Return to Worship

ME

Our Cantonese worship returned to the sanctuary in mid-August for the very first time since the pandemic began and we had to shut everything down in the middle of March of 2020. They tried to open once in summer 2020 but couldn’t. On average, there are about 40 people who come back to the in-house service. These are the facts. This is not meant to discourge anyone but merely to point out that due to the goverment restrictions of two meter distance, mask on at all times, and gulp, no worship singing, there would be hesitations to come back.

For us in English, we hope to return ASAP, probably some time in October, so stay tuned. But when we are ready to return to the physical building, will we be returning to normal?

WE

After all, we can’t sing, at best we can hum. And yes, while we usually don’t sit really close together during normal times because there’s so much space, we are now mandated to keep two meters apart with green tape marking seats for one person, a couple, or a whole family of four. If you’ve been to a theatre since they lifted the lockdown you would know, once you book your assigned seating, they instantly block off the seats next to you immediately and create the physical distance. And here’s the one thing even an introvert like me finds tough. You can’t really stay in the foyer or the basement afterwards to chit chat technically. Some of us watching don’t even know that’s what we do because you are new to MCBC and came after we locked down. For others, this routine of heading down to the new basement and going to the kitchen to grab a cup of tea or coffee, that’s gone. The host and hostess team you know and love that hands you a bulletin or greets you at the door will have a mask on as if they are going to perform root canal surgery on you!

SO as not to be a downer, trust me, I am going somewhere with this. Does the online worship service work for you? Is it difficult to stay glued to the zoom broadcast while you have kids running around? For some is it easier to wake up later knowing it will still be there for you to rewatch, like your favourite Netflix episode of a show or a youtube video of your favourite celebrity. Or even if you are playing the worship service, could you be checking your phone while the worship song is shown, or do you engage with the lyrics about our faithful and powerful God?

Perhaps it’s time to create new memories. More importantly, to allow God to use this opportunity to renew your spirit and discipline of worship.

GOD

We are in our brand new series, Return to Normal? where we are using the Book of Ezra and Nehemiah. And thanks to Pastor Tim who got us started last week on knowing the background behind Ezra and Nehemiah, and reminded us God promised his people that they would return according to his will and his plan and has fulfilled it.

A bit about Ezra and Nehemiah, for those joining us for the first time.

Ezra was written alongside Nehemiah as one book around the time of the post-exile (after the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem through the decree of Cyrus, king of the Persian empire). The majority of text is in Hebrew sprinkled with some Aramaic, of selected episodes from the rebuilding of the temple and the wall, and the faith of Israel to the promise of God between 410 to 370 BC.

Imagine for 70 years, that’s literally a generation you live in a foreign place. Many of us can relate to and identify with that as we immigrated from Hong Kong, or China, or Taiwan to Canada. Depending on our age, what do we remember about the sights, the sounds, the customs. This is the same with the Israelites who were exiled, literally traumatized by seeing their beloved Jersualem ransacked and temple destroyed, then like a herd travel thousand of miles East to Babylon. Sure, there are stories of great triumph like Daniel, or Shadrach, Meshach and Abendego. But there is always a fear given another generation they could easily have lost their identity as Israelties, and more importantly God’s people. And it is in this context and under a new ruler King Cyrus of Persia that they are granted a return. Yet, what are they returning to? What identity markers help them remember who they were and what can they teach us about our return and renewal in worship?

Here’s the big idea:The return and rebuild of the house of God is marked by Sacred Worship to remind them they’re God’s People.

Our first point:

I. God has given identity markers to restore God’s people to Worship (Ezra 3:1-6a)

Ezra 3:1 ESV

1 When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem.

Our chapter begins seven months after the initial return, during the Feast of Booth or Feast of Tabernacle traditionally to celebrate God’s provision for a bountiful harvest, and everyone who wanted to return has returned and settle in towns. To give you the scope of change they have experienced, here’s what Israel occupied during the reign of King David.

And here’s where they settled after King Cyrus returned them from exile.

No wonder the Israelites need to gather as one man. The once vast kingdom of David with its riches and glory and armies are no more. They need to be united in purpose for what lies ahead.

Ezra 3:2–3 ESV

2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening.

Now normally names aren’t that important to us which is why we skipped chapter 2. But if you are a keen reader of the Old Testament, some of the names should be familiar. And others if you are familiar with Jesus’ geneaology. They respresent identity markers. The first being descendants of the glory days. Jeshua is the son of Jozadak along with other priests represents the Levites all the way back to the days of Aaron the first High priest. In 1 Chronicles 24:11 there is brief mention of him being from the ninth division. By the way, his name is the same as Jesus and Joshua, which means “God is my saviour.” How apt for him to be the priest presiding over the sacrificial system where God’s presence can be with his people being set apart as holy. Zerubabbel on the other hand does not have a glamorous name. It means “offspring of Babylon” which is not particularly flattering. However, he’s from the line of David, for he is the grandson of King Jehoiachin, whose father King Josiah was the last religious reformer. King Jehoiachin did not walked in the ways of his father and became the first exiled king to Babylon. More importantly though, all four names appear in Jesus’ geneaology:

Matthew 1:11–12 ESV

11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

The combination of the priestly and the political, Jeshua and Zerubabbel, shows a united front with a united people to restore worship. Now comes the Mosaic law, a second identity marker:

They built an altar together and offered Burnt Offering according to the law of Moses. The altar is not the identity marker, after all altars have been erected to offer to Baal and Asherah and Chemosh, all detestable idols which ultimately led to the fall of Jerusalem. That’s what they fear can happen again, the peoples of the land will bring them back into the same cycle and anger the LORD. Or perhaps as they establish worship they are seen as becoming an independent state to be attacked by those around him.

What’s important in the offering is who it is they are offering to, as well as it being instituted by the reverred Moses, the man of God. A quick reminder the purpose of burnt offering is to be offered day and night with the use of an animal sacrifice according to Leviticus 1:17. An animal, from a bull, a sheep, a dove depending on your wealth was to be slaughtered and blood sprinkled onto the altar, burnt as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It reminds them they are God’s people and it is he whom they should please.

Feast of booths, other festivals (including passover), freewill offering, guilt offering, sin offering, there are so many that could be unpacked and mentioned it could take a few more sermons to just go over them. But the key is this:

They did it by THE book. They show a commitment to worship unseen since the corrupted kings and priest prior to the exile.

They have identity markers which despite the ruins of Jersualem reminded them of who they are and who is their God.

We too have identity markers. One, we will watch later, is several weeks ago, I conducted a baptism with two young man who were baptized into the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. And we will begin a new round of baptism class towards baptism beginning on October 2. That’s an identity marker many of us share as believers. I can easily say I was baptized on December 20, 1998 by Rev. Sam Chan at RHCCC. When is your identity marker?

More importantly, the unity, commitment to do things right because God deserves worship that is single-hearted, attentive, and costly, whether you are watching online or going to come back when we begin hybrid worship.

From the beginnig of the pandemic we can also say we made the immediate choice of not changing worship time or content, though we slowly enhanced it with reflection time and Q & A. The difficulty is how to partake in communion and there was a good discussion in the pastoral team and we went ahead with it despite being online. All throughout the journey the worship team, AV team, our online service has been so faithful in their worship, and I just want to use this opportunity to give thanks to God for them. Now Sam and Simon and Hannah might not be Zerubabbel and Jeshua, but we should be thankful for the costly sacrifice they and their teams made, especially editing late sent-in videos and monthly Saturday worship recording.

But notice how in verse 6 the passage ends with mention that the foundation has not been laid. This is huge, because it means that worship was never building dependent. Jesus would say to a Samaritan woman in John 4:21-24 it is neither here nor there, whether it be Mount Horeb or this mountain, but those who worship will worship in Spirit and Truth. A building to return to sure is nice, but we are reminded again worship isn’t about where, but who it is and what kind of heart we bring into God’s presence.

Our second point:

II. God has erected the Foundation of Worship through Historical Root with Praise and Thanksgiving (6b-13)

Ezra 3:6–7 ESV

6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid. 7 So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

We keep talking about the word worship it might make sense to define it briefly. Worship comes from the english word worthship, but in the Greek and Hebrew language it can be variously defined as service, bowing, lifting up, exalting, giving praise and worth to the one true God. Before there was a tabernacle, worship was conducted without a sacred place, because wherever God is, that place becomes holy and sacred. But when David decided to build a temple, where God and his people met on earth as it is in heaven, the temple became the place where worship occurs. It is the center of God’s presence and therefore blessing and provision. To the Jews who have nearly lost their identity, it is important to erect this symbol of the LORD’s worship. So they gathered the most skilled among them, and the best resources. There is something to be said in worship between the tension of giving God our very best and a perfectionism which is unattainable and destructive. We need to be careful to discern betweent he two. Now what benefit does Cyrus get? Only he can further elevate his prestige among other nations as a benevolent and tolerant King who funded the Jewish temple.

So both the priestly and political along of descendants of Judah oversaw the work which began on the second year. They made a beginning. putting all who returned that is 20 years old and up to build the foundation of the temple. This became the core team for reconstruction. Ministry is not a solo effort, but requires everyone to do their part.

Ezra 3:10–13 ESV

10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.

Here again we see a connection to Israel’s worship history. The priest put on he sacred clothings and brought out the familiar instruments of trumpets and cymbals. Among them are the descendant of Asaph, whose history goes all the way back to David's rule and key musicians, and whose descendants became a guild of temple singers, and writer and compilerof Psalms 50, 73-83, all praising God with the familiar scripture and songs from Solomon’s days when that temple was finished in 2 Chronicles 5:12-13 or 7:6:

“For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”

But here we see a contrast between those who had the opportunity to see Solomon’s temple in all its glory and those too young who see Zerubabbel’s temple foundation. When this older group of Levites saw the foundation and how much smaller it is compared to the old temple, they wept, but the young people have never seen the original temple, so even a foundation successfully built was cause for celebration of God’s faithfulness.

The implications here are obvious. Some of us will dwell on the good ol’ days of pre-pandemic worship, and will weep when we return to in-person hybrid worship with all the restrictions. And in some way I can relate and do mourn how much more restrictions have been put in place so that we can’t even sing. Mourning and complaining to God in lament IS an aspect of worship we don’t often explore enough. To complain and lament about how much easier it was to worship and share a messageg. But most lament psalms have a change of heart moment. And we can still praise and offer thanksgiving by taking the posture of the young man, wiping a clean slate from what worship ought to be, as long as our attitude is like those who, while grateful for the building, ultimately does not depend on it.

The heart of worship is who we worship, and what we bring to participate in worship. With a grateful heart, we can still be faithful in our worship even with the impediments and restrictions place on us. We can still be joyfully praising God, for bringing us out of lockdown to some semblance of gathering.

We can be faithful how the small groups have sustained our faith and fellowship with one another during these times. How creativity and imagination from our creative God inspires us to continue to serve faithfully. No, we aren’t coming back to pre-pandemic worship, but with God’s grace we are charting a new path towards worship, while being historically rooted to the purpose of worship.

YOU

So the question is, will you join us by recommiting your heart to worshipping God?

For some of us, it may be to wake up on time to meet at 9:30 AM and regain the discipline of worship in community (even if it’s virtual).

For some of us, it may be to put that gadget down while the service is playing, and join in singing. Some of us might need to stand up instead of slouch on the couch.

Some of us might need to step up and say, I want to worship God by giving my best with the skills he has given me.

We need musicians. We need Audio and Visual team. But beyond the worship ministry, many of our other ministries have remained vacant: A Caring Chair, A Nurturing Chair, An Outreach Chair, and and Administration Chair. Without God’s faithful people filling these roles, we can’t fully be able to serve our community. Or worse, the famous percentile of 20% of people is doing 80% of the work of ministry. We can’t be faithful while we see our brothers and sisters burning out because they are taking too much on, the too much which you could have contribute, but have chosen yet to!

WE

As we look toward re-entering our MCBC sanctuary, let it be an identity marker of who we are as God’s people. Let it be the altar through which we are willing to offer ourselves for God to use. Let us return to worship our God in spirit and truth, in person or online, faithfully giving him all the praise and adoration with the thanksgiving he deserves as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of our lives.

Amen.