further brief thoughts on worship

Following up on this post below, I suggest that since the God whom we worship is revealed to us, so we should turn to revelation (Scripture) to inform our worship.  Two passages come immediately to mind.  First is Paul's statement from Romans - presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, which is our spiritual worship.  Second are the images of worship given to us in the book of Revelations.  There are more images and references to worship, but I want to begin with these two.  It strikes me that Paul is referring, at least in part, to worship as a way of life.  And the images of "heavenly" worship we are given at the end of the New Testament are images of the fullness of worship.

Without allowing Scripture to inform and shape our worship, we run the risk of simply ending up worshiping some form of, well, ourselves.

I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Comments

[alex]

I didn't get a chance to hear the discussion at Sol Cafe, but this was a hot topic at Capenwray for a few days.... I think scripture shows at least two different forms of worship:
- the everyday presentation of ourselves as a living sacrifice to our Holy God
- the focused attention onto our Holy God.

The references you have mentioned, among many others, point to the first. I also think of statements like "I desire mercy not sacrifice".

But many of the Psalms, and songs throughout scripture, and the use of singers in the temple point to the second.

It seems that focusing on right living without ever focusing on God would lead to social justice and humanism. Focusing on God without right living would lead to stagnation, immaturity, and hypocracy.

Perhaps we need both forms of worship?

[joseph]

It is "whole package" sort of deal. I agree that one can focus on a instead of b or vice versa, depending on a lot of factors. I think it likely that one of our difficulties is finding that balance of "worship" in daily living (serving Christ in those we meet) and in the expression of adoration in a church community (praising God for who he is) . In some ways it makes me think of Christ who was lowly and yet exalted at the same time.

I wish to be whole.

[anthony]

how do we define scripture--b/c i am always tempted to include paratexts, in addition to the text, hymns, writings of the prophets, mystics--etc?

is there only one xian scripture?

[joseph]

anthony - that's a very good question. One that probably deserves a bit of fleshing out. What "texts" have come to enjoy that particular status and why? From my own perspective, I would take my cue from the 39 Articles of Religion and my ordination vows - believing that the Old and new Testaments contain "all things necessary for salvation." It is a fairly large topic, one that could probably use a post or two of its own... Roman Catholics would add the apocryphal books, and others throughout church history would like to have seen books removed from the "canonical list".

God can and does speak through various means and persons. In my own tradition, it is understood that those "secondary" communications are to be in accord with the primary revelation.