3rd Sunday of Lent: Relevant Worship

Exodus 17:1-7
Romans 5:1-11
John 4:5-42


The United Methodist Book of Discipline specifically prohibits the ordination of practicing homosexuals to serve as clergy and also forbids the use of any United Methodist Church in which to hold any sort of ceremony by which homosexuals can be wed. To broaden the scope of the rule’s inclusion, no United Methodist church should be used to lend credibility or legitimacy to any such union since the Discipline holds forth that homosexual practice is “incompatible” with Christian teaching. This seems clear enough.

In spite of the perpetual conflict on this particular issue, we United Methodist Christians remain resolved to our common purpose: to make disciples of Christ. On this much, at least, we are in agreement. Exactly how to go about this mission, however, is up to each individual church according to its own resolve, its dedication to the task, and the resources it has available. And this is a good idea since each church is uniquely qualified to speak to its own demographics and what is needed in each area. It would be unfair and unrealistic for the General Conference, or even the Annual Conference, to dictate to each church what it must do and how it must go about doing it.

It may be only my imagination but every four years a few months before the General Conference convenes, this issue of homosexuality crops up in writings, on blogs, and in other discussions almost as if by design. Perhaps it is that some are staking their claim on one side or the other as early as possible, or maybe it is that many are hoping we can get it out of our systems before we come together so that a good, solid, productive Conference can be held.

Whatever the reasons, there are always the same tired arguments about what the Bible says (or implies, depending on one’s perspective), but every now and then someone comes forth with a new angle, some way to attempt to circumvent (and maybe even undermine) the Discipline’s prohibitions. What is dangerous about these attempts is that the Book of Discipline is our common purpose, our rules, our definition of who we are as United Methodists. The Discipline gives us our outlines, our “marching orders”, and our common ground. It essentially defines who we are as a United Methodist Body of Christ.

Now, you may ask, what does one have to do with another? There is a United Methodist Church in this country (which one and where it is are irrelevant points lest we demonize the pastor or the congregation) that has chosen to abide by the letter of the Discipline by not performing wedding ceremonies for homosexuals but will, instead, hold worship services in which to specifically recognize and honor, presumably, all committed relationships. In other words, this church will choose to abide by the letter of the Discipline by refraining from conducting actual wedding ceremonies but will, in my humble opinion, violate the spirit of the Discipline by incorporating such “recognition” and “honor” into their time of worship thereby attempting to legitimize these relationships within the context of worship of the Lord God.

Without getting into the specifics of what they hope to achieve and without becoming more redundant with my own objections, let me offer this. The very spirit of the “worship” time itself may be in danger of misguided focus by celebrating what the world seems to be demanding of us rather than what the Lord requires of us. And worship itself is that designated time in which we give all praise, glory, and honor not to our worldly desires but to the Lord our God and Him alone.

The Lord God commands that we love each other, and Jesus raises even that standard by commanding that we “... love one another as I have loved you …” (John 13:34) as evidence of our status as His disciples. However, it is also written in Deuteronomy 6:5 that “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” which to me implies that our love must first be directed toward the Lord God himself. And the short answer to how this love toward God is defined is simple: we trust Him enough to obey Him even when we are unsure of something.

The common standard we Christians have, regardless of denomination, is the Bible. It is, according to doctrines and standards, the Word of the Lord Himself. When all else fails, this Word is the One we should fall back to. In and of itself the Word should settle all these man-made disputes, but it doesn’t seem to work that way because we have our own individual and collective expressions of what some particular passage means. I also think there are more disputes which arise out of our not-so-clear understanding of exactly what the word “worship” actually means to us relative to our understanding of the Lord. Therein, I think, lays part of our conflict.

I’m sure we’ve all heard several sermons on John 4 and the Samaritan woman at the well, and too many seem to focus not only on the woman’s many husbands but also on the fact that it is implied that she is living with yet another man who is not her husband. I think the proper focus, however, is much broader than what we get from such a narrow view because I think that whenever we focus so narrowly, we are searching for fault and ammunition to use against those with whom we have fundamental disagreements. There is not enough attention paid to what I think is the thrust of Jesus’ words.

“The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24

“… in spirit and truth”; not flesh.

So what is Jesus saying to this woman? He does not seem to have implicated her for anything. Unlike the adulterous woman who was brought before Jesus by a crowd of scribes and Pharisees (John 8:1-6), Jesus did not admonish the woman at the well to “… go, and sin no more” (John 8:11b). Instead, He spoke to her about the time coming, the time which actually seems to have already arrived, “when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth …” The central theme seems to be about “worship”, but what “worship” actually means, at least in this context, may escape us as we seek to understand Jesus’ words.

Webster’s defines “worship” in this way: “reverence offered to a divine being or supernatural power”, “a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual”; “extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem”.

Someone once said that it is within man’s nature to worship. That context raises two important questions: 1) what or whom do we worship, and 2) how does our worship reflect our understanding of the importance of our object of worship? For Christians who come together for a time of worship, it calls us to question not only how we spend this time together but how we spend time outside of this designated time of worship. When Jesus told the Samaritan woman that there would come a time when we will worship “in spirit and truth”, He did not seem to suggest that this worship should only take place in church.

It would seem, then, that everything we do and everything we say is an act of worship, but do our words and deeds express “extravagant respect” for the Lord, or is our focus of devotion more oriented toward this world and its offerings or demands? It is a profound question for Lent that requires, just as Lent is purposed, that we focus our time of devotion and prayer – as well as our words and deeds - toward that which is truly important to us and seek to worship during every waking moment “in spirit and truth”.