Today’s scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Keith Phillips):
Family legend insists that even though I was born on a Friday, I was participating in the worship service Sunday morning, at First Baptist Church, when it was just south of the War Memorial in downtown Indianapolis. Except for my hedonistic years while in college, I’ve rarely missed Sunday morning worship. That means that I’ve had lots and lots of Sunday worship experiences, conceivably more than the Apostle Paul when he was writing to the church at Corinth, but I will yield to his authority.
The Corinthian church was very charismatic, where the gifts of the Holy Spirit were emphasized. It seems, from what Paul has written, that many in the church wanted to express their gifts during worship; and worship apparently had become rather chaotic. It probably was not what we’d think of as a large church, since it was meeting in a home. But it seems to have been comprised of extroverts, all of whom wanted to be “up front.” So, Paul suggests some guidelines, especially for the ones with the gifts of prophecy (preaching) and of tongues. He summarizes those guidelines in the last part of the passage: “Three things, then, to sum this up: When you speak forth God’s truth, speak your heart out. Don’t tell people how they should or shouldn’t pray when they’re praying in tongues that you don’t understand. Be courteous and considerate in everything” (verses 39, 40; The Message).
Rather than the unstructured spontaneity that creates bedlam, according to Paul, participation in the worship service must be, as the Presbyterians say, done “decently and in order.” However, there’s a reason that Presbyterians are sometimes known as “the frozen chosen.” Too much order can become rote and even boring. So Paul encourages a balance in worship: It needs to be structured and orderly, in order to build up the community of faith, and it needs to have congregational participation. Paul began this section by saying, “So here’s what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight” (verse 26; The Message).
I do not go to church on Sunday morning to be entertained, which is what I get from those “up front” altogether too often. I go in order to worship. I understand that there are different styles of worship, and none are foreign to me. But I draw the line when I am not allowed to participate, when it’s totally scripted and all performed up on the platform; and I’m only allowed to watch. I can do that, if I wanted to, with any number of televangelists’ shows and at a goodly number of mega-churches in the area. So I yield to the authority of the Apostle Paul who, for the Corinthians and for us, encouraged a worship experience worthy of our Creator/Redeemer/Sustainer which is not chaotic but reverent, and in which the whole congregation is invited to actually participate, for the edification of the Body of Christ.
Thought for the day: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty! / Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee. / Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty! / God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!”
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.