The end of worship

When is worship over? With the blessing? The final note of the closing song? The postlude? When we leave for home?

I believe that just as the worship of God began long before I entered a church sanctuary, worship doesn’t end the moment I leave it. The heavens have been declaring the glory of God for millennia as have His people through all time; I join their ongoing song each Sunday in community with other travelers on the way. And even after I’m long gone, the song will continue. It never ends.

Acknowledging this invites me to learn from the worship practices of the ancient church as well as those of my grandparents. It creates within me interest of how the church in other traditions and in other parts of the world brings praise and lament to God at the same time I am. It also reduces anxiety in me when it comes to changes in music or style. In short, knowing worship doesn’t start and end with me helps me see a bigger picture.

I worship with others on Sundays because God is worthy but also to motivate and equip me to join creation and His people in glorifying God all week long at my job, in my leisure, and with family and friends at home. I glorify God when I use the talents He’s given me to do my work to the best of my ability. I glorify God when I see His artistic hand in a sunset or hear His power in a thunderstorm. I glorify God when I reflect His love to my wife, children, neighbors, friends, and even strangers I meet in town. Sunday worship helps me recognize how all of life is lived in the presence of God where He’s inviting me to see Him graciously at work in, through, and around me and others.

You could say that I see worship not simply as a once- or twice-a-week activity wedged into an already crowded calendar. I see it as a lifestyle where I dedicate my everyday life every day to God. What happens on Sundays helps me realign my orientation to God as I’m easily distracted as the week progresses. And receiving encouragement from others when we gather goes a long way, too. The “concentrated” worship on Sundays fuels worship all week long. That way I’m following the good counsel of the apostle Paul: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”