“What Does the Lord Expect from Our Worship?”

            Every weekend, usually on Sunday mornings, millions of American Christians gather together to praise and worship God.  The gathering of the community of faith to worship and praise God is at the center of Christian life and discipleship.  It would be hard to overstate the centrality of these weekly acts of communal worship.

            Clergy and other worship leaders regularly receive feedback on whether or not our parishioners experienced meaningful worship at our weekly gatherings.  Here, at Christ United Methodist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, we have an outstanding traditional music program.  As the Senior Pastor, people frequently share with me how much they have appreciated our music program on a particular Sunday.  Sometimes they have been moved by our Chancel Choir; at other times, it is our Handbell Choir…or the Children and Youth choirs… or the Serenity Singers … or the Men’s Choir… or the Braze Ensemble… or the Quartet.  Often, people stop to share how much they appreciate the leadership of our Music Directors, John and Laura Ross.

            Whenever I hear compliments about our music program, I always try and share them with John and Laura because as a congregation we are very blessed to have their music leadership.  Sometimes, there are other compliments about the service.  Perhaps people found a particular Children’s Time especially cute, or they were moved by a prayer or some other part of the liturgy.  Many, many times, people compliment and affirm my sermons, telling me how a particular proclamation really spoke to them, and I deeply cherish each of those affirmations.

            Of course, we also receive our fair share of negative feedback.  Usually this feedback centers on some structural aspect of the service—or, some experiment that we’re trying.  For instance, I may hear observations, such as, “Hey, I’ve noticed that the services are going a little longer; can we be better at finishing up in an hour?”  Or, “I don’t like walking to the back of the Sanctuary to receive Holy Communion.  Can we go back to the old way, where everyone comes to the front?”

            I should say that I appreciate all of the feedback that we receive—both the positive and the negative—because it helps the Worship Staff and me to improve our services and make them as meaningful as possible for our gathered community of faith.  Yet, at the same time, I think that it is important to note the direction of this feedback:  it comes from the people, and it centers on how meaningful they found the service.  We could frame the underlying question in this way:  “What Does the Congregation Expect from Worship?”

            This week, our foundational scripture reading turns the question around.  The Bible asks:  “What Does the Lord Expect from Our Worship?”   This question occurs in the prophet Micah, and the answer which God provides is quite surprising.  Since the passage is rather short, I’ve quoted all of it below:

⁶“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? ⁷Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” ⁸He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (NRSV)

            Micah 6 begins with the image of a courtroom scene in which God brings charges against the people of Israel, who are God’s special Chosen People.  The basic accusation is that the Chosen People have been unfaithful in keeping the Covenant, or Contract, which they entered into with God.  That is, God’s Chosen People have been unfaithful.  Earlier in the chapter in Micah 6:  1-2, God proposes that the mountains and hills will serve as the jury in this trial. 

Then, in Micah 6:  3-5, God proceeds to remind the Israelites of how God has faithfully supported them through every trial and challenge which they have faced as the Chosen People.  God gives specific examples and reminds them of specific incidents from their history.  In this way, God builds an overwhelming case, demonstrating how God has faithfully upheld their Covenant, even though the Chosen People themselves have been very lax and neglectful.

Our passage for Sunday, Micah 6:  6-8, depicts a voice from the Chosen People, someone who speaks representing all of the Israelites.  Convicted by the overwhelming evidence just presented by God, the representative voice wonders, “What can we do to atone for our sins and live faithfully, keeping our Covenant as God’s Chosen People?”

Verses 6-7 focus on worship, praise, and sacrifice.  In verse 6, the representative voice asks about how he can make his worship pleasing to God.  The speaker lifts up the traditional understandings of worship for his time.  He mentions bowing before God and bringing calves for a burnt offering honoring God.  Then, in verse 7, the speaker ups the ante, by speaking in hyperbole, would God be satisfied with extraordinary sacrifices?

à the sacrifice of thousands of rams

à the sacrifice of ten thousands of rivers of oil

à even the sacrifice of the speaker’s firstborn child, which was a repulsive idea

In our final verse, Micah 6:8, God responds to the representative interlocutor.  And, God’s answer is completely unexpected.  It turns out that God is not interested in the quantity or quality of our worship.  No.  Instead, God is more interested in the quality of our lives and our faithfulness in keeping the Covenant as God’s Chosen People, which God extends to all persons through the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ.

What does the Lord Expect from Worship?  In verse 8, God gives a threefold summary of what is expected: 

1.  “to do justice.” That is, God calls upon the Chosen People to work for fairness and equality for everyone, but especially those who are weak, powerless, and marginalized. 

2.  “to love kindness.”  The Hebrew word used in Micah is hesed, which has a very deep and rich meaning that goes beyond our simple English word of just being nice to other people.  Instead, its deeper meaning revolves around “love, loyalty, and faithfulness” towards God by treating others with “love, loyalty, and faithfulness.”

3.  “to walk humbly with God.”  To walk humbly with God means that we put God first in our lives and that we live in conformity with God’s will, working to establish justice and kindness in the world.

When we turn the question around and ask, “What Does the Lord Expect from Our Worship?” Micah provides an unexpected and radical answer.  It turns out that God does not focus on the beauty of our music, or the depth of our prayers, or the eloquence of our sermons.  According to Micah, none of that really matters to God.  Instead, what the Lord expects from our Worship is that we enter worship having lived a lifestyle of faithfulness that centers on justice, kindness, and humility, as described above.  From God’s perspective, the quality of our Worship is already pre-determined before we enter the sanctuary by the lives we have lived and the deeds we have done.

Wow!

Come, join us this Sunday, August 7th, at Christ United Methodist Church, as we reflect on what it means to offer up worship which is pleasing to God.  Since justice is so central to Micah 6:  6-8, we will explore justice and how we as individuals—and as a gathered community of faith—can work for justice in our community by focusing on public education in our schools.  Our classic worship services are at 8:30 and 11:00 on Sunday mornings. 

Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.