We often lament that we “miss worship” or “miss going to church.” I concur with these sentiments and miss both as well. What I really miss is our community when we gather together. Sunday mornings at home is surely a disorienting experience for a pastor! However, true worship is much more than a weekly event. As Jesus shared with the Samaritan woman, true worship is not confined to a specific place.
The Samaritans and the Jews had long debated the proper place to worship God. The Samaritans believed that Mount Gerizim, where they once built a temple, was the chosen place. The Jews, on the other hand, believed that the proper place for worship was the temple they built in Jerusalem. As was often the case when faced with an either-or debate, Jesus provided a new perspective. He told the woman that the time was coming when true worship would not be defined by a specific place or a man-made structure but by the condition of the worshiper’s heart. Those believers who worship the Messiah will view the whole world as “holy land” and through the Spirit will see the sacred throughout life.
In his thought-provoking book The Dangerous Act of Worship, Mark Labberton writes that “worship names what matters most: the way human beings are created to reflect God's glory by embodying God's character in lives that seek righteousness and do justice. Such comprehensive worship redefines all we call ordinary. Worship turns out to be the dangerous act of waking up to God and to the purposes of God in the world, and then living lives that actually show it.” What if we experienced comprehensive worship by taking the time to talk with an isolated neighbor, tutor a child virtually, or take a prayer walk in nature? As we await a full return to gathering in person, let us find fresh, new ways to worship Christ by reflecting His love to others.