When we come into worship on this day, there is a weightiness to what happens. We come soberly into worship because the sons of Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, offered strange fire in the holy place, and God struck them dead. We come soberly because religious leaders compromised God’s Word, and God destroyed their temple. We come soberly because some in Corinth were eating and drinking to exalt themselves and dividing the Church and Paul says, “Some died, as a result!” Beloved, this is not some trivial exercise this morning.
There is a weightiness to worship that is not experienced anywhere/anytime except when we gather on the Lord’s Day. I was exposed these last few weeks to some of the most amazing sights in this country. Glorious mountains towering over each other in a competition of glory; lakes decorated with ice and snow, and sceneries that, unless you see it, you’d be tempted to think they were photoshopped. But all of creation’s glory cannot compare to the glory of human beings gathered in a building to enter into communion with God in worship.
Many years ago, a parishioner pulled me aside and asked, “Why do we talk so much about worship at Providence?” I remember giving him some pious answer, but if that question were asked today, I would say, “Because the only way human beings can feel light in God’s presence is if we understand the weightiness of worship.”
G.K. Chesterton once said that angels can fly because they take themselves lightly. Worship is weighty! But Christians come boldly before the throne of grace; which is to say, “they fly into God’s presence lightly.
Today, if you are lonely, God says, “Come!” Heavy burdened, God says, “Confess!” Needy, he says, “Hear!” Hungry, he says, “Eat!” And then to the blessed, he says, “Go!”
The weightiness of worship is for the lightness of your soul! Come to Jesus Christ!
