ll be direct: When you are around, when you are in town, you should be here…in worship. It is how your relationship with God grows. It’s how God wired you.
If, when Lori and I sat down to talk about our day, I just said “I don’t want to talk about it,” Lori would be concerned. And if that went on for a week, Lori would get worried. And if this behavior continued…if I wouldn’t talk with Lori about what was going on in my life, in my heart, if I stepped away from that practice, gradually it would begin to damage the relationship we have.
The same is true of God.
Now to be clear, God does not go away. God’s love is a constant. But when we quit showing up in relationship with God; when we quit praying…giving thanks…listening…singing our praises….growing in our faith…if that were to stop, our relationship with God would begin to fracture within our own hearts.
It’s just true.
My friends, God doesn’t go anywhere. God doesn’t leave you. The love and grace of God is a constant. It surrounds you, all the time. And God wants our relationship to deepen.
And so, we show up. We worship; we worship together! We live out our relationship with God. Trust that God wants to be in relationship with you. When we worship, we are taking a step. We are walking. We are walking on the path that draws us closer to God.
Lets close with the prayer that Pastor Hamilton concludes this chapter of his book with. Let us pray:
Lord, help us to see the beauty of this world you’ve given to us. Help us to notice the blessings all around us. Help us to remember that you are God, and we are not. Help us to trust that somehow you will see us through even the painful things in life and bring good from them. Grant us grateful hearts. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
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