Called to Worship

July 21, 2024 homily on 2 Samuel 7:1-14a and Ephesians 2:13-22 by Pastor Galen

Rags to Riches

We Americans love a good “rags to riches” story, don’t we? We love to hear about the person who used to be homeless who is now a successful entrepreneur, or someone who grew up poor and is now a multi-millionaire. We love princess stories, like Cinderella, who was treated poorly by her stepmother and stepsisters until her fairy godmother came along and magically turned her into a princess.

King David was in many ways a rags-to-riches success story. He had been a poor shepherd boy out tending to his flocks of sheep until he was quite unexpectedly anointed to be the next king. He wasn’t born into a wealthy or politically elite family. Rather, he was called and chosen by God to become the king and elevated to a position of power and authority—not because of his political clout—but because he was a man after God’s own heart. One of the things that I love about David is that he never forgot where he came from, or Who it was that put him in that position of authority. 

A House for God

And so it was that one day when he was sitting in his house and looking around at the cedar lining the walls of his palace that he began to think about how he had gotten to this place in life, and how it was God who helped him get there. And while he was looking around at the fine furnishings of this palace, he happened to glance out his window and saw the tent that housed the Ark of the Covenant, which symbolized the presence of God among the people.

Now if you remember from last week, the Ark of the Covenant held the most sacred relics of the Israelite people: The Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai, the staff that Aaron had used to perform miracles, and a jar of manna—the bread that God had miraculously provided to the Israelites in the wilderness. 

The Ark of the Covenant had recently been returned to the Israelite people after having been stolen by their enemies, the Philistines. But now it was housed in a tent. A tent not unlike the tent that the Israelites had carried with them for 40 years when they wandered in the wilderness, before God brought them into the Promised Land. 

And as David was looking around at his beautiful palace and thinking about that tent that held their most sacred relics, David was struck by an idea. He would build a magnificent temple to serve as a permanent memorial to God! (And it probably wouldn’t hurt David’s reputation either!) And so he called the prophet Nathan and shared his idea. I imagine David laying out for Nathan just what this building project would involve. It would be beautiful. It would be amazing. People would walk into it and instantly be struck with the glory and the majesty and the splendor of God. 

Nathan thought it was a great idea. He could tell that David’s heart was in the right place, and he was no doubt impressed that a king would be willing to expend the necessary resources to build such an awe-inspiring structure in honor of God rather than spending the money on himself. And so he told David to “go for it” (my paraphrase, of course).

A Kingdom that Lasts Forever

But that night God spoke to the prophet, Nathan, and told him to put a halt to this whole building project. God essentially said to David (through Nathan), “that’s nice that you want to do that and all, but when have I ever asked you to build me a house? I like living in a tent! And rather than you building a house for me, I want to build you up and make your name great” (again, my paraphrase).

You see, throughout the Scriptures, we see that God wanted to dwell with God’s people. In the first few chapters of Genesis, we see God walking and talking with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening. And when God called the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, God promised to go with them. And anytime God called someone to do a particular task, God promised to be with them and to dwell within them. This was indeed what the tent that housed the Ark of the Covenant symbolized. As the people carried the tent with them throughout their journey in the wilderness, they were reminded that God moved with them.

God desired to dwell with and within God’s people, not in a house of cedar or a temple made of stone. And so God promised to establish a house for David—not a physical house, since David already had one, but rather to establish his kingdom, and through one of his offspring to build a kingdom that would last forever. God said that David’s descendant would build a temple for God. Although David’s son Solomon did build a physical temple, this was actually a prophecy about Jesus, whose kingdom is eternal, and who embodied God’s presence among us, and who built and established the Church to be a place where God’s presence dwells among us.

Christ is the Cornerstone

The Apostle Paul picks up this theme in Ephesians chapter 2 when he talks about how Jews and Gentiles have been brought together into one body through Christ, and how we have been reconciled to God through the cross. Paul uses the imagery of a building—a temple, saying that we as the Church have been “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone; in him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God” (Ephesians 2:20-22).

I love this imagery that God is forming and shaping us as God’s people into the temple, the dwelling place of God. God is the architect and the builder, molding us and shaping us into the people we were meant to be. God brings us together from a diversity of backgrounds, with a variety of gifts, but each of us has a critical role to play. We are brought together as this sort of hodgepodge group of people and formed into a dwelling place for God. Jesus is our cornerstone, the most important and critical part of this whole operation. We take our lead—our guidance, our direction—from Jesus. And God is molding and shaping and carving and chiseling and building us up together and creating us to be God’s Church, a temple where God’s presence is pleased to dwell. 

And this act of building us into a temple—this forming and shaping and carving and chiseling, is part of what happens when we are called together in worship.

Called to Worship

Throughout this sermon series, we’re looking at each aspect of our worship service and what we can learn from the life and experiences of King David. Last week we looked at how and why we gather for worship, and how coming together in worship is not about us, but rather it’s about God. We don’t come together in worship to try to earn or gain God’s favor. Worship is not a good luck charm or a quid pro quo, as if God will give us what we want just because we went to church. Worship is a celebration of God, and it’s not about singing our favorite songs, or everything being just the way we like it, but rather it’s about giving God the honor and glory that God is due. And we talked about how worship should lead us to celebrate in awe and reverence, as in our celebration of worship we are led to recognize God’s glory and splendor and awesome power.

Today we are talking about the Call to Worship. Typically we have a Call to Worship printed in our bulletin that we read together responsively. The Call to Worship is an invitation to lay aside whatever it is that may be distracting us and to focus our thoughts and attention on the Lord. It’s an invitation to be present with the Lord and with one another, to prepare ourselves to give God the honor and praise that God is due. 

The Call to Worship is also an invitation to ready ourselves for what God may want to do in and through us. It’s an invitation to bring all that we have and all of who we are and to lay it at the feet of Jesus. To say, “Here I am God, mold me and shape me to do your will!” We don’t leave our “Monday through Saturday” lives at the door. We don’t leave our worries and fears and distractions outside. But rather we bring all of that with us, and we lay it at the feet of Jesus, and ask God to refresh us and renew us, to change our thoughts and perspectives, to transform our relationships with others. The Call to Worship is an invitation to bring our full selves before the Lord and to allow God to transform us more and more into Christ’s likeness.

But of course, the “call to worship” is more than just a few lines printed in a bulletin. We are called to worship God with all that we have, and in everything we do. We are not just called to worship God for an hour on Sunday mornings, but 24/7, every hour of ever day. We are called to worship God in our work and in our play, at the office or the factory, in our homes, or at the store. Our coming together to worship the Lord on Sunday mornings (or whenever we gather) helps us develop the habits and practices that should shape our worship of God throughout the week. Worship is a calling, and we are called to recommit ourselves to God’s work in and through us throughout the week, whatever we do and wherever we go.

Experiencing a Call To Worship

What, then, might it look like for us to live into the Call to Worship when we gather together each week?

1. On a practical level, it probably means laying aside whatever electronic devices distract you from focusing your time and attention on the Lord. I know some of you use your phones to look up the verses of Scripture that we’re discussing during our worship service, and if you can do that without checking your other apps or notifications, great! But many of us probably find that it’s more helpful to use a printed Bible, because print Bibles have no electronic notifications! (If you’re reading this at home, perhaps it means turning off the TV or moving to a quieter space so you can better read and reflect on the Word.)

2. Where we sit in the worship service makes a difference as well. I think there’s something powerful that can happen when we sit a little closer together, or when we mix it up a little bit in our worship setting. That’s part of why I was excited for us to meet down here in the fellowship hall this morning—not just because it’s cooler than upstairs in the sanctuary (which it is!), but also because we are creatures of habit who often sit in the same places with the same people. Sitting around tables here in the fellowship hall with different people than we normally sit with in church gives us a different experience of what it looks like to come together in worship. (For those reading this at home, try inviting someone to read the sermon with you, and respond and reflect together, and see how that changes your experience vs. reading the sermon by yourself.)

3. Lastly, if you know of something that helps you to focus your attention on God in worship, seek out some accountability to help you do that. Last week a colleague of mine shared that he and his wife are often tempted to stay home on Sunday mornings and tune into the worship service online, even though they are fully capable of attending in person. He shared that they help keep each other accountable to attending in person. Perhaps you know that your phone is a distraction, or that if you haven’t had breakfast before going to church you’re going to have trouble focusing. Ask someone else to check in with you and keep you accountable. And if there’s someone that you haven’t seen in worship for a while, check in with them and make sure they’re OK. We certainly need to work together if God is going to make us into a temple/dwelling place for God!

Growing into a Holy TempleMay we, like David, remember who it is that helped us get to where we are now. It is not our own goodness, or strength, or wisdom or expertise. Let us remember to give God praise. And let us remember that God doesn’t care so much about the building where we worship, but God wants to form us as God’s people into a dwelling place for God. May we put aside the things that distract us, and bring all of who we are and lay it down at the feet of Jesus. May God form and shape and mold and chisel us to be the people God wants us to be—“a holy temple in the Lord…[and] a dwelling place for God” (Ephesians 2:21-22). 

Amen!

Questions for Personal Reflection:

1. What distractions do you need to set aside to fully focus on worshiping God?

2.  In what ways has worship transformed your thoughts, perspectives, and relationships?

3. How does the imagery of being built together into a holy temple resonate with you?

4. How do/can you contribute to building up the Church as a community where God’s presence dwells?

5. Who can help you stay accountable in your spiritual journey and worship practices?