3/3 Sermon - Rethink Worship

Rethink worship
John 2:13-22

Did covid affect worship attendance in America? I just read a Pew research survey, and the answer is surprising. Regular attendance has only slightly dropped by 3%. BUT the more concerning this is only 1 out of 3 Americans go to church at least 1/month. Most people don’t value Sunday worship very highly. What is the value of Sunday worship? This text, John 2, helps us rethink worship, and it takes us to the Passover.

The Passover was the highpoint for Jews. The celebrated their delivery from Egypt with 10 plagues, when they painted their door frames with the blood of a Lamb so the angel of death passed over their house. So every year, each household would eat a lamb to commemorate this event. There was law in this celebration: They were sinners, so the blood of an innocent lamb was needed to cover their sin. There was gospel: This spotless, innocent lamb, whose blood saved them from death, was a picture of God’s future salvation for them. Jerusalem, the center of religious life, would be packed with people.

“The Passover was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem”? The Passover, centered on the Passover lamb, and now the Passover lamb, the fulfillment of this festival, Jesus, stepped into the city.

What did Jesus expect to find? Respect, worship, honor for the God who saved them from Egypt. But he didn’t find that. “He found in the temple people selling cattle and sheep and doves and money changers.” This wasn’t wrong! Jews needed cattle and sheep and doves for sacrifices.

But imagine the noise. Right in the temple courts, packed with so many animals, merchants, people, right next to the temple. The smell of animals and people would hit you right in the nose. Worship would be impossible. And the priests gouged prices and charged people way too much. It would be like buying a hotdog at a baseball game: $15 for something that should cost $.50. Worship was nonexistent.

What did Jesus do? You can almost see him, fuming with anger, like a teapot boiling over. He finds small ropes and whips used to herd animals, and he starts twisting them together, his hands wringing in anger, and he makes a big, heavy whip. He starts flailing it around, driving everything out. Now imagine the stampede! Cattle, sheep, people, racing out of the temple. Tables overturned. Money spilled out. At the center? One angry man, angry at the misuse of his Father’s house.  He shouts at those still in the temple, “you can turned my father’s house into a merchant house!”

I have a confession to make. Sometimes, I act just like those money-changes. I don’t hock my wares at the church entrance for money! But I follow their pattern. Jesus said, “You have turned by father’s house into… insert sin here.” In my case, it’s this, “You have turned my father’s house into a job.” Too often, brothers and sisters, I view my vocation as a pastor, this place, what I do, as I job. A burden. I come to worship because I have to. I lead worship otherwise I wouldn’t have a job. It’s a struggle for me to keep the joy of ministry.

What is it for you? “You have turned my father’s house into…what?” Maybe for some people church is a ritual, something we go to because it’s just what we always do. Maybe for some church is ‘my place,’ the place I get to say what happens and doesn’t happen. Maybe for some church is a chore, something we have to do and our heart isn’t in it.

What was church like for Jesus? “And his disciples remembered what had been written, ‘Zeal for my Father’s house will consume me.’” Jesus had passion and zeal for his Father’s house, his heart was on fire for church. We feed our dogs twice a day. Our one dog, Ranger, eats when he feels like it. Sometimes he won’t touch his food all day. Our other dog, Sylva, consumes and attacks her food. She whines at 5pm every day because she knows it’s time to eat. She’ll even try to steal Ranger’s food… She consumes her food. That zeal and passion dogs have for food is what Jesus had for worship, for his Father’s house.

We don’t always have passion, right? For us, worship can be a chore, a bore, a ritual. It’s not something we consume. WE have forgiveness for that, because Jesus was passionate in our place, he was the perfect, zealous Son of God, and he is our substitute.

The Jewish leaders didn’t like that. “What sign can you show us for why you make this”? Jesus had driven out their merchant tables, ruined their money-making schemes, had pointed out their hypocrisy, and they didn’t like it. I don’t like realizing my hypocrisy. You don’t like when your hypocrisy is pointed out.

Jesus looked around him, and said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it in three days.” “Three days?” The Jewish leaders responded. “It took 46 years to build this temple!” But Jesus spoke about the temple of his body. This temple, Jesus said, was actually useless. The sacrifices, the rituals, the building, the priests, it was all useless. It was a picture that pointed to Jesus. The Passover was an event in the past that pointed to Jesus. The real temple, real worship, real church, was Jesus.

There is no possible way we can approach God. Jesus came to us, he came to this world. There is no way to please God. Jesus pleased God by his perfect life. There is no way we can make our sins right. Jesus shed his blood to cover our sins. Jesus is the temple, the Passover lamb, our salvation. The temple was actually useless. This church is actually useless. It’s about what Jesus has done for us.

This frees us to think differently about worship. To Rethink out attitude towards church. This has a couple of different implications for us.

1. Let’s rethink worship in this building. There is a lot to thank God for about this building, right? We have beautiful new flooring. We’ve redone the front, and still might do more up here. It’s good stewardship to take care of God’s house, always have in mind, “What can we improve next?” If wouldn’t let our houses be outdated, my would we let God’s house be outdated.

- BUT worship is not about the building. We have new flooring! Great. But it’s not about the new flooring. Our building is just a tool to be used. This building is just a place to meet. We could sell this building and meet in the basement of a bank or a store front and nothing would really change for us. Worship is about gathering together to hear about Jesus. Worship is about inviting other people, all kinds of people, to hear about Jesus. Let’s not forget that.

2. Let’s rethink our passion and zeal for worship. I think it’s important to talk about this. What do zeal and passion look like? Some people say it’s supposed to be excitement and enthusiasm all the time at worship. But I’m not always very excitable person. I don’t always fit that bill. Some people are very enthusiastic.

- Passion for worship is dedication. Coming to worship even if you’re tired, worn out, need to sleep, or have a chore list that long. There’s always excuses to skip worship, and passion is showing up anyway.

- Passion for worship is having the right attitude in our hearts. Worship, church, this building, is a hospital for sinners. I am a sinner. You are a sinner. We fail every week, and we desperately need to hear about Jesus. It’s not a museum of saints, or a place to pat yourself on the back. We’re sinners. Jesus is our Savior.

- Passion for worship is participation. Sometimes we can be bumps on a log. But it’s a good thing to actually speak out loud the responsive readings, to sing the hymns, the pay attention to the prayers and readings. Our participation is a confession of our faith.

3. Let’s rethink the purpose of worship. This is what the disciples realized, “When Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he said this, and they believed the scriptures and the words Jesus spoke to them.”  The disciples remembered what Jesus had done. The whole point of worship is to meditate and focus on Jesus and on his Word. That is exactly what the temple was really about: focusing on God’s salvation. This is what our service looks like every Sunday, the gospel of Jesus is communicated to you every Sunday: - confession and absolution, - hymns & prayers with Scripture about God’s salvation, -3 readings focusing on the gospel, - regular practice and reminders of the sacraments.

4. Finally, let’s rethink what worship actually is. We think worship is that we come to God. We worship God. We “get” ourselves to church. But that’s not what worship is. Worship is where God comes to us, in Word, in Sacrament, with the gospel, God comes to our hearts, strengths our faith. Worship is where God shows us our worth to him. Imagine a loved one who just wants to listen, who wants you to pour out your heart to them, who wants to tell you they love you. That’s the relationship we have with God Sunday after Sunday.

Too often, worship becomes, for me, just something I do, an outward act. I need to write a sermon, I need to say the liturgy. For us, worship can become something external. Today, let’s rethink worship. This is a place we meet every Sunday to meditate on, focus on, and hear about Jesus, the one who gives us eternal life. Amen.