The encounter with Christ begins with an awareness of the application of the death and resurrection of Jesus to our personal circumstances, sin and shame. Our response to that encounter moves us into the community of the people of God. We become a people of God, one people with a shared heritage, when we celebrate the experience of the very personal encounter that is common to all of us; for while the individual circumstances differ, the outcome is the same for all of us. We are changed, molded into the character of Christ. We worship as one community.
That, at least, is the ideal. Often we fall short. There are moments in our times of worship when we achieve unity; and because of those moments people return home uplifted and empowered for life as believers in Christ. But often we merely seek this unity; and we seek the meaning of the phrase “worship in spirit and in truth.” If worship is not only what we do on Sunday morning, what is the significance of what we do on Sunday morning? How shall we speak about worship-as-lifestyle vs. what we do on Sunday morning?
These things we must explore…
