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Worship is the Celebration of Faith of the People of God

P. T. Mathew, Dallas*

Worship is central to our faith; it is giving glory to God with the people of God. Worship is not an imitation, but a faithful expression of our commitment to Lord’s great commission and the celebration of faith of the people of God (Matthew 28: 19 and 20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”). Worship is an act of fellowship, giving and caring. The word worship is derived from an Anglo Saxon word, worth-ship- means worthiness to honor. In Greek the word Proskuneo, means worship, prostrate, bow down. In Hebrew Shachah, means worship, bow down, bend down etc. There are different forms and expressions of worship in the community.

Worship has become as an entertainment to some, rather than repenting and rejoicing the forgiveness and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Emphasize is given on the festive nature of the occasion rather than the celebration of thanksgiving and meditation on its reason or eschatological significance of the worship. In the name of modern technology, we have adulterated the sanctity of our worship and converted our praise and worship celebrations into secular stage performances. The worship focuses on the holiness and the holy presence of the Lord. Entertainment focuses people on the performance or on the entertainer. Scripture says worship should be a delight, not just a duty. In the Old Testament, the great Jewish feasts were times of exuberant joy and heartfelt celebration. Some of them contained an element of sorrow and repentance for sin, but this led to the joy of knowing God’s forgiveness and mercy.

Let us look in to the background of the following verses in the book of Ezekiel 47: 1-11, “And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from the south of the Altar” (Ezekiel 47:1b). This is the vision of the prophet Ezekiel. He saw a river emerging from the Temple, flowing eastward beginning to flow slowly as thin stream and becoming a deep river. Trees will grow along the banks and this river flows in to the Dead Sea and so this water of the river transforms the water of the Dead Sea for fish and other life forms. Worship shows the celebration of the life, the abundant life, provided by the power of the water that begins from the altar of the temple, flows through the sanctuary –the people –cleanse them and prepare them to cleanse the world, like the stream cleanses the water of the Dead Sea to grow life in it. Through the above vision Ezekiel sees the origin of worship, the place of worship, the form of worship and the final result of worship.

1. Where to worship?

We can see the answer of this in the conversation of Jesus with the Samaritan women at the well in John 4:20-24: “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” We can worship God in any place and at any time, provided we worship Him in truth and spirit. There is no particular place where we can see God, but we experience the presence of God in the place wherever we worship God in the truth and spirit.

2.

Why do we worship? To glorify God and celebrate His Holiness.

He is our creator and we are His creations. Celebrates God’s holiness and acknowledge the unworthiness of man. In the book of Isaiah chapter 6: verses 1-8 we can see the vision of Isaiah about the worship. Isaiah was seeing the glory of God in worship. In worship we should glorify God and see the glory of God. We should see the divine manifestation of the God.

3.

Worship helps to have self examination, repent on our sins and enjoy the forgiveness of sins.

Worship helps to find out the unclean nature and the emptiness of our life. The Samaritan woman was giving many excuses to Jesus when he asked her for a drink. Sometimes we are also like her, giving excuses to Jesus when he tries to shed lights in to our inner life to show the unclean nature of our life. The prophet Isaiah told us that he made self-examination and found out that ‘he was a man with unclean lips and living in the midst of people with unclean lips.’ What is this unclean lip? The gossiping lips, the slandering lips and the self boasting lips. The true worship helps us for self-examination of our life. It leads in

to a realization of the need of cleansing. Every Holy Communion is for the people who cleansed their life with the fiery piece of coal from altar.

4. Worship helps to find out the real source of our life –the Holy Spirit.

The Samaritan woman found the Messiah through her communication with Jesus.

Worship is true communication of the creations to the creator and recognizing Him as the Messiah. Through worship we realize the real source and the meaning of the life, the eternal life. Isaiah found the worship of heaven in his vision, the angels saying holy, holy, holy. John the Baptist also saw the angels and Seraphim saying holy, holy, God almighty. Worship is the celebration of the promise of the eternal life and prepares us for that everlasting eternal life.

5. Worship should reveal our calling (Liturgy after Liturgy), it is a commission given by our God.

The Samaritan woman went to the village and witnessed the Messiah to the people. Isaiah heard the voice to say “whom shall I send and who shall go for me”? In worship we should submit ourselves to hear the calling of the Lord. After the celebration of the worship, we should proclaim and witness the experience and the glory of this God. It is called a liturgy after liturgy. It is a process of our experience of God in our worship to our daily living, in our homes, offices in all our interactions. Worship equips us for mission. This great commission is given by our Lord Jesus the Christ to his disciples, Matthew 28: 18-20, “And then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority under heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore and make disciples of all nation, and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” It is our commission from our Lord to share this joy of forgiveness and to celebrate with our fellow beings through our words and deeds. Our worship ends with this commission. Worship is the glorification of God, the celebration of our faith, and to experience the source of life and transmit this message of everlasting life to others through the experience of our life.

My experience of the corporate worship service of the Mar Thoma Church and its liturgy has the following elements. It is good to remember this as we are now in a lockdown state with social distancing due to COVID-19 pandemic. Let us pray to make the virtual worship sacred and real as God has given us the means to be in fellowship with others through the digital means. It is good to remember the following elements: 1. 2.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

8.

9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

14.

15.

16.

17. 18. Celebration ofGod’s everlasting love Celebration of God’s holiness-accepting man’s unworthiness Celebration of the grace and mercy of God Celebration of the Word of God Celebration of the faithful promise of God Celebration of the healing of God Celebration of the gift and presence of the Trinity, The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit Celebration of the crucifixion of Jesus Christthe redemptive act of God through His son Celebration of the resurrection of Christ Celebration of the kenosis of God Celebration of the remission of our sin Celebration of the faithfulness of God Celebration of the companionship and the presence of God Celebration of the fellowship of God and His people –Corporate worship Celebration of the communion of God through the breaking of bread and the Holy Communion Celebrate the second coming of Christ, God’s future in the present Celebrate the promise of our eternal life Celebrate the Liturgy after Liturgy

Let us celebrate the God-given gift of life. Worship is for giving glory to God in the community of the people of God; it is for joining in the ancient praise of all His people, in the words of Psalm 106:1, “Praise theLord. Givethanksto theLord, for he is good; his love endures for ever.” Let us reflect on these words during the Covid19 pandemic, in our virtual worships and prayers, thanking God for who He is and for His goodness in our lives, remembering His commission that we show others the goodness He shows to each of us. Let me conclude this article with a prayer: O Lord our creator and the redeemer, we thank you for the opportunity for worshipping you and celebrating our faith in worship. O Lord who enables us to see our unclean nature of life and help us to cleanse it through worship. Enable us to realize the source of life and embrace the everlasting life through our worship and accept your calling and witness you to the world and fulfill your purpose of our lives.

Editor’s Note: Mr. P. T. Mathew. M.A., M.S, was a college teacher in Kerala, from 1970-1975. He is living in Dallas Texas since 1976. He is retired as an Engineer from Raytheon, USA. He is a member of the Mar Thoma Church of Dallas, Farmers Branch, Texas.

When Only Two or Three Can Gather Thought About Our Faith

Lal Varghese, Esq., Dallas

The coronavirus pandemic has flipped many normal worship and ministry paradigms into smaller groups or to virtual spaces. Even if various countries are trying to come out of the self imposed quarantine to prevent the spread of Corona virus, still large gathering in the sanctuaries remain off-limits, at least for the foreseeable future. It seems that now the norm is ‘wherever two or more gather, illness can spread.’ This is the time when what Jesus promised becomes relevant: “When two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matt. 18:20). While Churches demand governments to allow its faithful to fill it pews again, such hesitant demands need to be reevaluated. At the initial stages, WHO said Corona virus is not spreading through human contacts and no need to wear any masks. Later, WHO changed its policy and now every government is asking its people to wear masks, to keep social distancing and to wash hands as often as needed. Why Churches are in a hurry to fill its pews? Is it because, people do not have the adequate facility in their living rooms to worship the Lord? Some people may think that we go for corporate worship to fill the offertory plates of parishes to meet its expenses. Corporate worship is part of being a Christian to offer our gratitude and glorify God for his abundant blessings. Offertory plate giving is only one way of giving, there are many other ways to meet the missional needs of a called out community. In large churches, it will be impossible for the priest to be in constant contact with all the members. It is not their fault, but the high demand from a few section of the worshipping community takes most of their time. Jesus ministry is an example that we need to follow during this pandemic. Jesus traveled with small groups from village to village and preached and did his ministry. He did not establish any church or build any sanctuaries, but he built a faithful community to continue his ministry in this world.

Our priests should adapt the same method adapted by Jesus, gather in small groups and preach the Word of God. The ministry and gathering should be for building the people and not for filling its pews or collection boxes. Now is the time to reestablish the ministry of discipleship. The Corona virus has engulfed the world when the technology is at its peak. The priests and others entrusted with the charge of a parish, need to contact its members using the technology like video calls, WhatsApp and such other means of technology. The Church leaders should be proactively pursuing these areas of discipleship, through check-ins, prayer and sermon discussion, at a time when their normal jobs and church programs are on hold. COVID-19 has introduced and made the words “social distancing” and “shelter in place” part of life. ‘Social distancing’ is a wrong phrase; it is just physical distancing, man is made for community living and social interaction is essential for the emotional health of a community. By the grace of God, we can maintain

these social interactions through the digital technology. Priests and Church leaders should visit their neighbors by conducting ‘drive-ins’ especially to pray for the sick and elderly. This drive in visits can be extended to visit elderly people, people celebrating birthdays, wedding anniversaries and even graduations. Thus this kind of ‘drive-in’ and ministry from a safe distance can ease initial interactions with others in isolation. The priest could sit in his car and the member may stay inside or come out and stay in front of the house thus keeping the safe distancing and offer a prayer or a short interaction asking about the welfare of the family.

Priests, Church leaders, faithful believers, the unchurched and all of us need meaningful connections, reminders of God’s promises, and a chance to breathe and laugh during this isolation more than ever. We also must remember the deep hope we have in Christ Jesus, which surpasses all other considerations. The Christian faith and God’s church has often thrived in times of crisis. They have done so because every Christian is filled with the Spirit of God, and God has given each of us his written Word. God has always worked through everyday ordinary people to do extra ordinary things. He used ordinary fishers to fish people for His mission in this world, who led his mission at the cost of their lives. He has turned ordinary situations and circumstances to do extraordinary things like healing a person to wholeness. Healing is more than curing; Jesus healed; it is a progressive movement from stagnation to wholeness and fulfillment of God’s purpose in everyone’s life.

So, no need to worry whether we can worship our Lord in a sanctuary, but we need to believe that God can do extra ordinary things through his ordinary faithful believers even when we are in ‘lockdown’ or keeping ‘social distancing’. Pulpit is not empty, but the pews may be empty, but our faith is not empty and our hope is not empty. Jesus had overcome tough situations like this and resurrected and promised that he will come back again to gather his faithful believers for an eternal life with him in heaven.

We may find that only a few people can gather in person and there may be people who might never find their way to fill the pews and listen to the Word of God from the pulpit. Hebrews 10: 11 say: “Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” Hebrews 10 contains an amazing promise. Verse 14 says, “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Jesus’ work on the cross has already saved us, completely and perfectly. In God’s eyes, we are whole and finished. But paradoxically, that process isn’t done yet while we’re still on earth. We’re still being shaped into His likeness, still “being made holy.” Until the return of Jesus, we’re still “under construction,” people who anxiously wait the glorious day when the work in us is truly complete.

Hence, there is no more the need for the priest to offer sacrifices for the believers. The believers need not buy indulgences or offer funds for the Church to meet its corporate expenses. Of course, the faithful need to support the mission and charity works of the Church, but not based on the tithing principles in the Old Testament, but based on the full submission and surrender to Lord Jesus Christ. Faith without deeds is dead. Even Satan believes that God exists, but our faith needs to transform into actions by doing the mission that Jesus Christ entrusted to us.

In the Gospels, so much of the earthly ministry of Jesus was based on responding to the opportunities that presented themselves to him: encountering fishermen as he walked alongside the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 4:18-22); a lame man dropped through the roof (Mark 2:1-12); a despised tax collector named Zacchaeus who came to hear him (Luke 19:1-10); an outcast Samaritan woman (John 4). President Franklin Roosevelt –during the inaugural address to the nation gripped with the of the pain of great depression –said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." Same way the members of the Church need to convert the present retreat in our homes to advance the mission and ministry of Jesus. We need human connection; God designed us that way! Painful seasons of loneliness point to that need. Like the people of the early Church, it’s important for us to engage in the human companionship, our well-being requires it and we should offer it to those around us who also need it. The first Church was a growing, gracious and generous Church. The Greek word for “fellowship” (Acts 2:42) is ‘koinōnia’ and carries the meaning of “participation, sharing.” Believers participated in a shared identity and spirituality—learning spiritual truths, devoting themselves to fellowship, remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection, depending on God, experiencing His power, and showing extravagant acts of generosity toward the needy (vv. 42–47).

When the Pharisees asked Jesus why his disciples broke rabbinical tradition by not washing their hands, Jesus very well knew that the problem isn’t keeping rules, but making our hearts pure. He reminded them, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’ ” (Matt. 15: 1-2, 7–8; alsoIsaiah 29:13). This is our problem too, we do not keep our hearts pure and at the same time want to keep the rules straight. We worship the Lord with our lips, but our hearts are far away from Him.

The believers seem to be restless and concerned about their morality and looking forward to interact with other believers and friends during a corporate worship service. Those who are far from God are watching these believers and astonishing how the believers can sustain their hope and faith in the midst of suffering, a hope that only comes from deep conviction and abiding with Christ. Disruption in our worshiping routines can create an environment where lasting transformation can take place in the lives of faithful believers and the Church. The disruption caused by COVID-19 must help the people of God, the Church, to have a real transformation from a nominally worshipping community to that of a missional Church expressing God’s unconditional love for His whole creation.

At a time when we are forced to keep the social distancing to prevent the spread of Corona virus, the faithful are looking for ways how to keep their hearts and minds close together. This is where the promise of Jesus is relevant, ‘when two or three gather in my name, I will be in their midst.’ We gather together virtually from our living rooms to pray, to worship and to witness our Lord. The Lord who promised that He will be with us is with us even in the midst of this pandemic.

Churches are going through unprecedented times and it is difficult period for the people of faith. Churches around the world have suspended regular worship services for an indefinite period of time. For an indefinite period of time, the Churches may witness the fewest people engaging in

corporate worship. This is uncharted waters, less frequented roads and Samaritan wells for those in Church leadership. In Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer.”

We should understand that the Church is not a building and Sunday is just a part of Church life. No matter the quality of the online worship or sermon, they would trade it for a moment worshiping together—shaking hands, hugging, raising their voices, and receiving Communion. “I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy,” Paul wrote to Timothy (2 Tim. 1:4). This is the want and the need of each faithful believer during this unprecedented time of COVID-19. While being physically separated is a tremendous loss, adhering to government directives and, more crucially, serving the common good out of love for neighbor makes this the wise and responsible choice.

The Church leaders and the faithful are grateful for Zoom and the technology that helps us broadcast live worship, but we must be most grateful for the reminder of the value that God puts on physical presence. The Word took on flesh and made his dwelling among us. Taking Shelter in our homes is a practical reminder that it is not the job of the Pastor to do the entire ministry, “butto prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christmay be built up” (Eph. 4:12). The COVID-19 brought lots of people who never prayed or worshipped together to participate in live stream worship from their living rooms through online technology. We have the assurance in Jesus because he said: When two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matt. 18:20).

Let us hope and pray that the new patterns of ministry established during this COVID-19 season will bear fruit long after the virus is eradicated. God may be allowing the world to be disrupted during the COVID-19 season of pandemic, but God has His own purpose for everything happening in this world. To quote Pastor Evan Wickham, lead pastor of Park Hill Church in San Diego, California: “While we grieve the loss of physical presence, we also believe God is allowing the sap to be drawn back into the tree for a season. This is not just a forced Sabbath. It is a mandated Lent. And we walk boldly into the wilderness with Jesus to receive his gift there. When we gather together again, the tree will be in full bloom, and hope will be on full display.”

Our post COVID-19 faith is a simple trust in God. Adapt to change! Be resilient! Be patient! These are challenging, scary times. But we must have the conviction and hope in Christ that the Church will survive and shine for expressing God’s amazing love for humanity and the whole creation. The Church is made for this. It has grown throughout history through compassionately loving the world when it has suffered most. We also need to accept the ‘New Normal,’ the way we are going to worship in the coming days. This new normal is going to be our new norm, which is another post COVID-19 effect.

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A Timely Response to a Crisis: CTE Presidents call all churches to address racial injustice in church life and wider society

On 28 th

July 2020, the presidents of Churches Together in England, named below, with the support of the Fourth Presidency Group, have issued a statement calling on churches to travel together on the journey of racial justice, addressing injustices both within our church life and in wider society. They write…

We as Presidents of Churches Together in England have responded to the killing of George Floyd in the United States, and the widespread call for real change to combat racial injustice in our world, above all in our own country. We have spent time over the past few weeks listening to voices of people from the black community, especially the younger generation. This has been a deeply moving experience and illustrated powerfully the many profound changes of heart and actions that need to be made. The attitude that regards black people –and indeed other people of ethnic minorities –as inferior is evil and mars our common humanity. We challenge this unreservedly, recognising the constant experiences of racism, including micro aggression, which black people face.

We believe that churches have a significant role to play in combating racial injustice. If we are to be effective in doing so, we must look at ourselves. We are painfully aware of the racism that blights the life of our churches. We are intent upon a process of identifying racial injustice within our churches –current and historic –repenting of it and taking action to effect real change. This includes the potential for discriminatory behaviour in the way that we make church appointments, which we know can happen at the conscious or unconscious level. We want to ensure that these processes are just and demonstrate the so often neglected gospel truth of Colossians 3:11 “there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all”. In this verse Paul makes it clear that racial injustice and discrimination is not only profoundly unjust and an affront to God but also the very denial of Christ who reached out to all human beings.

Some Member Churches of Churches Together in England have already embarked upon this journey of tackling racial injustice. The Church of England plans a new action group, and among the Free Churches work by the Methodist and United Reformed Churches, together with Baptists Together is already under way, as is also true for the Catholic Church. The Pentecostal Forum has long held this issue in its view, as have the Orthodox Churches.

We call upon all churches to travel together on this journey of racial justice so that together, as one community of churches in

England, we may reach out in love and respect to one another in pursuit of our common witness. An area of great concern to us as Presidents is the relationship between the black community and the criminal justice system. We will therefore be facilitating conversations between young black women and men and senior members of the police service. We are also seeking to engage both the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice in further considering the day-to-day experience of many young black people in England. (Contd. on Page 27)

FOCUS October 2 0 20 Vol. 8, No: 4