In Your Hometown

For some, worship is withdrawal from the world around them, a sanctuary into which all that they wrestle with throughout the week doesn’t enter. Certainly, there can be a need to clear one’s mind and heart to properly be present for worship, which is one of the purposes of the prayer of confession at the beginning of worship. We do not, however, worship in a vacuum, cut off from the cares and concerns of the wider world. So, how can worship prepare us to engage in the task of transforming the world?

Developing a habit for regular gathered worship is an essential part of our growth as disciples and our witness to the world around us and an effective foundation for the work of transformation. Understanding the reasons for what we do when we gather might help us recognize when our worship is focused inward on our own community to the exclusion of an outward awareness of God at work in the wider world. Examine the language of our liturgy and our music when we gather. Who is being included? Who is being affirmed and encouraged? And who is being left out? Jesus got into trouble in our text for this week when he tried to get the people to worship a bigger God than they were used to.

This final week in part one of the series “Where You Are” is about the familiar that might have become unfamiliar. Many in our habit-formed worship experience may have lost track of the context within which we worship. We excel in personal spiritual growth, perhaps; but at times, we neglect our engagement with the world God loved so much. We’re good at individual study and reflection, but not as keen on building relationships with the wider community that surrounds us. Worship can be an opportunity to raise our vision from internal introspection to a wider view of God at work in the world.

But perhaps your community is well connected and involved in the community. Then this can be a celebration of those ties, and stories can be told of how bridges across differences have been built and relationships continue to be made. Even the most outwardly focused congregations need encouragement to continue the mission with love and service. It is a reminder that this town, this city, this community with all its struggles and resources is our hometown too.