What a great issue to talk about worship and celebration – where churches around the world are celebrating Easter, and Passover is being celebrated in synagogues by those of Jewish faith.
In many churches, and in many of our lives, worship has unfortunately been mistaken for what happens for one hour on Sunday morning or Saturday night or Friday night. In many churches, maybe some that you grew up in, celebration is downplayed because it’s not “religious” to have fun when the rest of the world is suffering all around us.
Well, I believe worship and celebration are a natural response to living a life that is open to God’s active presence in and around you! When we fully embrace the love of God and the power of God available to us – worship and celebration become as natural as inhaling and exhaling.
Sometimes it’s easier to describe what worship is not. We have confused it, mistaken form for substance and left asking the question, “What is worship?”
Worship is not contemporary or traditional; it is not a matter of personal preference. Worship is not liturgical or spontaneous; it is not a matter of order. Worship is not for Sunday morning at 9 or 11; it is not a matter of schedule.
Worship involves our whole self. It is the engagement of one’s entire being with the greatness of the God Who Is. Worship is a life of conversation with a God who loves you unconditionally. God speaks, we respond, God responds, we respond again. Worship involves listening, looking, tasting, feeling and smelling. All of our senses are involved in worship.
The more we come to understand who God is, the more we desire to open our lives up to the change that God wants to bring us, to prosper us, to give us a hope and a future! Worship is transformational.
Worship is our response to what God has done. All through Scripture, God’s people are constantly recalling God’s acts of salvation. That’s why it’s so powerful to tell your story – telling each other how God has been a part of your week, or part of your day!
Worship is the experience of the greatness of God. It’s an encounter with the God who is with us … and these encounters are not limited to times and places, but they happen wherever and whenever we experience God!
When we see the beauty of God looking out over Mission Bay when it’s as smooth as glass, when we hear the innocent laughter of children, when we feel the warmth of the morning sun.
Let me tell you about a couple of celebration experiences I had a week ago. My stepdad passed away, less than two years from the passing of my mother. I went to his funeral to celebrate a great man. He was a man who was full of unconditional love. I couldn’t have asked for a better stepdad.
I was also able to celebrate family. I saw my brothers who live in Wisconsin. I enjoyed spending time with them. A highlight was spending an afternoon with my soon to be 100-year-old grandma! She’s sharp as a tack, and she kept on asking me when I’d meet a nice girl and settle down!
Then I was able to celebrate my birthday! The day was full of love and laughter and great food. As I was leaving my dad and stepmom’s home in Alpine, it was a cold rain. So, I decided to drive east on the Interstate 8, and in less than five minutes I was driving in falling snow. I didn’t have chains so I couldn’t drive up the Sunrise Highway, but it was a treat for me. I love weather! What a nice way to end a very happy day! I was celebrating!
God is revealed in so many beautiful and majestic ways, from a beautiful little flower blooming in a crack on an eight-lane freeway to a majestic mountain. That is worship!
As you know, life is not always a celebration. We have our moments, our days and our weeks. Jesus told his disciples, “In this world you will have troubles, but rejoice, I have overcome the world!”
Is it possible to celebrate when dealing with death? How can we celebrate in such a sad time of loss? We celebrate because we know the grace of a loving God. I celebrate the hope that life outside of this body goes on – where there is great rejoicing and celebration.
Beyond suffering, there is much to celebrate in life. God has given us many things to enjoy. There is beauty to celebrate. There is love to celebrate. There is answer to prayer to celebrate. There are victories to celebrate. There is hope to celebrate. There is a wonderful future to celebrate!
I hope Lent has been a time of spiritual growth and healing for you. If you have spent this season observing the spiritual disciplines, I have no doubt you have experienced many blessings and have grown personally as well.
But don’t quit now! Continue the work of becoming all that you are meant to be but perhaps have not yet allowed yourself to realize. Be assured of a powerful Resurrection experience this week – and every week!
Rev. Dan Koeshall is the Senior Pastor at The Metropolitan Community Church (The Met) in San Diego, California, themetchurch.org.
