Why Do We Worship?

Don: God calls us to worship. The command to worship is found throughout the scriptures. Worship seems to be hardwired into us: Everybody worships something. Often, it is something we don’t know or understand very well — a mystery. Yet not knowing unsettles us, to the point of making things up to fill gaps in our knowledge and understanding.

The graven images we make (in contravention of the 2nd Commandment) are not just those made of stone or wood or metal, but also the anthropomorphic pictures of God we construct in our minds—made, of course, after our own image, only bigger, smarter, more loving, etc. We construct these images and ideas, then we worship them. We think that by so doing, we will become more like God.

Besides considering what worship might or might not do for us and the goals and objectives we set for it, we’ll discuss also what it might do for God—if he needs it at all. In other words, what do we get out of worship, and what does God get out of our worship?

The first question to consider is what, then, do we worship? As we have noted, everybody worships something. In the case of a Canadian First Nation, the thing worshiped is the Spirit of the Grizzly Bear:

A landmark religious freedom case between a ski resort and a First Nation will play out in Canada’s highest court.

The Ktunaxa First Nation say the resort would desecrate land where their sacred Grizzly Bear Spirit lives.
British Columbia says adequate accommodations have been made.

It will be the first time the Supreme Court determines the merits of an indigenous religious freedom claim under the Canada’s rights charter.

In March 2012, the British Columbia (BC) government approved the disputed Jumbo Glacier ski resort development planned in a remote valley in the province’s mountainous southeast.

The contentious project would be built on the site of an abandoned saw mill in remote BC, in a region revered by backcountry skiers and snowboarders for its deep snow, wilderness, and stunning beauty. It is also a significant grizzly bear territory.

The Ktunaxa Nation have resisted a scheme to build the Jumbo Valley resort since it was first proposed in 1991.

They challenged the BC government’s approval in court, saying the province failed to properly consider the sacred significance of the area. Both the BC Supreme Court and BC Court of Appeal have dismissed the Ktunaxa Nation claim.

The Ktunaxa say the site, which they call “Qat’muk” is “where the Grizzly Bear Spirit was born, goes to heal itself, and returns to the spirit world”.

They are arguing the bear spirit would leave the area if the resort is built and they would no longer have access to its spirit and guidance.

British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) executive director Josh Paterson says the Supreme Court hearing on Thursday will be the first time First Nations spirituality is considered in land use decisions like the Jumbo Valley resort.
“People would understand if this were a proposal that would destroy the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem or the Temple Mount,” he said.

The BCCLA is among the many interveners in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms case.

Other Ktunaxa Nation allies include locals, conservationists and California-based alpine outfitter Patagonia, which has thrown its support behind a campaign to “Keep Jumbo Wild” and financed a documentary on the tug-of-war over the resort.
Another First Nation, the Shuswap Band, which also has claims to the territory, have supported the Jumbo Valley ski resort proposal since 2004, when it first received its environmental certificate. That certificate has since expired.

Oberto Oberti, the Vancouver-based developer behind Jumbo Glacier Resort, said he still hopes he and his partners will one day build a four-season glacier skiing destination in the valley.

He said they have tried to address concerns and adjust the project to accommodate the local community over the last 20 years.

And Oberti says he does not believe the resort would violate anyone’s ability to believe in their faith or to practise it but is leaving it up to “constitutional scholars” to debate its impact on religious freedoms.
“We are just architects and will stick to that,” he said. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38161743)

The second question to consider is why do we worship? In part, it is because the Bible is full of admonitions to do so, often illustrated with definitions and descriptions:

O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
In whose hand are the depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. (Psalm 95:1-6)

Sing to the Lord a new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. (Psalm 96:1-3)

O sing to the Lord a new song,
For He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
The Lord has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. (Psalm 98:1-3)

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100)

A pastor known as “Pastor Paul” examined worship in the Garden of Eden, based on the following passage:

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

… Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:4-9; 15-17)

Pastor Paul wrote that the words used in this passage are worship language. He said that the word “put” in the clause: “The Lord God took the man and put him into the garden” is not the same word one would use to say “He put some potatoes in the garden.” Rather, it should be translated: “The Lord God took the man and set him in the garden.” Or “placed”, or “laid”. Doing so, said Pastor Paul, makes the worship more explicit. It conveys the idea of putting something into the presence of God. God put Adam into the garden in order “to cultivate it and keep it.” Other translations use “to work” rather than “to cultivate”. It is the word used for the work of the Levites, the priests who keep the tabernacle. The word can also mean “to minister,” and most of the time it means “to serve.” Thus, Adam was created to minister and to serve. This was the work that God gave him to do in the garden. The verb “to keep” also means “to guard” or “to obey,” as in “keeping God’s commandments.” The words “work” and “keep” are found four times in the Book of Numbers, each time in describing the work of the priests.

So Adam and Eve served a priestly function of ministering and tending in the garden—at the interface between heaven and earth. The geography of earth, Eden, and the garden of Eden does not deny the omnipresence of God, says Pastor Paul; it’s just a geography in which God can meet with the physical world and commune with his people. God would “come down” to eat with Adam in the garden. The garden was a sanctuary, a holy place where the presence of God dwells; hence the need for a priesthood to serve that presence. Mankind was created to serve as priests and to exercise dominion over all Creation in obedience to God. Adam and Eve tended to and cultivated the garden according to the wisdom of God. So when God called his people out of Egypt (Exodus) it is not surprising that he called them a “kingdom of priests.” It makes sense that in 1 Peter 2:5 and :9 he calls us a holy and loyal priesthood of all believers.

In the garden, Pastor Paul continues, the implements of worship were the common surroundings of life. Mankind was destined to be part of the priesthood of all believers. The garden was the sanctuary, and the worship was face-to-face.

But the history of worship changed after the Fall. It was no longer face-to-face, but there was still interpersonal contact between God and man (Cain, Abraham, and others), leading to an elaboration of the rituals of worship. But Jesus came and undid this.

Is it possible to resist worship? Is it something we have to want to do, or do we do it even if we don’t want to? Maslow’s hierarchy of needs posits physiological functions such as breathing and eating at the base of the hierarchical pyramid. Is worship similarly part of the base of our spiritual needs, and as natural as eating and breathing?

In short: Why do we worship?

Donald: We are admonished to remember; but even independent of that, it’s part of our DNA. It all goes back to mystery, which causes us to wonder and ponder. Without mystery, there is nothing to be drawn to. We all pass numerous churches on our way to church. Each of them represents just another form of worship. It seems we would rather spend our time trying to explain the inexplicable rather than just letting it be the mystery that it is.

David: Much as I found compelling David Foster Wallace’s thesis that we all worship something, I’m not sure I buy it—if worship is defined as adoration and reverence. The passionate atheist may be a worshiper, but there are plenty of people who have no passion for anything, who don’t care even about themselves in some cases. If worship is not then universal, then the question: “Why do we worship?” becomes: “Why do some of us worship?”

Jay: I thinks it’s important to distinguish between corporate/community worship and personal/individual worship. They have similarities but they also have differences. I think also that the origin of worship begets the question: Is worship a concept created by man, to enable man to commune with God, or was it created by God to enable man to commune with him? The latter seems sincere; the former, importunate. The latter is spiritual, or at least psychological; the former is physiological. Love and belonging fall in the middle of Maslow’s pyramid of needs—not at the top. Corporate worship is at that level: It is a construct we use to help us with that part of our self-actualization process that leads to enlightenment. It is the goal of education to provide the basis for self-actualization. In the spiritual sense, worship is equivalent to the Maslow’s layer of love and belonging. Corporate worship builds a sense of belonging, of community. But Jesus, quoting Isaiah, warned of worshiping “in vain”—unproductively.

Michelle: It seems to me it is man who made things complicated. Worship was present at the Creation. Worship occurs wherever two or three are gathered in God’s name. It’s not absolutely necessary or dire that we attend church, but it is necessary that we fellowship with God, whether by ourselves or with others. So we can worship in our living room, in our car, in a park… anywhere. It is really quite simple, but we have made it complicated. Labor for six days, then rest our mind, heart, and body, and give worship, on the seventh. Simple. In doing so, you will reach a higher level of self-actualization, even if your Maslowian needs are not being met. They don’t really matter. There are plenty of people who are homeless and hungry yet still love God. In the Bible are many stories of such people following Jesus.

Anonymous: According to Pastor Paul’s point of view, it was God who initiated worship, in the garden of Eden. He wanted us to serve him and tend the garden. He created work for us to do, before the beginning of the world. One of the tasks he set was to worship him. If we don’t do our work, we desecrate the earth, which God created for us to live in and maintain. As long as we worship, we stay on God’s track and are protected from ourselves—from going our own way. God says simply: “I created this earth for you. All you have to do is to maintain it and keep in touch with me.” It’s not toil,  it’s not the sweat of our brow, that he wants. It’s worship. He wants us to regard the earth as a sanctuary, or a temple, and ourselves as his priesthood. If we fail to maintain the temple, then we worship in vain. For this reason, I agree with the Canadian First Nation people, who are trying to maintain the sanctity of their temple, the land of their Spirit. If we were true worshipers we would not be defiling the earth as we do. I think we have a false notion of what worship means.

David: To equate worship with being one with nature seems to me commendably Daoist!

Donald: The link between spirituality and nature is part of the mystery. The native American sees it and accepts it as such; but we try to give it form and function, we try to define it, and in so doing, we lose a whole lot.

We are drawn to worship together. But when does the sense of belonging—a sense of shared need to worship—turn into a sense of membership—of shared definitions and understanding?

Michelle: And because we don’t always agree on common understanding and definition, we end up with multiple religions.

Jay: It begs the question: Is obedience to God, or is belonging, the point of worship?

Don: It brings us to the question of what is the end product, the goal, the expectation, of worship?

Jay: If the end product is spiritual fulfillment, then whose? Our own, or God’s?

Michelle: It seems to me that God doesn’t need us, but we need him. We cut ourselves off from him. So we are forced to worship him in a manner that is different from the face-to-face way Adam and Eve worshiped him before the Fall. We are so sinful, we cannot face God any more. We made prisoners of ourselves. If we want his help, if we want salvation, then we need to reach out and ask for it. We need to worship him in the manner he expects if we want to know and appreciate him. The word of God compels us to work for six days but rest on the seventh. It’s not a heavy demand. I believe God loves us as his children, even though we are in prison.

Chris: Worship starts with the individual. Once we get our own sense of what worship is, we will tend to be drawn to congregations that seems to worship in that way. The we get stuck in traditions and so on. In the garden of Eden, worship was very personal and intimate, not an elaborate mass event. Today, I believe true worship is founded on the inner light. Jesus did not come and build a megachurch and then invite us all in to worship; he came to meet us individually, wherever we are, whatever we need. And all he asks is to love him in return with all our heart, and to love our neighbor as we love ourself.

Don: The first story in the Bible after the Fall is the story of Cain and Abel. It is a story about worship. We will examine this, and other questions about worship, next week.

Donald: We have to eat—it’s fundamental to being human. Perhaps spirituality—worship—is equally fundamental. But then we get bogged down in questions of what constitutes healthy eating. The devil is in the details, and God is in the mystery. Perhaps we should be satisfied with the mystery.

Don: One of the very few declarative statements that Jesus made (he tended to ask questions, not make statements), in response to a question from the woman at the well about where to worship, was that God is a spirit and that those who worship him should do so in spirit and in truth.

* * *