Zion was the name of the hill upon which Solomon built the temple. The Jews thought that God lived on this hill in his temple. This Zion was made up of lavish buildings and is portrayed in verses 1-3. However, the Psalmist moves on to talk about a different Zion, one that seems diverse and accepting of many different peoples, not just the Jews. It seems to move toward a prophetic stance that the church will be a place for all peoples of all nations and cultures. There is a foreshadowing of Jesus and his New Testament church.
I wonder, do we still live with the idea of two churches? I think we do; there’s a church for the people who look the part. You know the church. Everyone puts on their "church clothes", looks good and answers questions with the word "fine" a lot. This church is mostly made up of people who are like minded, look alike, speak the same political language, etc.
Then there is the other church: the one that points to a collection of people who maybe snuck inside the windows or even found the back door. You know these people too. They are the ones who are openly broken and seeking God from that place of brokenness; the ones who maybe voted the "wrong" way in the last election. They don’t look as well "dressed", they may enjoy worshiping in a way that our restoration heritage doesn’t condone; maybe they arrive with a guitar and start playing with great joy as the church starts singing. Maybe they dare to lift their hands in praise. Oh my gosh, one of them walked down to the front and is on his knees praying! Can we welcome this worship style or do we have to tolerate it as a disruption? Is there any way to live and worship together with all our differences?
I think there is. We must return to the mission of the first century church, to go into the entire world to make disciples. I’m not sure that the "how" of doing those things is nearly as important as we make them out to be. Our mission, given to us on the day of Pentecost is to "GO" and "SEEK" the lost. The mission is primary, the means secondary. That is why he made us all so different; so we could reach peoples of all different nations and cultures.
In June, on the final night of VBS, I stood in the back of the church building and watched as several hundred children and adults sang and praised God so loudly that I think anyone driving down Providence Road could hear. Why is it that our children can worship with such uncontained abandon yet we (adults) must be orderly? I think if our mission to seek and save the lost were paramount, we would not be so concerned about the details of how our mission is moved forward.
I also have to wonder about worship in the New Jerusalem. What will it look like? I doubt that we can even come close to imagining it. I doubt it looks like what we’re accustomed to on Sunday mornings, and we will probably be surprised by the inhabitants.
- submitted by Sandy Welfare
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