Category Archives: Kingdom of God

Epiphany In Worship

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The season of Epiphany, when the Church explicitly remembers how Jesus is revealed as God in the Gospels is now coming to a end.  In this season we have followed the Magi, remembered Christ’s baptism, and  witnessed the Kingdom of God. Yet before we look too far down the path of Epiphany, to the palms of Sunday and the ashes of Wednesday, let us consider Jesus’ revelation as God in Worship.

The synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) all mention the account of Jesus teaching at the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. In the Luke account we find that  during this Sabbath worship service it was Jesus’ turn to read the scroll, which happened to have been from  the Prophet Isaiah. SO as was the custom, Jesus takes the scroll of Isaiah, stands up and gives the reading:

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

This verse is drawn from Isaiah 61:1-2 and 58:6. What was Jesus’ interpretation of these verses from the Prophet for those in attendance?  ”Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Lk4:21). There was amazement at the grace of his words and then the questions and challenges came, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” Jesus then begins to unpack his amplified interpretation of these verses from Isaiah in Luke 4:24-30 as the hearers with rage try to lay hands on him. To think that God would extend his grace and blessing outside of “clean & chosen” Israel to lepers, widows, the poor, and Gentiles!

The people of Nazareth missed Jesus as God in the reading and failed to glorify God, acknowledging him for who he is. Today I sometimes wonder if the church fails in this respect to acknowledge God for who he is in worship. Three benchmarks for worship as a response to God’s glory (that I have adapted from Simon Chan’s Liturgical Theology) are:

  1. Worship is not something we do for God - “Praise” does not bring down the glory of God. “Waiting” does not bring down the glory of God. “Playing Louder Music” does not bring down the glory of God. The glory of God is a self-giving gift and thus, everything we are and have to offer is a gift from God.
  2. Worship is its own end. In the pragmatic context in which we find ourselves in history, everything including worship has to have and end or purpose (mostly for us). What do you mean Jesus this reading is fulfilled in our hearing? Aren’t you Joseph’s boy? What’s in it for us? As William Willimon writes, “Worship loses is integrity when it is regarded instrumentally as a means of something else-even as a means of achieving the most noble of human purposes”
  3. Worship is a response to God’s total character. True worship must reflect the reality of who the triune God is. I agree with John Wesley’s observation of the verse that Jesus reads above, “The Spirit of Lord is upon me” as a reference to the Holy Trinity. Do we worship a triune God today in American Christianity?

The Epiphany of The Kingdom of God

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Sunday is the day of the week that I reflect on a theme from the current church season we find ourselves in. Currently that season is “Epiphany.”

Epiphany is a season when the Church reflects on how Jesus is revealed as God in the Gospels. Usually this means looking to such occurrences as Jesus’ Baptism, the visit of the Magi, or the miracle accounts like the Wedding of Cana. If Epiphany is truly a season where we remember the ways in which Christ is said to be revealed as God, then what about Christ’s mysterious connection with the poor?  The words of Matthew 25 pierce my heart each time I read them:

Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home.”- Matthew 25:34-35

Do we see Christ in the materially, emotionally, or spiritually poor? Is there any sort of Epiphany that happens when we see a brother or sister in need? Do we even see them … let alone recognized the breath of God in them? Do we see past the cultural scripts that blind us? Do we even see the need for those who struggle with depression, loneliness, or alcohol addiction to be loved as Christ?

Are we even capable of being wounded by the poverty of this age?

“Who can listen to a story of loneliness and despair without taking the risk of experiencing similar pains in his own heart and even losing his precious peace of mind? In short: Who can take away suffering without entering it?” - Henri Nouwen

Have you ever hugged a homeless meth-head? Did your heart ever break for the prostitutes on the streets corners? Are you wounded for those who make pornography … and those who watch it? Have you ever taken interest in a “goth” teenager who struggles with suicide? If so… good for you… but … have you ever seen Christ in them?

It is one thing to provide a service and yet another thing entirely to act in holy love towards another. Service keeps an “it” an “it” ; however, holy love turns an “it” into a “Thou.” We are called to more than just being a  ”service provider” for the materially, emotionally, spiritually poor: dropping spare change in the Salvation Army box outside of Walmart, or sending a check to the Red-Cross for each “natural disaster”, or institutionalizing the emotionally afflicted. Any atheist, humanist, or progressive liberal can care for “the least of these” … but only the Church as Christ’s body can embrace them as Christ. We are called to see God in them, to practice hospitality, and above all to love them sacrificially.

We beseech thee, Master, to be our helper and protector. Save the afflicted among us; have mercy on the lowly; raise up the fallen; appear to the needy; heal the ungodly; restore the wanderers of thy people; feed the hungry; ransom our prisoners; raise up the sick; comfort the faint-hearted. - Clement I (99 C.E.)