Worship (2)

Introduce series and why we’re doing it…

There are some viral videos going around social media called Anatoly the Cleaner. Seen them?

Watch video

Love this guy’s reaction. The truth is that Anatoly is actually Vladimir Shmondenko, an elite Ukrainian weightlifter.

Why is this guy so surprised? He doesn’t expect that this scrawny looking janitor can pick up this weight like it’s nothing. Like, he had to feel his arms to see what he was hiding under the blue suit. To him, the janitor is just someone unnoticed in the background until he does the unexpected.

John Lubbock, the 19th century English banker, philanthropist, and member of Parliament wrote about how we can often miss what is right in front of us:

“What we do see depends mainly on what we look for. ... In the same field the farmer will notice the crop, the geologists the fossils, botanists the flowers, artists the colouring, sportmen the cover for the game. Though we may all look at the same things, it does not all follow that we should see them.”

The phenomenon he’s describing has been labeled by psychologists at “Inattentional blindness” - the phenomenon where individuals fail to notice obvious but unexpected objects or events in their visual field because their attention is engaged with another task.

Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons did a study in 1999 where they asked participants to watch a video in which two teams, one in black shirts and one in white shirts, are passing a ball. The participants are told to count how many times the players in white shirts pass the ball. Mid-way through the video, a man in a gorilla suit walks through the game, stands in the middle, pounds his chest, then exits. About half missed it entirely, nor did they believe they could have missed something that obvious.

Inattentional blindness happens when we almost rear-end the car in front of us bc we’re focused on the traffic light, or why people hunt frantically for their cell phone when it’s actually in their hand. It’s why magicians are successful at doing sleight of hand while they have your attention on something else.

Inattentional blindness causes us to miss what may actually be staring us in the face. What we see depends mainly on what we look for. To say it another way, we don’t see what we don’t expect to see. If you don’t expect to see a gorilla walking across the screen, you probably won’t. If you don’t expect to see a scrawny janitor as an elite weightlifter, you’ll probably miss it.

What does this mean for us spiritually? What else do we potentially miss because we aren’t looking for it, because we don’t expect it? Better: who are we missing because we aren’t looking for him? Let’s look at an example of this in one of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.

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Stand as able to honor the reading of God’s word… pray

Luke 24:28–35 “As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

This is probably one of my favorite passages in the Bible. I didn’t read the whole thing, but I encourage you to look at what precedes it some time. It’s actually humorous. As they are walking toward the town of Emmaus, Jesus joins them, but they don’t recognize him. Then these two disciples start explaining to Jesus all the bad stuff that happened to… Jesus. I like to imagine Jesus offering expressions of shock and outrage.

It’s true that Jesus was somehow different when he stepped from the tomb. Mary Magdalene thought he was the gardener at first before her eyes were opened. He was the same Jesus, but also different. We will look at another post-resurrection encounter in a few weeks when the disciples again have a hard time recognizing the risen Jesus.

Why don’t they recognize him? Was the lighting bad? Was he wearing a hoodie? I want to suggest that at least one reason they didn’t recognize Jesus is because they didn’t EXPECT to encounter Jesus. Inattentional blindness strikes again. They didn’t expect to encounter Jesus, and so they almost didn’t.

This passage is super relevant for us today. We confess and believe that Jesus is here through the Spirit. But we can miss him in obvious ways if we’re not careful. We can see at least two ways in this passage that we can expect to encounter Jesus today.

In the Scriptures

As they walked along with the risen Jesus, it says above that Luke 24:27 “… beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.” After telling Jesus about all the bad things that happened to … Jesus, Jesus leads them in a Bible study. He shows them how everything written in the OT was pointing to him and to this moment. “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”

The chief complaints I hear about reading the Bible is that it is either boring or too hard to understand. Let’s be honest; the book of Chronicles drags a little. And keeping up with all the sacrificing in Leviticus can be a bit confusing. But even in the boring or confusing parts, do you expect to meet Jesus there? When you come to the Bible, do you come to it out of obligation, or do you come expecting to have an encounter with Jesus? What we see depends mainly on what we’re expecting to see. Each time we open our Bible we should pray with King David, Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”

When was the last time your heart burned as you meditated on Scripture, where you knew that you were in the presence of Jesus in that moment? I believe this can be a regular occurrence. It’s not based on your theological knowledge or your reading aptitude. It’s based on your expectation. Because Jesus is here you can expect to encounter him in Scripture.

But we can also expect to encounter the risen Jesus...

At the Table

Not only was the Bible study with Jesus eye-opening, but so was the meal that followed. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.

Luke may be comparing this meal with another - the first meal mentioned in the Bible. Genesis 3:6–7 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.”

Notice the same wording - their eyes were opened. The first meal recorded at Creation brings the presence of sin and death; the first meal at the New Creation reveals the presence of Jesus.

Luke uses the same sequence to describe this meal as he uses at the last supper - take, bless, break, give. He wants us to see that Jesus is celebrating Communion with these disciples. More than anything else, it is in this meal that he is recognized by them.

The Church has always recognized that there is a mystery surrounding the Table in the breaking of bread. It’s been a source of fierce fighting. I grew up in a tradition that saw the meal as only symbolic. Christ isn’t present in it in any way. At the other end of the spectrum is the tradition that the bread and wine literally become the flesh and blood of Jesus at the blessing of the priest. I land somewhere in the middle.

I think what can be safely said is that for most of history, the Church has understood that there is a real presence of Jesus at the table. Exactly how remains a mystery. Again, we see what we expect to see. What is your expectation when you come to the Table? Because Jesus is here we can expect to encounter him at the table.

——————————————————————————————————— How can we expect to encounter the living Jesus today? I want to suggest that everything we’ve been talking about fits under the umbrella of worship. The book of Acts gives us a description of the worship of the early church:

Acts 2:42 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

Central to worship in the early church was the Scriptures and the Table. Because Jesus is here, worship has the potential to become an eye-opening encounter. If you expect it to.

The late Robert Webber made his career studying the worship practices of the early church. He was asked once by a pastor friend to give him a one-sentence answer to the question, “What is worship?” Webber’s answer: “Worship does God’s story.”

This is what biblical worship is - to reenact the saving story of God. If you think about the feasts God commanded Israel to celebrate in the OT, each one was a re-participation in the saving acts of God. Passover celebrates the exodus from slavery in Egypt. Pentecost celebrates the giving of the Torah. Rosh Hashanah is the celebration of Creation and life.

In the NT, worship also celebrates God’s saving acts. We celebrate our liberation from slavery to sin and death. We celebrate the giving of the Word and Spirit. We rejoice is the promise of new Creation. It’s all about and all because of Jesus.

Here is how I'd like you to judge my preaching/our worship service. Not, was it interesting, or entertaining, or even relevant. Not was it good or bad, but was it about Jesus? Did we properly celebrate God’s saving acts in Jesus through both Word and Table? Jesus is here and we can expect to meet him still in the Scriptures and at the Table.

———————————————————————————————————————- If inattentional blindness is a reality about how your brains work, what can you do to overcome its effects?

Raise your expectations!

Who is a famous living person you’d love to meet? What if someone told you that before the day was over you were going to meet that person. Just go about your regular day, but at some point you will see them. How would that affect you attention level? How would it increase your expectations?

What if you walked with that kind of expectation every time you opened your Bible, every time you attended a worship service? Here’s a little hint: I think Jesus comes where he’s wanted and when he’s expected. We know that when we ask him to come, he comes.

Living with heightened expectations/attention requires intentionality. It will take practice to keep your antennae up as you walk through your day. But in time, you can train yourself to live in a state of expectation - prepared to meet with Jesus wherever he decides to show up.

One way I’ve found that is helpful in meeting Jesus in the scriptures is through a practice called Lectio Divina. It consists of 4 simple steps:

Read a passage slowly and attentively 2 or 3 times, paying attention to a word or phrase that stands out to you

Reflect on that word or phrase, asking “what is God saying to me in this?”

Respond to God in prayer about what he has shown you.

Rest in silence in God’s presence.

However you decide to apply this message, Jesus is here and he wants to meet with you. ————————————————————————————————————————————-

Communion

Have them stand… Invite the worship team forward…

Let’s pray together as we rejoice with all God’s people in the words of Psalm 34:

Psalm 34:1–3 NRSV

I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

Father, we give you thanks and praise for all of your saving acts, especially in the salvation of the world through the atonement made by your Son, Jesus the Messiah. Through the blood of the cross he has washed our sins away. Through his victorious resurrection he has guaranteed us eternal life.

We remember Him who for us and for our salvation, on the night that he was betrayed...

Come Holy Spirit and overshadow these elements. Let them be for us your body and blood so that we can participate in your redemptive work for us. May we find mercy, healing and salvation through the finished work of the cross. Amen.