Iam not sure why I take such care to clean my house before guests arrive. Certainly, I want to present my home in the best way possible. But the reality is I know once the door closes after the departure of those that have graced my home; I will again put the broom and dustpan to use.
At times we have the same mentality of cleaning ourselves up before we present ourselves to the King. We think that everything must be in its place in order to allow Him through the door to our home. We make the assumption that He will not want to enter if the place He enters is not to His liking. In fact, He is the One who desires to assist us in cleaning out the cobwebs, reorganizing the clutter and wiping down all the cabinets and walls. He will create the atmosphere and environment He desires.
We, as worshippers of Christ the King, must be convinced that worship is truly for the sinners, for the down and out, for the weary and the worn. He called to Himself the weary and heavy-laden (Matthew 11:28), not the strong and able. Worship is not for those who “have it all together.” Christ states that it is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick (Matthew 9:12). We must recognize our desperate need to be healed from our sinful state in order to approach Christ correctly. Worship is for sinners.
Sinners like the woman who drew near to Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee. She was known as the city sinner, the prostitute. Before her arrival, she did not take care to change her reputation, she simply went. Sure, the Pharisees were there to condemn her, but she found no condemnation in Christ. The Pharisees had their act together, their dirt already wiped away, the clutter cleaned and their masks on, but Simon in particular did not find favor with His guest. Worship is for sinners, not for the self righteous.
Jesus said he came for the sick, not for those that are well. He was looking for those that were in need of Him. Pharisees could not recognize their own sinfulness, only the sinfulness of others. This very blindness prevented the pharisaical group from approaching Jesus in a manner of worship. Those that cannot see they have need of Him will never truly receive Him. We worship to express our need for God, recognizing that He alone is enough to meet that need. Worship is for those in need.
When we are sinners, we know that nothing we do will ever be good enough to gain love, approval or acceptance. It is the recognition that we can bring nothing to buy the favor of our King. We are an unworthy people presenting ourselves before a Worthy God. Our worth comes from His worth. Our ability to come before our God comes from His willingness to allow us. It does not come from us.
This is not to say that we are to approach our King in an unworthy manner. We know that it is not simply the fruit of our lips which delights the heart of our King. For we know that He requires a sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart. We are not to come to Him with something against our neighbor. If we are presenting an offering at the altar and it comes to mind that someone has something against us, we are instructed to first be reconciled with them before our offering is acceptable (Matthew 5:23-24). Worship itself is an offering and we are required to be in right relationships with those God has placed around us in order for our offering to be acceptable. We cannot come to Jesus as a Pharisee, as a hypocrite, wearing a mask of sorts. Worship requires us to be sincere.
In Peru, I have learned there is an art in beginning a conversation. There is a dance of sorts that we all must do. It includes the formalities of questions about the other person, their work, their family and whatever recent events may have taken place. They do the same with me. This goes back and forth for a few minutes and then finally the reason for the encounter is made clear. Without the dance, the encounter is not complete. As an American, I have a tendency to get right to the point and still I must learn how to dance. Unfortunately I still step on their toes at times because I do not yet know all of the dance steps.
There is a similar dance with our Lord. The manner in which we approach the throne is of utmost importance. He knows that we are learning the dance steps and has grace and understanding for us rooted in His overwhelming love for us. However, there are basic principals which guide us in this dance of worship. We must recognize that although we come as a sinner, we are approaching the One who has no sin. We acknowledge His perfection while we acknowledge that we are people prone to sin. “My heart wanders Lord I feel it.” We acknowledge His greatness and our unworthiness. Worship lends us an opportunity to lift Him up while we bow down before Him. Of course, He is always exalted; sometimes we must remind ourselves of that. Worship requires humility.
We must present ourselves prostrate before Him and not standing tall. In the many places the Bible speaks of worship, there are indications that people stood, kneeled and laid face down before Him. The position of sitting belonged to the teachers of the law. To be in a sitting position meant you had the authority to address those before you. Sitting, as in authority, is not a prescribed position of worship. My heart must not think itself as superior to my King. Worship takes place at the feet of Jesus. When I bow before my King, I am recognizing Him as holding the power and fate of my future. If in all my pride I did not allow my knees to bend, my heart would remain hardened.
How many times do we find ourselves in a time of worship more concerned with how others may perceive us than concerned with how our King will receive us? We may want to lift our hands, but what will others think? We may want to stand or lay facedown, but will others take notice? We may choose these actions to call attention to ourselves because of the selfishness and pride that is rooted in our hearts.
The woman who came to worship at the feet of Jesus walked into a hostile dining room, for she was not welcome there. This, however, did not concern her for she knew she was welcome before the throne of grace. Although the men around her saw her actions, the person she was worshipping was the King Himself. She did not mind the hostility, the inhospitality or the rejection. Her primary concern was that of Christ.
The dinner host had a prideful heart and did not want sinners to partake in his celebration. This woman could have also responded with pride and judgment towards Simon. She could have noted his hypocrisy and thought herself the better. However, her thoughts were strictly on worshipping the person of Jesus Christ. Worship is preoccupation with the person of Christ. We may find ourselves challenged by this when as we try to worship, we think more on the style of music, the people up in front, the people at our side and so on. Christ makes it clear that He values those who are not preoccupied with earthly things (Matthew 5:33).
How often do we bow our heads and begin to list off the things we want God to give us, to do for us or to fix for us? Likely, far more often than we would like to admit! At times, before I confess the greatness of God, I express the supposed “greatness” of my need. Yes, God desires to give to us and do for us – but not because we demand it of Him. He wants to give and do because He loves us. We read throughout the scriptures many who had sought Christ to express their need for healing, their doubts about His identity or the questions that plagued their hearts. Very few came to Christ looking to do something for Him. When will the cry of our heart simply be the longing to stand in the presence of our King, our Savior? We often long for many things, but does even one of those things include the desire to bask in the glorious presence of Jesus.
The woman with the alabaster flask came intending to do just that. There was a dinner, but she wasn’t eating. There were other guests, but she was not networking with them. Her intention was clear; she longed to be with Jesus, even if He was in a place which did not offer her a warm welcome.
Likely, she had listened to His teachings or seen the results of His power at some point. She came to the home of the Pharisee determined to express her love and devotion to Jesus. She came to express her worship. And true worship is always more concerned with giving rather than receiving.
Rita came to us a strong girl. So strong in fact that she didn’t smile for the first several months and once she began to show emotion, she did so infrequently. Why had Rita learned to portray herself with a hardened exterior? She had been sexually abused as a child. When one experiences abuse, especially repeated abuse, they learn to “turn off” their emotions.
I learned to “turn off” my emotions for a season in my life. While my insides were dying, my face had to stay unaffected. This is what I believed; it was what I had been told. This hardness bled into the work, my ministry, but more importantly, it bled into my relationship with the Lord. I would not allow these emotions that were raging on the inside to be displayed on the outside.
The woman who came to Jesus that day had learned to be hardened. She worked as a prostitute. Any emotion of guilt, shame, hurt, loneliness or anything else had to be locked away as she worked. To come before Jesus and release the cleansing tears meant a true display of heartfelt emotion. Worship involves emotion. We cannot worship with words alone. God has called us to love Him with all our mind, soul, strength and heart. It is as though every part of our being must be caught in the act of loving Him and giving Him worship. Her tears were significant that day not only as part of her act of worship but also as part of her true self expression.
Certainly there is a balance. Tears will not flow every time you enter an attitude of worship. Worship is not always manifested in an external display of emotions. But my heart can want to feel. Worship is an attitude of the heart.
We must confront our definition of worship. What does worship mean to you? What does it mean to me? What do you do to worship? How do you know if you are worshipping? The concept of worship did not originate by singing “Kumbayah” with our camp friends. Worship is not limited to a church sanctuary during the first 16 minutes of the service. People did not being to write songs and then choose to label them as worship songs. Worship does not solely include singing. Yet the majority of a worship leader’s time is dedicated to selecting & rehearsing music. Why are most worship leaders only responsible for the time of singing within the church service?
Worship was designed as a means “to give worth to” something or someone. You must consider something worthy before being able to worship that very thing or person. Worship is not song alone, but is an expression of the worth we have assigned to another. When we begin to examine what our worship is like, we will discover what we think of our God. Worship reflects our understanding of God.
At the house of Simon the Pharisee, worship took place – not in a church service, not with a song and not even with a word. The woman who visited Jesus that day said nothing. She simply took action. She brought the alabaster flask so often used to prepare herself and her bed for the man sure to visit. Her desire was to use the spiced oil inside the alabaster flask for something good, something worthy, Someone worthy. The feet of Jesus had not been washed as they should have been upon entering Simon’s house. His feet were not prepared for anointing as they had just been slipped out of the leather sandals which had taken the brunt of the walk to dinner. His feet were dirty and she had not brought water with which to clean the feet of Jesus. However, that did not stop her. This woman used her tears and her hair to wash and dry Christ’s feet. She was determined to complete the mission she had set out on. After Jesus’ feet were prepared, she kissed them. Not once, not twice. She did not stop kissing His feet. She also anointed His feet with the oil from her alabaster flask. These very actions were what drove Simon to question the identity of Jesus and enough to cause Jesus to recognize the love of the woman.
At the very least, Simon should have provided the most common things for his dinner guest: water, a towel, and oil. This woman came and gave much more than the common; she gave above and beyond. Worship desires to give what is not common to One who is not common. Worship is giving of ourselves in an extra-ordinary way.
Here in Peru, I have discovered that at times a prayer meeting turns more into a shouting match; not between one another, but at God. I wonder, do they think He cannot hear? Why do they yell when they pray? I think of prayer as quieting my heart, even though at times my mouth speaks incessantly. But hearing a group pray and listening to the voices grow louder and louder has often made me a bit uncomfortable. Sure, crying out to God has its place. I have yelled before too. But does one have to yell in order to be heard by God? I know God can understand our heart and our mind even when we don’t have words.
We are not required to announce that we have faith. Too often, we try to convince others and ourselves of the faith we possess. This woman came and washed, dried, kissed and anointed the feet of Jesus. Jesus responded by recognizing her faith, not the actions themselves. She did not come announcing the kind of faith or amount of faith she had in the person of Jesus. Why? Because God is able to recognize our faith through our actions.
We know from James that faith without works is dead (James 4:17). How then do you and I express the faith that we have? We show our faith through our actions of worship. When you and I take action on what we believe is worthy, we display the faith we have. The actions coming from the heart free us from the need to use empty words. The woman at the feet of Jesus understood this. Her worship involved action, not words. Her worship was silent.
The woman with the alabaster flask had received no invitation that day. She did not receive a warm welcome upon entering Simon’s home. She even risked being thrown out by the host. These things did not hinder her desire to meet Jesus day. She came before Him to do what she desperately desired to do and that was worshiping her King. Worship is not easily hindered. When we are convinced that our heart must cry out “You are worthy” to our King, nothing should stop us!
By Gretchen Jones
