Hebrews 12:18-29
August 26, 2007
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco—Annual Outdoor Worship & Church Picnic
A popular summer activity is to go to an amusement park. Not far from here is the Santa Cruz Boardwalk with its old-fashioned wooden roller coaster. At Six Flags, there’s the Boomerang Coaster to Coaster that is bigger, steeper, faster. Recently, there’s a report out that some of these super, duper, looper rides can actually cause riders a mild case of heart irregularities!
You could have gone to one of these wild amusement parks today for some of that excitement. But you came to our annual church picnic. We don’t have any fast rides except when you run to be first in the picnic food line. We don’t have any gigantic water slides except the water fountain for the kids to play in. We don’t have any fast roller coasters except the slide in the playground. Instead of a wild day, you have come to a mild church picnic!
Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion
The passage from Hebrews 12:18-29 we read for today is about two mountains—one wild and one mild. The wild mountain is Mt. Sinai that speaks about God as an untouchable mountain, darkness, gloom, a bone-rattling voice booming from the heavens. This mountain is like an untamed roller coaster that nobody wants to ride for fear of what it might do to them.
The second mountain is Mt. Zion, a sharp contrast to the unapproachable Mt. Sinai. On this mountain, we have celebration, joy and excitement. There’s a festal of angels at the entrance. The scene is filled with anticipation like when for the first time you walked through the turnstiles at Disneyland—Cinderella’s Castle towering in the horizon and you catch your first glimpse of Mickey Mouse!
When we contrast Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion, we are talking about how we should worship God. Is our relationship with God in worship something that we do automatically every Sunday without much thought? Do we view God as remote and un-approachable? Do we see a God who is uninterested in what is going on with us? If we do, we are on Mt. Sinai.
Or, is God the host of a party inviting us to come to him? Do we see God as a God who desires intimacy with us, inviting us to live the Christian life? This would be Mt. Zion the city of the living God.
It’s providential for us to be worshiping in this gazebo today. We are unfamiliar with this setting. There’s no hymnbooks, no organ or piano or guitars, no bolted down pews, no traditional or expected ways to worship God that we have come to depend on. By worshiping once a year in the outdoors, we are able to worship God on Mt. Zion rather than on Mt. Sinai. By being out of our familiar surroundings, we are better able to listen to God and to relate with God in a personal and authentic way.
True Worship
Worship is not about the set formats of the services at 9:00, 9:30, 10:05 or 11:15. Instead, worship is about our attitude as worshipers before God. It’s not about our sanctuary décor or how good the musical performance is; but whether the act of worshiping will be acceptable to God. We are to approach God “with reverence and awe,” mindful that God is a “consuming fire.” It’s not the form of worship but whether our hearts are right with God whom we worship.
For example, we have Cain and Abel. We read in Genesis 4:4-5 that God “had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.” It wasn’t that God preferred the firstlings of Abel’s flock over the produce from Cain’s garden. It’s not like having barbecue chicken and hot dogs is better than a veggie burger. But rather what got Cain into trouble was his festering resentment over God’s preference for Abel’s gift. Cain’s first and foremost attitude was trying to impress God instead of honoring him. Abel’s gift was an acceptable sacrifice precisely because it really was a sacrifice—Abel was grateful to God. Cain’s gift was a carefully calculated bribe.
No one has captured the difference between true worship and how we have made worship out to be today than the theologian Soren Kierkegaard. Many worship services allow worshipers to be the audience viewing the pastor and musicians as actors. It’s not whether I feel good when you say to me, “Pastor, that’s the best sermon I have ever heard.” Genuine worship happens when everyone knows that God is the audience. Musicians and pastors are the prompters or coaches or stage managers, but all of us are the actors and all our worship acts are directed to God. We want our worship to be acceptable to God; not whether I preached a good sermon or the choir sang a great song or even whether you as worshipers didn’t fall asleep!
Not Be Shaken
Worshiping in the outdoors today helps us to realize what are the essential aspects for worship. We learn from Hebrews that God shakes the earth “that those things which were shaken might be removed, as things that are made by us while those things that could not be shaken might remain,” because they were according to the mind and will of God. Forgoing and leaving behind all of the unnecessary accessories for worship, we are better able to come to worship as actors before God who is the audience.
What cannot be shaken is the foundation of the life, death, resurrection and the inspiration of Jesus Christ. Our Christian faith is not a theory, a doctrine, an institution, or any other creature that changes with time. What cannot be shaken is Christ himself.
We can announce to the world, “Let it shake!” and be confident that the foundation of our faith will not fall. Even if there was a thundering, twisting, corkscrew thrilling roller coaster flying over our heads right now, our faith in Jesus Christ will not be shaken.
As a church of Christ with our variety of worship services, our different languages, our many backgrounds, and our different interests, what will not be shaken is our unity in Christ as his Body.
As a church that was once a modest mission but now a thriving and growing in our discipleship, what will not be shaken is our commitment to do mission both in San Francisco as well as to the four corners of the world.
As a church called to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, we will not be shaken from our commitment to go from a Mt. Zion into the valleys of human life to share God’s word.
Wild or Mild
Our worship might be as wild as a roller coaster or as mild as this outdoor worship. In the end, true worship is not whether we like it wild or mild—this is worshiping worship.
Worship is never just an event but a lifestyle. It’s a posture. An attitude. An ongoing recognition of the need to respond to God for how he continues to bless us. Worship is having a conversation with God—God speaks and we listen, then we sing and God listens.
As we learn to be the actors and God is the audience, we realize that we can be actors only because God acted first by out of his love and grace, he gave his only Son, Jesus Christ to die for us so that we may have an acting life on earth and one in heaven.
Let us pray.
Thank you, O God for this wonderful place to worship you today. May our openness to listen to your word and plans for our lives glorify your name on all the earth. Keep us humble and thank you for your grace and mercy. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.