Worth-ship | Part 1
Readings for this week June 26 - 29
Click here for a pdf of this week’s readings
Day 1 – Worth-ship
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Psalm 50:1-15
The bible is full of worship: the call to worship, the need to worship, the desire to worship; worship as the only appropriate response to the God of creation who made us, in whom we live, move and have our being; songs and psalms of praise and worship, instances of people worshipping. From the book of Genesis all the way through to the Revelation of St John, the bible is saturated with the idea of worship. Of course, not all the instances of worship recorded in the bible are pleasing and acceptable to God. Likewise, not everything that we today might wish to label as worship fits the bill as described in scripture. This is why it is important for us to know what pleases God and how he wants us to respond to him.
Hence this little fortnight-long “Worth-ship” series (we’ve finished Daniel and are taking a small pause with Hebrews). We worship God because above all other claimants, he is the one worthy of worship. He has ‘worth-ship’ if we may put it that way. He created all things, and redeemed all things through Christ and is worthy to receive all honour, praise, service and respect. But there is also the sense that the act of worship has ‘worth’, that it is something of value and importance, with benefits that accrue to us. This is not to say that worship is about us or that we are the centre (we are not!), but rather that, in his munificence, God pours himself out on us, speaks to us, encourages and empowers us, convicts us, guides us and comforts us; because he is generous and in his eyes we have worth.
Questions to Consider
What is worship? What does worship look like in your life? How is God ‘worth it’ to you?
Prayer
Lord God, in the good moments, in the bad moments, in all of life, help me remember that you are always worthy of worship and praise. You are still my God and I choose to worship you in all I do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 2 – We All Have Worth
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Luke 10:38-39
Often we look at this little passage and see only a contrast between the active, busy, serving Martha – too busy to attend to Jesus, and annoyed with Mary for doing so – and the devoted, adoring, worshipful Mary – eyes on the important things, spiritually attentive and aware, spending time with Jesus while she can. But there is so much more going on here. Mary has broken social boundaries – and Jesus has commended her for it. The worlds of men and women were strictly delineated; each had its sphere and places and occasions in which they would mix were rare – and this situation was not one of them. By placing herself at Jesus’ feet as he is teaching, Mary has invaded the world of men and has signalled her desire to learn ‘at the feet’ of this rabbi. And Jesus lets her.
Because all have worth. All can come to Jesus and be accepted. The way is open for all of us, no matter who we are, no matter what our background, or our situation, no matter the group we belong to – or don’t belong to – to come to Jesus to rest, to learn, to be challenged, to be comforted – and to worship and adore him. The boundary between ourselves and God that was broken down on Calvary – that torn curtain in the Temple’s inner sanctum – was not the only boundary so destroyed. The boundaries that keep us apart from one another – the Temple’s Court of the Women, the Court of the Gentiles etc – have also been removed. We can all approach Jesus, all come near, and worship him together.
Questions to Consider
Why do we have worth? What does this mean about how we approach God and how he receives us?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you that we can all draw near to you, that you welcome all, because we all have worth as your children. May we share this worth with all who don’t know it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 3 – A Wider View of Worship
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Romans 12:1-2
From the outside of yesterday’s situation, it simply looks like Mary is doing nothing. She is not helping with the hosting of the guests, the food preparation, the serving; she is simply sitting and listening. She is wasting time that could be better spent assisting her sister with the party. And there is a sense that, looking in from the outside, worship is a waste of time. It achieves nothing tangible, it ticks no boxes, it satisfies no KPIs; the world is the same afterwards as it was before, the hungry unfed, the isolated still alone, the sick unhealed.
But what if our definition of worship is too small, too narrow, too human, too bound to specific times and places? “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice” – this small phrase carries scope for each and every moment of our lives to be an act of worship, “true and proper worship” as Paul says. Each moment of our lives is lived in the presence of the one who cares for all people. We are shown more of his heart and empowered to act. We are shown again the likeness of the one we are being transformed into. Offering our lives as an act of worship allows us to be shaped by the hand that made us for the purposes of caring for his world and becoming engaged, transformed co-workers in his redemptive, liberating task. Such an offering shows that there is no ‘nothing’ about worship – that each moment has the potential to be one in which we offer worship and praise to God in what we say and do by being the sacrificial, redemptive people that he calls us to be.
Question to Consider
What is it about what both Martha and Mary do that is worshipful?
Prayer
Lord God, help me find the way to a worshipful life. Show me how each moment can be lived – and given – as a moment of worship and praise to you. Teach me the way of the worshipful heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 4 – All Who Are Distracted
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Luke 10:40-42
Mary stopped and attended to Jesus, resting at his feet. Martha on the other hand, as described by Jesus, was “worried and distracted by many things.” Jesus makes no comment on whether the things she was distracted by were good or bad, but she was hosting and making a welcome for visitors, and we know extending such warm hospitality to others is a praiseworthy thing. So it was not so much what she was doing but how she was allowing her roles in these tasks to distract her and possibly overwhelm her.
Jesus invites all people who are distracted, worried, and exhausted to come to him and rest at his feet. There is much in life that can grab our attention and keep it in a stranglehold, some of it of vital importance, some of it not. Jesus invites us into his presence to rest, and part of that rest often involves a re-prioritisation of our lives and concerns and desires. At his feet we enter a place where his concerns and his desires and his will are revealed to us again. In his presence we hear his voice reminding us that we are beloved children of God, that we are valued by our Creator and called by him by name. Worship reminds us of who God is in all his majesty, magnificence and munificence; it also thus reminds us of who we are, as we take the time to listen to the one voice above all others that knows us intimately, loves us unconditionally and welcomes us uninhibitedly. We are renewed in our faith, reminded of our calling, and strengthened for service.
Question to Consider
How does the act of worship realign and reenergise you?
Prayer
Gracious God, thank you for the way in which worship draws us to you and reminds us of how much you love us and also of our purpose. We praise you for your embrace and all you have given us. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 5 – Who We Worship With
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – 1 Chronicles 29:10-22
Lest we only think of the story of Mary and Martha in terms of individual worship, is it good to remind ourselves that it is the community of God’s people that is called to worship. Our entire life is a gift to us and is to be given back to God as a life-long act of worship. Lifelong followers, lifelong worshippers. We often think this is a solo task, something that we do on our own, with occasional input from other people. But that’s not the case at all. Worship is a communal act too, something that the community does together. In today’s reading the entire community gets together to focus on God. There are times when we gather together specifically for the purposes of worshipping our God together.
Although we can worship God on our own it’s also a key community activity. Individual worship is valuable, but there is a new dimension when we gather as a group of his followers. We can only really begin to get a sense of who we are as God’s ‘people’ when we worship together. When we do this God is with us in a way that binds us together with a common purpose. When King David worshiped with his community he asked, ‘Who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?’ David was amazed at what he and his people accomplished together as part of their worship to God. Who we worship with is important. Worship is not just something that happens between a person and God. It is something we do as a people.
Questions to Consider
Who are your people? Do you worship regularly with them? How? How does this affect your life as an act of worship?
Prayer
Loving Father, thank you for the community you have placed me in, for the people I call my brothers and sisters, fellow children of God. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)