God's Worship Theme
In response to my comments on "Worship Theme," Bill Hartley wrote, "do we connect with God's story or attempt to manipulate God to connect to ours? . . . Abandoning true worship for a theme is regularly what happens."
What is God's worship theme?
In history God's worship theme, or God's story, has been approached in two very different ways-same story, but two takes on it.
The West emphasized "Creation, Sin, Redemption," the East "Creation, Incarnation, Recreation." It's a big Difference. The "Creation, Sin, Redemption" theme tended toward individualism: "you are a sinner. Jesus is your sacrifice. In him you are redeemed." By the time this theme passed through the Enlightenment, the gospel became the message of individual salvation. Consequently, the Evangelical's story has emphasized the personal, individual nature of salvation without adequate attention to the cosmic nature of God's redemption. Worship following this approach has proclaimed an overly individualized salvation. The story of God is about me and my salvation.
On the other hand the Eastern "Creation, Incarnation, and Re-Creation" model has always affirmed that God's story is about creatures. More than me, it is the story of creation. All of creation is affected by sin. God became his very creation in the incarnation to deliver creatures and creation from the power of sin and the consequence of sin and death. By his death he overcame sin and death. "In Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive" (I Cor. 15:22) and "The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay" (Rom. 8:21).
In the ancient church they said it this way: "that which is assumed is healed." In the incarnation God assumed creatures and creation and healed both. God's story, which we proclaim and enact in worship, is not only my story, it is the story of the whole world. The massive scope of this story has enormous implications for worship-for preaching, singing, the arts, Eucharist, spirituality.
Ultimately what we are talking about here is a paradigm shift. Has Western individualism corrupted the good news into a narcissistic, self-absorbed "me and God alone" worship? What if somebody proclaimed the really good news? God has reversed the corruption of Adam's sin! God has rescued the entire creation! Come to our worship where we proclaim and enact God's mighty acts done for all and for everything! Come and live in the power of his resurrection! See the world in a new way! Be dead to sin and alive to Christ!
Maybe we need to wrestle once again with God's story before we even plan worship. What is that story, anyway? God who rescues individuals here and there, or God who rescues the entire cosmos?
What will it take to make this paradigm shift? Let me know: rwebber@northern.seminary.edu
Bob Webber
Myers Professor of Ministry
Director of M.A. in Worship and Spirituality
Northern Seminary—www.seminary.edu
(See Northern's M.A. in Worship and Spirituality and D.Min. in Worship by clicking on the website.)
