One Sabbath, when I was studying in
Israel, three of us were walking in the district of Jerusalem called
the Miasharim. It is the district where most of the inhabitants
are members of the most ultra conservative branch of orthodox Judaism.
On this particular occasion, a person driving a car with Ohio license
plates (don’t ask me how that car got to Jerusalem) entered one
of the streets. Quickly, a group of men appeared, dressed in their
characteristic black clothing, including a black felt hat. They were
bearded, and their sideburns had not been clipped, so they were wrapped
around their ears. This is how members of the sect dress.They
surrounded the car, and then flipped it on its side, with the driver
and his companion still inside. This was done because it was against
the law, as they saw it, for a car to be driven on the Sabbath or
Shabot as they call it. That is a graphic example of the strictness of
the law within their understanding.
No cooking was to be done on the
Sabbath, no fires lit, no electric lights illuminated, and the list
goes on... Mr. Vardi, the, the owner of the pension hotel where
we stayed and thus the one who presided over all the meals served to us
was a devout Jew, though not a practicing one in the sense of synagogue
attendance. Vardi, as we called him, was a non-stop smoker. He carried
two metal cases in his pocket. In the gold one were unfiltered
cigarettes; in the silver one, those little black cigars. During the
week, you never saw Vardi without either a cigarette or a cigar in his
mouth. Every Friday
evening, when the sunset (and that time was published in the newspaper)
Vardi would read for us from the Torah. He would then cover all the
lights, cover the telephone, shut off the pilot light on the kitchen
stove and cover the TV and the radio. Because we were Christians, his
one concession to us was to allow a night light in the hallway, so that
we could find the bathroom at night. That is how the hotel was during
Shabot. Of course, all meals were cold, because they had to be
prepared in advance.
On Saturday night, Shabot closes when
the first three stars appear in the sky. Vardi would gather us together
once again, and read the words prescribed for that day from the Torah.
He would then hold up a sterling silver scenter- an elongated
receptacle for holding some kind perfumed material. That scenter would
be passed around so that we could each smell it, so that the sweet
smell of shabot would remain in our nostrils all week. Vardi would then utter a prayer of
praise. It always began, “ Baruch Attah Adonais”,
Blessed are you O God. After the prayer, Vardi would immediately light
up a cigarette, and go around and undrape all that had been covered,
turn on the lights and light the Pilot to the stove.
To Vardi, this ritual was crucial. It was, he stated, how you show your
allegiance to God, and how that was done was not only important, it was
essential.
That seems to me to be a good
illustration of the situation that Jesus faced in our scripture for
today. A woman afflicted with scoliosis or osteoporosis, as we might
say in our day, was seen by Jesus. She was easily identifiable
because she was so bent over that she could not raise her eyes to see
him. In this story, Jesus has compassion and frees her from her
infirmity and all the people rejoice-except for the ruler of the
synagogue. This ruler is
indignant, because Jesus had healed this woman on the Sabbath.
There are six days when this could have been done, he said, and besides
she has been like this for 18 years! Why was she healed on the
Sabbath? Really, what difference would a day have made, except that
Jesus was using this occasion to make a very strong point?
“You hypocrite”, Jesus said, “ don’t you lead
your animals to water on the Sabbath? Why shouldn’t this good
woman be healed on the Sabbath?
In the Jewish legal writings called
the Halakah, there are chapters of arguments about what is essential in
the observance of the law; knit-picking things like "If a person puts
his hand on a stove, still hot from the pre-Shabot cooking, is he
violating the law if he removes his hand"? There are pages and
pages of such arguments, as the Rabbi’s argued the legal
requirements. Israel is now basically a secular land.
Participation in synagogues and temples is largely overlooked, yet
obedience to many of the religious laws of Judaism are still observed.
Within our Christian tradition, there
are similar examples of the importance of “how” things are
done. For example, in some of the Amish and Mennonite traditions, women
and men enter the church through different doors and sit on opposite
sides of the worshipping area.
When I lived in LaVerne California, older female members of the Church
of the Brethren continued wearing tatted hair coverings, as they
perpetuated their tradition.
In the Orthodox tradition, only men are priests; in fact, a woman
cannot go beyond the gates that guard the front of the chancel,
and priests are not allowed to cut their facial hair.
In the Roman Church, also, all Priests are men. They are not allowed to
marry, since there are to be married, “to the Church, the bride
of Christ.” Sisters or nuns likewise, in former days, in addition
to the habit that they wore, could not marry; but they did wear a ring,
since they were married to Christ, and nothing was to interfere with
their service to him.
Liturgical Churches thrive on the
elaborateness of their liturgy, and any violation or lessening of the
tradition is frowned upon. People steeped in tradition also know what
each of the steps mean, and what they are saying to congregation.
Others, however, love the liturgy even though they may not know what
the meaning of the liturgical statements, dress or colors may be.
In opposition to this, some Churches have rebelled so far from
“Popish ways” that not even crosses are allowed within
their worshipping area; robes and stoles, collars and choir gowns,
processions, candles and organs have all been discarded.
One way or another, in almost all
traditions, how things are
done has become so important that many are unable to answer why things are done. They all
started out with a good reason, but somehow along the way, why things began was lost in the
observance of how.
That is one of the major reasons why Jesus was crucified. He spoke out
against the legalism of the synagogue of his day. He opposed the sale
of sacrificial birds and animals at the temple, so that people could
worship, and he was not bound by dietary laws, their outward
demonstration of piety, or the artifacts they wore such as the leather
pouch on their foreheads that contained the words of the Shema from
Deut. 6, “ Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one and
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and
all your might.” For Jesus, individuals were always more important than procedures
What I am saying here is that how
things are done is an important part of each Church's traditions. But
if such traditions are to continue, they must be accompanied by an
explanation of why they are
done. In addition, an explanation is needed, stating that while we feel
they are important, they are not necessary to a person's spiritual
standing and allegiance to Christ. The basic requirements of being a
follower of Jesus are acceptance of his Lordship and a sincere attempt
to be obedient.
Now, please look at your
bulletin’s order of worship; and may I say, we are indeed
fortunate here, to have someone as competent as Retta to produce this
for us each week. The
service actually begins with the music of the prelude. Carol is not
just playing background music, like at a wedding reception or a party,
she is playing so that we can relax and forget the hectic pace and
activities of the world for a time and in quiet meditation try to link
our lives to a spirit that is greater than we are and to whom we seek a
relationship. We are
greeted, and hear of the activities of this community of faith. That is
important, because this is the only time this week that we have seen
some of the people here. It is good for us to hear what is taking
place. Each one will not be part of all that transpires, but together
we are a Church, and as such we support each other.
The music calls us back to centre our
thoughts as the candles are lit. We light two candles, because they are
a symbol of our belief that Christ is the light of the world and that
this Christ, the one we call Lord, has a divine and human nature; thus
the two candles. The
service is next designed so that we approach God in worship. It is not
that God needs this step, we are the ones who needs to be reminded
again and again of just why we are here and to whom we are paying our
allegiance. Together, we
call ourselves to worship God through Jesus whom we call The Christ. We
follow the call with a prayer, symbolically asking God to meet us
specifically during this time we have together, and then we affirm that
request by singing a hymn. And the first hymn will always be a
hymn of praise and adoration.
When we approach God, the Spirit of
love and goodness, we know that despite our best efforts we have fallen
short of the goal that we set for ourselves in our attempt to follow
our Lord. It is thus perfectly logical and natural that we join
in a prayer of confession. This is not groveling before a strict
parent, it is acknowledging that to live well, we need the leadership
and presence of the one we worship. And since we fall short of
the mark, we ask for forgiveness.
We pray a prayer of confession collectively, and we pray silently and
individually for this forgiveness and for the strength to grow.
Then, the one presiding proclaims the assurance from the biblical
message that we are forgiven. This IS good news. This is a highlight of
any worship experience. Thus, I feel it is the perfect place for
us to rise as one and sing, "Praise God from whom all blessings
flow." As a forgiven people, we want to praise the God who
lovingly forgives. This
presents us with a lovely opportunity to speak to each other and
literally pray "May the peace of Christ be with you" and to have the
recipient return that hope.
Now, having centered our thoughts,
asked for God’s presence, confessed our shortcomings and received
assurance of forgiveness, we are ready to hear the word as it comes to
us through the scriptures and through the illumination of the
scriptures in a sermon, story or meditation.
When we have heard the Word, and hopefully, it has spoken to us, it is
our natural tendency to respond to what we have heard. Here, we respond
in two ways. We respond by listening to some aspect of ministry,
greater than any one church, that is being achieved through our Church
affiliation. We know the United Church Mission and Service Fund is not
the only avenue of service or giving, but it is well to be reminded of
the good that is being done within our larger fellowship. We
respond with our morning offering. We give money because, in our
society, money represents who we are and how blessed we have been. You
know who people are when you know where they spend or give their money.
The offering of our money and our lives has little to do with a
church's budget. We give, as an act of worship, out of gratitude to God
for what has already been done for us through Jesus Christ our Lord. We
give proportionately, to remind ourselves of God’s love for us
and our need to share that love with those who are in any type of need.
We dedicate what we have received, as we should to the furtherance of
Christ’s work here on this earth.
Another response that we share is the
prayers of the people. Here we have an opportunity to share with our
fellow worshippers our joys and our hurts, our concerns for others and
our hope that those we know who are in need will have their needs met
through the presence of God’s spirit, which may come through us
or other humans.
Petitionary prayers are not begging for God to bestow special favors
uniquely upon us. They are a humble asking for the Spirit of the
universe to visit those in need and in some manner meet their special
needs.
Our service closes with a hymn that is
always a statement or a promise to go forget it reminds us that we have
"an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and sure while the billows
roll." The implied message is "join up." Follow Christ, and do it in
the fellowship of this group of striving believers right here in
Squamish. Following the
hymn is the commissioning to go forth and serve, followed by the
benediction asking for God’s spirit to go with us. To this, the
congregation responds with "Amen, Amen, Amen," which means, so be it or
may it be so.
We end by visiting with one another in
Coffee hour and sharing our lives with fellow worshippers. The Church
is “the laboratory of life." In worship and fellowship, we
can practice the art of Christian living with others who are doing the
same, and we can each seek strength so that together, we can go out to
the less sympathetic world and continue living the life Jesus taught.
The worship service that you see is
designed in a specific manner to accomplish a flow that is logical and
fortifies each of us for the days ahead. That’s
what worship is for us. And while hopefully we find it meaningful
and helpful, we must guard that we do not make this the criterion by
which all churches are judged. HOW we worship is not nearly as important
as WHY we worship God.
"You hypocrite," Jesus said to the
leader of the synagogue. Then, Jesus demonstrated his love for humanity
by assisting this poor soul who had carried her affliction for so long.
That was much more important than observing a particular style of
ecclesiastical legalism.
Worship God through Jesus Christ;
express your love for each other by sharing your lives with each other
and sharing a portion of the love and forgiveness you have received. We
will be a truly great Church when all of us rejoice because of the
glorious things Christ has done in our lives. Thanks be to God.