The Heart Of Worship

March 7, 2021

Hope Lutheran Church

John 2:13-22

The Heart of Worship

Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Bridge on the River Kwai is widely considered as one of the best movies ever made. The film came out in 1957. It won 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It tells the story of British soldiers in World War II captured by the Japanese. They’re sent to a prisoner of war camp in what was then Burma. The living conditions are extreme. The Japanese commander orders the entire camp to help in the construction of a bridge. A battle of the wills ensues between the Japanese commander and Colonel Nicholson, the ranking officer among the British soldiers.

As the story unfolds, the bridge construction begins. But the design of the bridge is just horrible. Col. Nicholson is appalled. He thinks to himself that if this were a proper British bridge, it would put to shame the lousy Japanese bridge. He decides right then that he and his British soldiers are going to design and build a new and better bridge. Their structure will be a lasting testament to the British army and its ingenuity.

Nicholson totally commits himself to this new bridge. Meanwhile, free Allied soldiers in the vicinity are making plans to destroy the bridge. The bridge’s destruction will be a strategic blow against the Japanese forces.

At the climax of the movie, Col. Nicholson discovers dynamite planted on his precious bridge. He alerts the Japanese to the threat. As Allied forces move in to destroy the bridge, the Japanese attack them.

In the final scenes of the movie, Nicholson finally comes to his senses. He realizes just how much his objectives have strayed. He has helped the enemy! He utters, “What have I done?” In his dying breaths, he staggers towards the detonator and falls on the plunger. His beloved bridge is destroyed.

The epic story demonstrates the phenomenon of drift. Drift is a process that affects our standards or perceptions. Drift happens gradually and unconsciously. It’s so subtle that we don’t realize the changes.

Drift can affect our ethics and values. What was out of the question yesterday becomes permissible today. It can desensitize our ability to detect dangerous changes in our environment. Drift can affect our faith life, too. The focus of our worship can gradually veer towards a new center.

Theologian Paul Tillich defined faith as our ultimate concern. Everyone has something or someone they hold as the most important thing or being. Tillich wrote, “Whatever concerns a man ultimately becomes god for him.” We all hold something as our ultimate concern. As people of faith, trust and devotion to God is our ultimate concern.

Israel had an ultimate concern. It was their relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Their devotion to God was the heart and center of their universe. It formed their identity. That worship found its highest expression in the Jerusalem temple. This was the central focus of their religious life.

But something had drifted. The heart of their worship, their ultimate concern, had gradually drifted from its holy center. The mechanics of their worship became more important that the object of their worship.

It’s a common trap for priestly types. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes of our worship! Did the soloist arrive? Do we have enough communion cups? Why does the pulpit mike sound tinny? Oh, no! We ran out of bulletins! Quick, make some more!

The same can be true of a worshiping congregation. We come to church and the first thing we do is check the bulletin for typos. We rate the service on how much we like the hymns. How was the choir’s anthem? Oh, the altos were a little flat! During the sermon we’re thinking about how we can top off our morning with a good brunch. Where should we go today?

We can become completely engrossed in the details of our worship service. The mechanics are so all-encompassing that we overlook the main thing, our adoration of God.

Back to Israel’s temple worship. When Jesus arrives at the temple, he’s overwhelmed by the spiritual drift he sees. Worship at the temple was a well-oiled machine. It was complicated and delicately balanced.

1) First of all, it was highly coordinated. People were coming from afar to worship. They didn’t necessarily want to transport a sacrificial animal with them all the way from their home. So established vendors brought animals to the temple area for the worshiping public. These animals were without blemish and ritually clean. Likewise, money changers were there so that coins with a human image on them could be exchanged into currency without images.

But all of these conveniences came at a price. Like movie concessions, they were expensive. Worshipers had to accept the price gouging. It was a racket at the expense of humble worshipers. And with it, there was a drift in Israel’s high standard of justice.