JEREMIAH 15:15-21

PSALM 26:1-8

ROMANS 12:1-8

MATTHEW 16:21-27

Sermon – 9/1/02

What is worship?

Stop ten people on the street and ask them and I’ll bet that a majority would give answers having something to do with a group of people gathering together in a special place (a “house of worship”), perhaps at a special time, to praise God and pray to God. And that is, and has been for millennia, one kind of worship.

The problem which St. Paul recognized was that for many people – and even some Christians – that was the only kind of worship they knew about. Go to the Temple or cultic center, participate in a ritual focussing on God (or on pagan gods) and then leave, to spend the rest of one’s time perhaps oblivious to what one had been doing.

The triumph of traditional Judaism was to recognize the potential for making all of life an act of worship by understanding God’s will as to command or forbid a long series of specific acts and activities. The life of an observant Orthodox Jew to this day is filled with worship in this sense – not that they spend all their timing praying together, but that every hour of daily life is spent in activities which conform to their understanding of God’s will.

Paul recognized the dangers of this route: the danger of self-righteousness, of believing that salvation was achievable by one’s own conscientious effort instead of being possible only by grace through faith, and the danger of elitist legalism leaving the vast majority of believers feeling abandoned and hopeless. But Paul also did not want to swing all the way to the pagan Greek idea that worship only meant communal rituals which had no impact on how one led one’s daily life.

So in the opening words of Chapter 12 of his Letter to the Romans, Paul speaks words which would have stunned and perplexed pagan listeners and perhaps recent converts, and assured Jewish Christians that stressing faith did not mean abandoning the quest for holiness in every day life and actions.

Paul writes, “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Greek and Roman pagans – and some modern-day people – thought of “spirituality” as a totally ethereal business, all about ideas, mystical experiences, perhaps another life – anything but life here and now in this body. To a Hebrew, on the other hand, what you did in the body showed whether or not you really were spiritual.

So, for example, if someone were to leave church this morning and continue a life-long devotion to an artery-clogging diet, a devoutly exercise-free lifestyle, doing drugs, having promiscuous or uncommitted sex, cheating at work, ignoring opportunities to serve others in the community and the world and then were to die and be called to account for his or her life by God, saying, “Well, I went to Church” would not be a satisfactory response. That person clearly had not been truly worshipping God!

So whatever shape our bodies are in – whether they would be the envy of models or professional athletes, or whether parts of them don’t work and the other parts hurt, or somewhere in between – let us reflect, as we enter the Fall season, on how we care for our bodies and what we do with them as acts of worship.

Do we take care of our health, with appropriate diet and exercise, without becoming obsessive? If so, or if we now commit ourselves to healthier habits, let us dedicate ourselves to the Stewardship of our bodily health as an act of worship. With every fruit or vegetable we eat or every step we walk, let us say, “I thank you, God, for giving me this body to live in on this earth.”

Do we resist harmful substances or, if we struggle with issues of addiction or misuse, seek the help of professionals and 12 step groups? Let us dedicate ourselves to the Stewardship of our freedom as an act of worship saying, “Lord, may I be free of all addictions that I may grow in service to you and to others.”

Do we use the sexual abilities and desires God gave us to strengthen and celebrate one unique committed relationship and restrain ourselves otherwise? Let us dedicate ourselves to the Stewardship of our sexuality as an act of worship. God knows what we do anyway; may we be able to say to God’s face what we do with thankful hearts – and if we cannot do so let us change our behaviors.

Do we use the talents and time set aside for work (for pay or not) with honesty and a consideration for the needs and wishes of others so that we would gladly have God “audit” all that we do and say? Let us commit ourselves to the Stewardship of our labors so that all may be done for the glory of God and the well being of all God’s people.

Do we think about how we can use our time, talent and treasure to glorify God and serve God’s people everywhere both through the church, through other charitable endeavors and by exercising our rights as citizens? Or do we insist that our time, talent and treasure, all of which we received from God, are “ours” to be given grudgingly in dribs and drabs? Let us commit ourselves to the Stewardship of all that we are and have in the knowledge that we will be one day called to account for all that we have done – or left undone.

Chances are that most of us can think of areas that need work in our lives. Let us give thanks for the grace of God that each day God gives us another chance to be better Stewards of our lives. That’s grace. And God offers to guide us in the sea of temptations that we can find ourselves in.

Let us remember that over 90% of the Bible does not take place in church or another house of worship – it takes place everywhere else! And while coming together in corporate or collective worship is a vital part of the Christian life, over 90% of our worship of God should be outside of church, in our daily lives, in how we care for and what we do with our bodies.

We have one hour a week, usually, for the worship of God as a community – and 167 hours a week each for the worship of God as individuals. What we do with those hours has a profound impact on our salvation, on the well-being of ourselves and those around us, and on the worship.

Until we gather again next week, worship well!

(The Rev.) Francis A. Hubbard

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church