• Sample Worship Service • Join Us • Directions •
"The Maintenance of Divine Worship"
March 15, '09
Isaiah 6:1-9a
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.
5And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
9And he said, “Go and say to this people…”
At the time when William Shakespeare entered into the “tragedies” phase of his writing, a number of scholars were appointed to bring into being an updated and new English language translation of the Bible. Already several English translations were in use at the time, but for reasons which suited the new king of England, James the First, the new Bible translation was commissioned. It was published in 1611. Known as the Authorized Version, it is commonly known as the King James Bible. While a majority of that new Bible was copied word for word from earlier English translations such as the Geneva Bible and the Tyndale Bible, the new translation had a different feel – evident even today as we hear the words read from its pages. A richness of language seemingly Shakespearian. The eloquence of language found in the King James Version of the Bible is no accident. While faithfulness in the accuracy of translation from the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts was important, also important was the usage of the English. The century leading up to the King James Version was the century of the Protestant Reformation – sometimes known as the Protestant Revolution. A huge growth in literacy rates throughout Europe. The printing press making books more affordable and available. The Protestant passion for making the Word of God as accessible as possible to the common people. All factors culminating in Bibles being translated into the common languages of the peoples of Europe. As accessible as possible. Simple and straight forward. But this is where the King James Bible moved in a different direction. God’s Word was holy. So, the passion of the translators was to elevate the Bible – to elevate God’s Word – into a royal language. Dozens of translators commissioned, clustered into six groups, centered at two universities: Cambridge and Oxford. As each section was completed by individual translators, the words were read to the subgroups, verse by verse. Heard and discussed and likely argued. With each segment completed, representatives from each of the six groups met in a final council. Reading the results to the group, and again, verse by verse considered. Not many of the translators’ notes survive, but the few that do give insight: particular attention was given to the best possible choice of words; the rhythm and cadence of the phrasing; and seemingly most important was the sense of majesty which the words conveyed. The King James Bible was not designed to be a Study Bible. It was designed as a Bible to be heard within the context of worship. Bringing the English into the most common usage of the time was not the goal. To be heard within the context of the majestic worship of Almighty God was the goal. Many would agree that they were successful in that goal. As the four hundredth anniversary of its publication is only two years away, I have been pondering reading through the King James Bible in the year 2011. But already I have been considering alternatives. Since its purpose was to be read in worship and to be heard, I understand there is a recording of the King James Bible read by James Earl Jones
The varying philosophies of Bible translations during that first century of the Protestant Reformation seem to parallel the varying philosophies guiding how we as Christians approach the worship of God. Leading up to the Protestant Reformation, worship services were loaded with symbolism. Churches filled with statues and stained glass. Music enriched by pipe organs and other instruments. Alcoves and side chapels where varying services could take place simultaneously. The language of worship was Latin, which many of the common people could not understand. As many priests were illiterate or semi-literate, rituals were memorized in the Latin, but interpretation of the faith to people was not the primary focus of the worship service. The sacrament of Holy Communion did become the focus. It was considered to be the most sacred act of a worship service. The front of the churches had a screen separating the priests from the worshippers, and when the bread and the wine were brought out to the people, only the bread was given because of the fear of the possible spilling of the wine. With the fear of desecrating the holy elements of the bread and the wine, many people chose not to receive Holy Communion. It had become enough of a problem that the Church began to require Christians to receive Holy Communion at least once a year – usually at Easter. It was from this context that the Protestant Reformation grew – and often to this context the Reformation reacted. When a pendulum swings wide in one direction, the inertia predictably swings it wide in the opposite direction. In the most extreme of the Reform movements, sanctuaries had no decorations at all: no stained glass; no statues; no pictures; no altar; no screen; no incense; in some cases, no clergy; and always the worship was to be conducted in the common language of the people. The altar was removed from inside the chancel area and a table – more of a common table – was placed on the level of the worshippers. Should there have been a pastor presiding, the pastor was to be on the opposite side of the table – the pastor was not to stand between the people and the table – the table was to be accessible to all. When communion was served, the elements were passed from one worshipper to the next, each worshipper being in the role of the priest to their neighbor. One can imagine the shocking contrast between the old Catholic churches and some of the new Protestant churches. When the Presbyterian Church formed in Scotland and spread into England – a church which rejected the authority of bishops in favor of a form of self-governance we now take for granted in our own nation’s government – one can easily appreciate how such a church would have been considered seditious to the royal authorities. Often, for that reason, many of the Puritans and Presbyterians were forced to escape England and migrate to the American colonies.
That was then. The pendulum has continued to swing. It is a different world now. We are not being persecuted by a threatened royalty. Churches have all sorts of privileges – no property or income taxes – in many ways left alone by the government. Now, rather than being the driving force in society, the Christian church is increasingly ignored – considered irrelevant to many. We are not singing our hymns a-cappella: we have a beautiful organ and piano. We have a picture of Jesus on the wall. Heavens, we even have stained glass in our windows! Our Protestant ancestors in Geneva and Scotland did not care for clergy robes. The pastors preferred to wear more of a common clothing. Back then, the “business suit” of the educated was like a black cape or gown. It has come to be known as the Geneva Gown. Very modest dress compared to the frilly and fluffy clothing worn by many of the more affluent men of the day. What I am wearing today is known as a Geneva Gown. Styles have changed over the past five hundred years – now, instead of it being seen as a business jacket, it is seen as an academic or clergy robe. And the stole I wear. Looks very religious. Years ago, this was their version of a necktie. Most amusing to me: it seems that it is the descendants of those most radically Protestant churches – the descendants of those who rejected the King James Version of the Bible as nothing but a bunch of royal meddling – those who considered the King James Bible to be quite compromised – those are the congregations who now will say that “if it ain’t King James, it ain’t Bible.” When my great-grandfather was ordained as a Presbyterian pastor a hundred eighteen years ago, he immigrated to America from Canada as a single man. His first pastorate was in a little town in northern Colorado. In time, he fell in love with a young woman. They decided to marry. She happened to be the organist over at the Methodist church in town. I understand that that created enough of a stir in that little town that they soon moved to North Dakota. Could it be that just four generations ago a Presbyterian and a Methodist was considered a mixed marriage?
Sometimes I fanaticize about what it would have been like to have been a pastor during the era of my great-grandfather. The world view was so different then. But then, my fantasies dissipate quickly when the realities of the times sink in. Back then, it would have been unheard of for a Catholic and a Protestant church to cooperate on anything. We enjoy a very close relationship with our Catholic neighbors. It would be quite sad should there be a huge barrier between us. The pendulum continues to swing.
Now, even in our own community, there are quite a variety of worship styles among the many Christian congregations. Each formed and molded and influenced by some tradition. Even those who protest that they are not traditional in their approach to worship are being faithful to whatever traditions have influenced their style of worship. Tradition is a slippery concept. “Traditional” is elusive to define. Is our worship traditional or contemporary? Depends on what tradition we are being compared with. If our worship service is meaningful for a group of people who are living in this contemporary world, then the service style is contemporary. Slippery words. Slippery concepts. The pendulum swings.
Today we ponder the third of the Six Great Ends of the Church: "The maintenance of divine worship." A century ago when those people from our faith heritage – all of whom are now long dead – when they wrote those words and passed them on to us, what was in their collective minds? I think their intent was to tell us that the worship of Almighty God is very important – keep it central – take it seriously.
Regardless of the variety of worship styles in our own community, each style has its purpose which seeks to be faithful to the philosophy and theology upon which it is based. The rhythm of our worship service is influenced by the words of Isaiah, written six hundred years before Jesus the Christ was born. The call of Isaiah which we read a bit ago. Should you follow along in your bulletins, you might see the logic behind the flow of our worship service.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.
It is an image of grand majesty. We begin our service with a Call to Worship. The Call to Worship is not calling God down to us – it is calling us into the awareness of God’s continual presence and majesty. Our opening hymn is usually chosen with this in mind: the focus being the greatness of God.
But then we immediately go from that great high point into the Prayer of Confession. Sometimes a time for individual confession is included, but the idea is that we as a congregation – that we as a faith community – are making a confession to God corporately – together – all together. By its very nature, a corporately said Prayer of Confession will be more general in nature – less specific. The words prayed may not be exactly what each of us is feeling compelled to confess to God. That is not the point. The point is that we are making confession to God as a community of faith. In the case of Isaiah, as soon as he saw the majesty of God, by comparison, he felt convicted of his own incompleteness. So, after the grandeur of the initial encounter with God, Isaiah said:
5 “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
But, very thankfully, God does not want us to be beaten-down failures. God wants to bring healing and forgiveness to us. In our worship service, that is the message of the Assurance of Pardon. For Isaiah, it was that:
6…one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.”
What an Assurance of Pardon! Then in our worship service we enter into a time of hearing the Word of God. Children’s Message. Anthem. Scripture. Sermon. For Isaiah, what he tells us happened next was that he:
8…heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”
In our worship service, following the Hearing of the Word, we respond. The Offering usually follows the Hearing of the Word. Really, as far as an organization goes, it would be much more efficient to not have a voluntary offering with the weekly passing of the offering plates. It would be much more efficient to send invoices for dues to each of the members and attenders – perhaps with members paying by bank transfers or paying the bill with their credit cards. Certainly, the money placed in the offering plate supports the work and worship of this church, but that is not the point of the weekly ritual of the offering. Again, it is part of the symbol and rhythm of our worship. Following the hearing of the Word of God, we are to respond. It is a ritual of responding to God. It is the bringing our gifts – our tithes – our offerings – our sacrifices to God. The word “sacrifice” essentially means to “make sacred.” In the giving of our offerings, we participate in a ritual of making our response to God sacred. Isaiah responded as well. He said: …“Here am I; send me!”
This is why it is at this point in the worship service the ritual of offering takes place. This is also why it is at this point in the service that we celebrate Holy Communion or administer baptism. It is at this point in the service that we ordain and install church officers. “Here am I; send me!”
At the very end of the scripture passage we read from Isaiah, we read of God’s words to Isaiah:
9…“Go and say to this people…”
In our worship service, that is the charge and benediction. Go out into the world and share the love of God with all you come in contact with.
That may be the logic and reason for the particular flow of our worship service. In many ways it is neither the right way or the wrong way to worship. We could worship God by singing dozens of praise songs, the lyrics of which are projected onto a screen somewhere here in the front of the sanctuary, while waving our hands in the air. The style of the service is only secondary. What is most important for any worship service is that it is God who is worshipped. The architectural handicap of many sanctuaries – ours included – is that they look so much like a performing arts center with a stage in the front with rows and rows of seating facing the front. Symbolically it is too easy to disconnect from worship – falling into the ancient mindset of worship is that which is happening up here with those seated in the rows of pews as observing the worship taking place. That image is deadly. It is in this way that the architecture of our sanctuary does us a great disservice. In the worship of Almighty God, the entire sanctuary – our entire sanctuary – is the stage. Our whole worship service might be akin to a performance. God is the audience. It is God who is the audience. All of us are participating in the drama of worship. The music of the organ and the piano are in worship of Almighty God. The songs sung by the choir are in worship of Almighty God. The music of the handbells rung to glorify Almighty God. The standing and singing of hymns and praying the prayers, all to be lifted up to the glory of Almighty God. And God watches. God watches. God takes it all in. We hope and pray that God takes it all in and savors every moment of it. We hope and pray that God is glorified by it. We hope and pray that God enjoys it. Our worship. Our worship of the majesty and power and wonder and grace and love of Almighty God.
Are we allowed to let our imaginations freely flow? As we leave the sanctuary this morning, are we allowed to imagine the possibility that God was delighted by our worship? Is it possible that as we leave this sanctuary, God is even giving us all a standing ovation? Perhaps that is my imagination just getting out of hand. But, wouldn’t it be nice… [Christian Worship: Glorifying and Enjoying God by Ronald P. Byars]
[God’s Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible by Adam Nicolson]