Awe Discussion
I'll get the discussion rolling here [everyone feel free to log on w/your username and leave a post, or comment on what someone else wrote]...
A working definition of "awe" - A mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread, and wonder inspired by authority, genius, great beauty, sublimity, or might.
I want to break down verse 11 of Matthew 2 a little bit (these are notes from a sermon I heard at Super Summer '00 given by Jon Randles) and share some thoughts.
Awe is very much connected to worship. Awe is a direct result of worship, and vice versa. One of our songs that sticks out along this topic is "Let My Words Be Few" by Matt Redman. This song is taken directly from Scripture, mainly from Ecclesiastes 5:1-7...
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words.
When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.
Looking at Matthew 2:11, we get some interesting insight by looking at the verbs [or actions] carried out by the Magi. "On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh." 5 verbs, 5 points that speak to the process of worshiping God in awe.
- They came [coming]: The Magi had to agressively seek Jesus, the newborn King. They didn't wait for Him to grow up and come to them [although, He had already taken the first step by being born -- God always pursues us first, we always respond to His pursuit]. For us who seek God's face, we should always desire to go deeper, to go after Him, responding to His initial move toward us in being born and dying for us.
- They saw [saw]: The Magi saw God in flesh. When we truly get a glimpse of who God is today [we can't really "see" Him, and live...Exodus 33:20] we are immediately convicted of sin. God is holy, we are not. We have unclean lips, and live among a people who have unclean lips [Isaiah 6:5]. We have to ask God to see the truth in our lives where our human character fails. There always has been and always will be only ONE appropriate response to seeing God...
- They bowed [bowed]: Prostration is the picture of worship in the Old Testament. Respect, adoration, and humility are displayed in bowing. God can't be our equal, and we can't be above Him. He has to be our King, and we have to bow down. Bowing is submiting to God and saying, "You are right, we are not, show us how to change, make us better for You."
- They worshiped [worshiped]: Bowing alone is not worshiping. Singing/dancing/praying/lifting hands/any physical response alone is not worshiping! It has to be accompanied by the heart attitude of humility and awe. Worshiping can lead us to bow down in adoration; Bowing down can lead our hearts to worship. But they are not the same [worship does not=bowing; bowing does not=worshiping]. Worship is a state of the heart, mind, body, and will, and can lead to different postures.
- They opened [opened]: The Magi opend up their treasures. God can never be approached empty handed. Something always has to pay the price of sin and disobedience. In the OT, it was a sacrifice. In the new covenant, Jesus is continually interceding for us before the Father, presenting our souls to Him. His death-price satisfies the payment to come before God for us. The Magi didn't come empty handed, they had precious gifts. As we worship God, we open the gift of our lives to Him, allowing God to run through our veins and shed His light on the dark places of our hearts. Being open before God is essential to authentic worship.
- They presented [presented]: The Magi presented [gave] Jesus their gifts after opening them to Him. Once our lives are open before Him, we have to give our lives to Him, presenting them to Him as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing [Romans 12:1]. Our worship is not complete until we have opened our lives to Jesus and given Him all we are.
I hope that gets your wheels turning. How do we go about creating "awe-filled" moments in this service? How can we allow God to break into these "routine" Christmas services and awe us? cf
5 comments:
Ok, I'll tell you my ideas. On Crystle's idea of taking her to the manger....You should build a very simple manger scene on stage. What about a moderny twist on a manger? Besides wood, what can you build a manger with? With or without hay (and ladybugs). And then on the front of the stage put the gifts the magi brought...A big trunk of gold in the middle, a big urn of incense and a big bottle with myrrh. And then during the service talk about what they brought Jesus and what WE should bring Jesus this Christmas (time, service, our lives, our hopes, etc.?) and then at the end of the service, we could write that on a piece of paper and put it in the chest of gold....Not in the myrrh b/c the paper would get soggy and not in the urn b/c it would catch on fire. Also don't forget a big, bright, shiny star above your manger scene. Ok, that's all I've got.
I'm really lovin Margo's modern day manger idea, but i think we should take it further. The actual manger remains rustic, but the rest of the scene changes. What are some modern day items that would symbolize the same things as the gold, frank, and myrrh?
(this is a side note: Emma is in the room as I'm typing and she is pretending to "read" her bible! She just said, "and baby Jesus died because mary didn't take care of him for about ten years!!!" I'm not sure who teaches her Sunday School, but it might be time for a background check!!)
That's all I've got...
Oh, one more idea. What if there was a time where everyone was asked to kneel where they were...those who are physically unable could sit with their heads bowed...and Clayton sang or just played the "Let my words be few" song.
(Those who wanted could actually go to the alter.)
It could be a time of quiet reflection to express your own personal "awe" of Jesus.
Great stuff, Margo! I'll secure the incense and myrrh if you and Clayton can highjack the gold. And if we're going to create the manger scene, shouldn't we have a real baby???...and not one that's overmedicated or pappy-plugged...in every nativity I've seen, it seems the idea is to mute Jesus...isn't that upside-down???...I'll keep processing...this has some real potential...
And to confirm Shellee's concern about our kids' Sunday School staff...While peering intently at a nativity scene at my grandparents house, Lexie [who's in the same class with Emma] said, "Look, it's baby Moses!"
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