The theme that captures my attention in our passage is worship. What comprised worship in this setting? What is worship made up of in ours? In preparation for our exploration, let’s back up just a little to a previous word from Jesus;
And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved. (Matthew 17:22-23)
In our passage an elect group of very dissillusioned and fearful friends of a dead prophet (who claimed to be sent from God, as His Son) have received news that the tomb is empty. Their collective response? “The tomb is empty!? NO WAY!!! Hey, didn’t Jesus say that he would rise after three days!? What did we miss yesterday during that earthquake!?”
The chosen friends of God were already living in the aftershock of a psychic earthquake. Jesus had already shaken their established thoughts of Judaism to to the ground. They thought he was their long awaited Messiah. They presumed he was going to rebuild Judaism and Israel on a new foundation. When Jesus died this foundation crumbled along with their hopes of glory (and safety). As well-known associates of this King of the Jews, the would-be administrators of the new kingdom were now fugitives.
Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. (Matthew 28:1-8)
Again – It may be appropriate to sing in order to recapture something that was going on in the hearts of these disciples and, I believe, was intended to be ongoing in the hearts of all who have been born again. Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06tuvubUkzMs. I cannot read our passage without this song ringing in my ears (and creating tears in my eyes). I believe this is the kind of ringing and tears we want. Back to our passage;
And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.” (Matthew 28:9-10)
We can only imagine what the conversation was like on the way home. Their hopes and dreams had lain in ruins just that morning, yet something was stirring down there in their previously despondent hearts. Do they even dare entertain hope? Hadn’t they just learned that hope is dangerous? They knew as well as anyone that hope can crush as well as elate. Worship or not-to-worship – that is always the question.
But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew28:16-20)
In this moment, they had grasped Life Himself and Life had laid hold of them. And we discover that Life is not deterred by doubt nor is doubt a barrier to hope! If a man can be raised from the dead, anything, absolutely anything, is possible! And we discover that Life is abundantly crammed with purpose! Obviously worship here does not mean, “Please stand and let us sing Hymn #497 together” or, anything like that. This is the kind of worship that drove men to…
come up to Jesus and take hold of His feet and worship Him.
As one who believes the New Testament is our best reference for definitions, strategies and blueprints, I am comfortable saying that whatever worship was going on in the hearts of these men is the same kind of worship God would have for all his children. These eleven were not his real children were they, and all those to follow, his step children? Of course not. Then how can we facilitate this kind of worship? We can begin by amending our own thinking as to what worship is made up of (or not made up of).
In this New Testament example, there was not a professional worship pastor giving them their cues as to how and when to worship. This worship did not happen at a pre-established hour or even upon the pre-established day – the Sabbath. People were not configured in static rows as they worshipped. This worship was not dependent on someone else’s words printed on a screen. They did not have a soloist performing any special music. And (buckle your seat belt), there was no worship band!
What they did have was something akin to a convulsion-of-the-heart. They had a spontaneous reaction to the reality of the living Christ. It expressed itself in an attempt to physically hold of him. He didn’t run away. He just said, “It’s ok…
I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Perhaps it will not be as dramatic (absent the physical presence of Jesus) but our spirits, where the resurrected Christ now lives, are every bit as capable of this same kind of heart-response. God has no step children; whatever worship was going on in their hearts is the same worship God would have for all his children. It is so essential to understand that worship was never intended to be limited to a service held at a particular time or place. It was intended as the ongoing flame, the ever-burning response of the created to its creator, the redeemed to its Redeemer, the child to its Father.
There is no crime in worshipping in a building or at some prescribed time, prompted by some leader unless you really believe that is the meaning of worship. If that is the case, the institutional definition has once again prevailed to the hurt of a soul and a loss to the kingdom. Whether our institutionally conditioned worship is the extent of our worship will not be determined by our confession. Our worship will ultimately be worked out in our lives where we have learned to carry music in our hearts from one task to the next, from one friendship to another.
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture (see note) that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture (see note) around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:1-2 MSG)
Note: Culture is the beliefs and customs of a particular society, group, place, or time. I don’t believe it would be wrong to include “religious” cultures in our consideration of Romans 12:1-2.
The worship portrayed in our passage began as men were simply looking for the resurrected Jesus. I believe all who carry this ambition in their hearts will not be disappointed. We should dare to hope and encourage others to follow suit. Emotion, doubt, elation, disappointment and choices – all happening in the context of living (definitely not confined to a service) are the things that make up true worship.
A true shepherd’s ambition would be to equip every soul with this expanded awareness of worship. His heart cry would be, “I’m not the center of Christianity nor is this building.” His mission would be that not a single sheep entrusted to him would be lost to institutional definitions, assumptions and traditions. The true shepherd’s mission is to liberate, to equip us to be the priests at the alters of our own hearts, tending that flame (which is Christ in us) and from there, carry worship into every nook and cranny of our lives.
Father, if need be, let angels and severe earthquakes challenge our well formed religious presumptions. May our hearts lay hold of that for which they were laid hold of, for our soul’s, sake and Your name’s sake. So be it.