Why Worship?

I served as an intern pastor some 20 plus years ago at Central Lutheran Church in Bellingham, Washington.  A wonderful congregation in a beautiful city in a gorgeous area of the country.  One of the conversations I remember having was with a woman named Cindy.  Cindy and I talked about worship.  Specifically we talked about why we worship.

For me, going to church was something that I had always done.  I grew up as a pastor's kid.  Sunday morning consisted of delivering newspapers, going to church, and then Sunday school.  There was never any question about whether or not we would go.  We went.

I also remember learning (in a rather painful way) that if I happened to be sick Sunday morning, I would be sick for the whole day.  Even if I felt fine by lunch time.  I had been sick in the morning so I just better stay in my room and rest all day just to make sure I would be healthy enough for school the next day.  No TV.  No going outside to play (I think I was only sick once on a Sunday morning).

During my college years I normally attended chapel on Sundays.  I cannot really say that I found the preaching stimulating or the worship itself all that exciting.  I went in part because going to worship had been ingrained in me. It was a habit.  But I did find that I felt better about myself when I worshiped.

Cindy, who started this conversation with me, said:  "Well I go to church because I figure I have nothing to lose.  I mean going to church will assure me that I'll go to heaven.  And if heaven does not exist, well then I haven't really missed out."

For Cindy, going to church was kind of a life insurance policy.  If she found at the end of her life that she was in heaven, then going to church had paid off.  And if there was no heaven (or hell), then she really had not missed out on anything.

Cindy and I had several conversations throughout the year about worship.  It lead me to begin asking the question of others - "Why do you worship?"  And I began to explore that for myself as well.

In our world today there are so many options available to us on Sunday mornings.  Shopping centers are open.  Children have basketball games and volleyball tournaments.  There is the opportunity to sleep late; go to coffee shop and catch up with a friend; catch up on laundry and some of our home-keeping tasks.  There are any number of options for us on Sunday morning that did not really come into play 25-30 years ago.  And for many of us today, if worship fails to connect with my daily life; that is, if I fail to see a connection between what happens in a church on Sunday morning and what happens the other 167 hours of my week, I likely will not bother worshiping.

To answer my own question (why do you worship?) is simply this:  After seven days are past, I need to be reminding again that God has created me, that I am worthy of love and respect, and that God is at work in my life to change the world.  I just find it hard to believe that God actually cares about me for more than seven days at a time (and even that is difficult).

My colleague David Lose puts it this way:  "Each and every week, we hear the news that the God who created and still sustains this vast cosmos not only knows that you and I exist…but actually gives a damn. More than that, that God cares deeply and passionately about our ups and down, ins and outs, hopes and heartbreaks, successes and failures. And even more than that, that God cares about us enough to send Jesus that we might know and believe just how much God loves us."

Pope Francis asked a similar question: Why do sinners go to Mass?  And basically what he says is that we sinners go because we know ourselves to be in need of Christ's forgiveness and look forward to being renewed in worship.  We go to hear of God's forgiving love.  

So how about you?  Why do you worship?  Send me a note or an email and tell me why you worship.  If regular worship is not one of your habits, I would appreciate knowing why not - why do you not worship?  I look forward to seeing in worship!