{"id":1668,"date":"2000-03-05T22:16:36","date_gmt":"2000-03-05T22:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/?p=1668"},"modified":"2020-12-02T17:41:56","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T17:41:56","slug":"why-worship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/why-worship\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Worship?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mark 9:2-9<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

March 5, 2000<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I get up on Sunday mornings, it\u2019s the equivalent of you getting up on Monday mornings to go to work or go to school. You can say that my \u201cworkweek\u201d begins today. There\u2019s a reason why I come to church\u2014if I don\u2019t, I won\u2019t get paid! It\u2019s my job!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But like you, there was a time when I wasn\u2019t employed by the church and Sunday mornings were not the beginning of my workweek. And maybe like you, I would get up in the morning and wonder, \u201cShould I go to church this morning?\u201d Or maybe saying, \u201cDo I really need to go to church today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the Christmas season, we have experienced eight weeks of Epiphany\u2014exploring God\u2019s revelation in the world through Jesus\u2019 healing miracles recorded in Mark. Today in the church calendar is \u201cTransfiguration Sunday,\u201d remembering that event when Jesus was transformed on the mountaintop. The Transfiguration is a sneak preview of what is to come as we begin the Lenten season this coming week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know why I\u2019m here on Sundays because I am supposed to be here. But why are you here? On this Transfiguration Sunday, we ask and answer a very basic question: \u201cWhy worship?\u201d What good does it do to gather on Sunday for prayer, praise, and proclamation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Transfiguration<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Jesus and the disciples have been traveling throughout Galilee, and have made the bold turn at Caesarea Philippi that will eventually lead to Jerusalem and Jesus\u2019 passion, death, and resurrection. While the mission of following Jesus started out with the promise of faith for the disciples, it is now filled with misunderstanding and fear. The authorities have been questioning Jesus\u2019 actions and teachings. When Peter affirmed that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus told him not to tell anyone. And now Jesus is saying that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be killed, and after the three days rise again. Just who Jesus is and what it means to follow him seems harder for the disciples to grasp now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the Galilean ministry, and now in the journey to Jerusalem, the disciples have been given many opportunities to see who Jesus is and to hear who he is calling them to be. On top of a mountain with his closest disciples: Peter, James, and John, three of the four who were first called to drop their fishing nets to follow him, they witnessed a vision they have never seen before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Transfiguration serves to tell us two things about Jesus\u2019 authority: his relationship to the tradition and to God. By appearing with Elijah and with Moses, Jesus as Messiah is affirmed by traditional biblical traditions. Jesus is ranked above Moses through whom the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

law had been given to Israel and above Elijah, whose greatness was certified by his removal to heaven in a chariot of fire. And when the voice out of the cloud said, \u201cThis is<\/p>\n\n\n\n

my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!\u201d we know that Jesus\u2019 authority comes from God Almighty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark said, \u201che was transfigured before them and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.\u201d Matthew said, \u201chis face shone like the sun.\u201d Luke said, \u201cthe appearance of his face changed.\u201d In one, great stunning, mystical moment, the veil is drawn back and some of Jesus\u2019 disciples saw who he is. Jesus\u2019 transfiguration is not simply for the moment or superficial on the outside but a permanent, profound change. The permanent change is that Jesus will be exalted by resurrection to the right hand of God. And when the vision was over leaving only Jesus standing there alone, something profound already took place. The disciples were beginning to realize that the transfiguration was a sneak preview of what is to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever we are to make of this event on the mountaintop, we know it to be a moment of worship, a time when human beings are brought very close to the glory of God. It is a moment of worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Worship for Me<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when we think about worship and encountering a biblical story like this one, we want to ask the question, \u201cWhat are we to make out of this?\u201d or \u201cWhat are we<\/em> to make out of this?\u201d It seems like it is up to us to make meaning and significance in our world, or meaning and significance will not be made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The modern world has taught us to place ourselves at the center of the world, to judge all experiences and events by what we can make out of them. As most of us who are Chinese Americans know this understanding very well. The meaning of \u201cChina\u201d is the Middle Kingdom\u2014the center of the world. And as Americans, the pervasive and dominating influence of American culture and life reinforces for us that we see the world encircling around us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in the Transfiguration, we see that this event didn\u2019t arise out of the hearts and minds of the disciples, rather it is something brought to the disciples, a vision and some words from the outside. The Transfiguration is not something they are to make something out of but rather something from the outside that makes something of them!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a pastor, one of my job duties is to urge people to come to church. I want people to join us for worship. But I have also heard people say, \u201cFor the life of me, I just can\u2019t figure out what good it would do me to spend an hour or so a week down at the church singing and praying. Why worship?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy worship?\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s the question. What\u2019s behind this question is another, \u201cWhat\u2019s in it for me?\u201d We are only interested if we can be assured of some benefit, some payoff for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Satirist Tom Wolfe has labeled us the \u201cMe Generation.\u201d Christopher Lasch has called us the \u201cnarcissistic society.\u201d In our \u201cdo your own thing\u201d culture, all people, experiences, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

activities are judged on the basis of how well they help, cure, excite, or soothe me. We are offered on weekends, self-help techniques, demanding marathons, soothing massages, assertiveness training, engaging sports\u2014all of which promise to do something for adorable us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Philip Rieff\u2019s The Triumph of the Therapeutic<\/em>, he has identified a new character type, the \u201cpsychological man.\u201d The \u201cpsychological person\u201d uses the community for his\/her own self-enhancement but feels no commitment to any community. The \u201cpsychological person\u201d is the center of value, one who is more interested in being \u201cpleased\u201d than \u201csaved.\u201d Satisfaction is the goal more than salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this cultural context, Christian worship is bound to be judged irrelevant. We live in a culture that is unable to see beyond the limited confines of its own nose. We assume that reality can be adequately described and experienced wholly within the self. If we cannot see even our neighbors, how can we see God?  We are so busy looking at our own needs and self-authenticated truths. We value things, people, and experiences only for what they can give us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Worship like Today<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

In this pragmatic and narcissistic society, worship then is a counter-cultural activity. Worship is \u201cuseless\u201d if we were to judge its benefits on our personal lifestyles. It ranks somewhere near the top of the list of other useless and purposeless activities such as singing songs, kissing, giving a gift without expecting anything in return, sitting quietly with a good friend, or doing nothing but watching the sunrise from our Sausalito deck. We can\u2019t really blame those busy and serious folks who look at worship and wonder, \u201cWhat\u2019s in it for me?\u201d For these people, the only answer is: \u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the church, in our never-ending flirtation with our culture (in hopes of luring it into the church) becomes a marketplace that peddles anything the culture happens to be buying at the time. When culture is in the market for self-gratification and self-centeredness, we have been all too willing to give the church what we thought it wanted. When asked, \u201cWhy worship?\u201d we are quick to point out all the valuable benefits of worshipping God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I know most of us wouldn\u2019t be expecting God to give us a Mercedes or a BMW in appreciation for an hour in church, but we nevertheless do expect \u201cinspiration\u201d or at minimum, \u201ca warm feeling\u201d on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some churches say that they are \u201cThe Friendliest Church in Town\u201d deciding to peddle fellowship and warm feelings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or people will be assured that worship is therapeutic\u2014\u201cIt helps me to make it through the week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe worship is a de-stresser\u2014\u201cI feel a sort of inner peace after I\u2019ve been to church.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe my sermons stimulate your intellect\u2014\u201cI like a sermon that makes me think or see something in a new way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or maybe worship is conducive to building up church unity\u2014\u201cThe more we get together, the happier we\u2019ll be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or the way I give you a pep rally for the newest church emphasis\u2014\u201cWe\u2019re only here this morning to get motivated to serve the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You see, it\u2019s all the same. The focus is on us, our feelings, our thoughts, our commitments, our guilt, our needs. We are the center of worship. We are the focus of a carefully orchestrated series of Sunday morning activities that are designed to do something to and for us. We are so busy looking at ourselves, no wonder we sometimes missed God. On our knees, with our heads bowed low, we are still looking only at ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Worship?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

So why are you here this morning at worship? We are here in spite of all the cultural reasons for not being here; in spite of all the modern things that the church doesn\u2019t do well in; in spite of all our shortcomings as worship leaders and fellow worshippers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are here because we are looking for God. We are here because we have a notion that God is looking for us and we are hoping to be found. Or for even a more counter-cultural reason, we are here to just \u201cglorify God and to enjoy him forever.\u201d What a more revolutionary, subversive activity that we can do than to sing the Doxology in this \u201cMe-Generation!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I fear that when we turn in on ourselves or peddle in our church worship products like friendliness, inspiration, warm feelings, happiness, intellectual stimulation, aesthetic experience, moral advice, and distribution of interesting information, we no longer have God. We lose that scandalous New Testament church confidence that Jesus Christ whom we long to meet has already come and is waiting to meet us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember what Peter wanted to do when he witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus? He wanted to build three dwellings or shopping mall kiosks to catch the vision and to remain on top of the mountain. Peter said, \u201cRabbi, it is so good for us to be here.\u201d Peter was thinking how meaningful it is for him and James and John to be with Jesus. They were inspired and they wanted more by catching the vision in dwellings. But Peter misunderstood the vision. The identity of Jesus as Christ has a goal; it cannot be contained in a shrine on a mountaintop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To worship God is not centered on what we do. But it is what God wants to do for us. After we have finished with all of our ability to make meaning and significance in our world, we may dare to come to meet God. We will find that God is already there to give<\/p>\n\n\n\n

us what we need. Sometimes what we get is not what we expected. Sometimes there is inspiration, healing, assurance, revelation, hope, and forgiveness. But just as often, there is judgment, fear, confusion, despair, awe, and dread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is one of those strange ironies of life that, even as we serve God, sometimes we are the ones who end up being served in this service of worship. Remember we are being met by the living God, not by our agreeable gods. And if we are not wishing to risk so threatening and mysterious encounter with God, then you and I had best not come to the meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why are you here in worship this morning? Whether we came out of habit or for one of the reasons mentioned above or even for me because it is part of my job, we have come to be changed. On top of that mountain Jesus was transfigured; his face shone like the sun, his clothes were dazzling white, whiter than Clorox can bleach out colors, and his face changed. We too are seeking God to be transfigured in our own lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Paul wrote to the Romans in 12:2, he said, \u201cDo not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.\u201d The verb, \u201ctransform\u201d is the same word as \u201ctransfigure.\u201d We have come looking for God and believing that God is also looking for us. That is the answer to why we worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now don\u2019t get me wrong. There are \u201cgood\u201d things that come from worship. The good maybe something we asked for or thought we wanted. The good maybe something we have been avoiding to face from Monday to Saturday and worship helped us resolve the problem. But these are all by-products to why we worship. The main gift we receive in worship is God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And behind perhaps unknowingly in our minds that in all that making of meaning and significance that we strive so fervently for in our lives we might discover that in worship\u2014that that is really what we have been seeking for all along. That all along it was God who was inquiring about us, seeking us, wanting us all along, seeking with only one purpose in mind\u2014that God might meet us, surprise us, love us, and enjoy us forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christian worship\u2014it is something that is worthy and worthwhile for life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us pray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord, help us to come to know you in worship today and surprise us with the word that you\u2019ve been looking for us in our lives to come home. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark 9:2-9 March 5, 2000 Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco. When I get up on Sunday mornings, it\u2019s the equivalentContinue readingWhy Worship?<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[11,22],"class_list":["post-1668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donald-ng-sermons","tag-fcbc","tag-mark"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1668"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2426,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668\/revisions\/2426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}