In spirit and in truth

Two disciples leaving Jerusalem start discussing the events of the last few days. As they are walking, a stranger joins them and is told about the what has most recently happened that the men have heard about the empty tomb and the rumours about Jesus being alive. They cannot make sense of these reports, and are surprised when the stranger directs them to thinking about the message of the prophets relating to the fate of the Messiah. When they stop for the night they invite the stranger to join them, and say grace at their meal together.  Only then do they realise it is Jesus with them, and before they can respond he's gone again. It leaves them astonished, yet full of encouragement and hope, so they return to Jerusalem that same night, despite travel risks to tell other disciples what happened. 

It's yet another story of how the risen Lord is made known when his followers begin to talk about him, try to work out what has happened and what it all means. Thinking about the meaning of scripture in relation to Jesus, remembering him and breaking bread together, are all bound together here, and in this the seeds are sown for all acts of Christian worship and fellowship that will evolve as time passes. There is no elaborate ritual prescription as with Passover and Temple worship under the Jewish Torah.

Speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus says;

"The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him."  (John 4:23)

In his teaching about God's kingdom, he explains his own position;

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matthew 5:17)

The fulfilment of all kinds of ritual words and actions prescribed for worship is found 'in spirit and in truth' - the inward disposition of the heart, the sense of purpose and purity of intention towards God that flows from genuine spiritual freedom. It doesn't matter in the end what outward forms worship may take, what matters is the free openness of the heart to give God due honour and praise. The source of this motivation is sharing the story of Jesus, remembering him and what it all means for us and for the world, embedding this in everyday life following him. 

The prescriptions of religious tradition aren't abolished, nor are they irrelevant. They are simply no longer binding or restricting, but a foundation that secures the culture of religious worship in its history, with full permission to develop differently in the future. Although the diversity of forms of Christian worship seems very different from those of Judaism, it is not difficult to identify many elements in common - use of Psalms of praise and penitence, the blessing (=giving thanks for) and sharing food (especially bread and wine) and many other gifts of God, public scripture reading, prayer of intercession.

Doing these things together provide a frame of reference, a context in which the risen Jesus continues to reveal his presence to those who continue to commit themselves to worshipping 'in spirit and in truth'.

Defiant praise

The story in the book of Daniel of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being burned alive for refusing to renounce worship of the one true God, yet miraculously protected from their fate by an angel, is about defiance in the face of persecution. Even if it is considered on face value to be an unlikely tale, it has served to inspire the faithful in times of trial. Even in the face of certain death God will not forsake them. A hymn of praise and worship is attributed to the men at the heart of the fiery furnace.

'You are blest Lord God of our fathers, to you glory and praise for evermore'   (Dan 3:52)

Even if physical life is lost, confidence is expressed that their souls will be protected and saved by the One whom they worship. Stories of twenty-first century Christian martyrs in North Africa tell of them facing execution singing defiant Hallelujahs. Although there is no rescue, the resistant spirit defies death to put an end to their life in God. In the portrayal of heaven in the Book of Revelation, martyrs have great prominence.

'These are the people who have come safely through the terrible persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white with the blood of the Lamb. That is why they stand before God's throne and serve him day and night in his temple.'  (Revelation 7:14-15)

Speaking about true discipleship, Jesus warns of the risk and possible cost of following him: 

'Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?' (Mark 8:35-36)

Such courageous freedom of spirit doesn't come natural to fallen human beings with the self preservation instinct coded into our constitution, but it isn't the only driving force that gives shape and vitality to our lives. The hunger for meaning and purpose empowers us to look up and beyond ourselves and survival. Jesus says

"If you make my word your home, you will indeed by my disciples and the truth will make you free ... if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:31-33)

From the free offering of our lives to God's service comes a heart that desires above all else to worship and praise God. Being less than perfect, less than whole, our offering of self is more of an aspiration than a reality, as the opening of Charles Wesley's hymn states

'O for a heart to praise my God, a heart from sin set free!'

It is out of habitual longing to perfect self-offering in ordinary everyday existence that the purging and refining of the self takes place, little by little.

'I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.' (Psalm 40:1,3)

      

How to be holy

Holiness is a word that refers to what humans experience as sacred, special and unique about God, that makes God worthy of awe and reverence, which above all calls for worship and obedience from those who become aware of it. Isaiah's vision of God's presence in the temple (Is 6:1-8) well describes this experience. Remarkably the Jewish Torah makes it clear that human beings are regarded by God has capable of possessing the same qualities. "Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy." (Lev 19:2) It follows from God's declaration about human nature in the first Genesis creation story "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness." The potential for holiness is in each person, to be realised.

The notion of holiness described by an experience offers no guidance about how to become a holy person, however. The Jewish Torah is very clear about this. Holiness belongs to those who live genuinely by God's Law and Commandments. What this requires is obedience to the values of morality and justice embodied in the laws that give the Torah its name. These were summed up by Jesus in the saying that captures the essence of a huge code of social and religious regulations; 'You shall love God ... and your neighbour as yourself.' (Mark 12:30-31) Paul speaks about love being 'the fulfilment of the law'. (Rom 13:10)

In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus uses the image of separating sheep from goats in his parable about the last judgement, when all people must account for their lives. (Matt 25:31-46). He doesn't speak about the Law or laws as such, but gives concrete practical instances of what loving God and neighbour means, and what the consequences of action or inaction will be. It gives an everyday example of love in action, and from that can be gained an idea of how to recognise true holiness.

"Anything you did for the least of my brothers you did for me" says the Lord in the parable. 

Loving service of others can thus be an expression of worship and devotion to God. It is the good example which Jesus set in the way he lived from start to finish, of obedience to God's law in letter and spirit i.e. in practical essentials and right intentions. He distinguishes between trivial elaborations generated by false piety, and core moral and spiritual values. 

"For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." (Matt 5:18)

Matthew's Gospel especially presents Jesus as the New Moses, who fulfils the law by his obedience even to death on the cross. His sacrifice reveals the true difference between the trivial and the essential in what God requires of his children.

Longing for God is inseparable from striving to follow wholeheartedly the path of obedience to God's way of holiness. Thus the Psalmist writes, and we can pray

          'I long for your salvation Lord, and your law gives me delight.
          Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me.
          I have strayed like a lost sheep, Seek your servant,
          for I have not forgotten your commandments.'  (Ps 119:174-176)

         'Lord, may my ways be steadfast,  in doing your will'  (Ps 119:5)