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Today we begin a new theme in our liturgy. Our focus is Worship. Over the next several weeks we will explore the value of worship and why we worship the way we do.

The word worship comes from an Old English word: worth-ship. In worship we point to what is to us of highest worth. Worship recognizes that God, as the creator all things, exists higher than anything that God creates. Only a fool would ascribe the highest value to that which is less than God.

First and foremost, worship gives expression to and nurtures covenant relationship. In Christ Jesus we have entered into covenant with God, having been made God’s children by adoption.

This is a continuation of the ancient biblical covenant first made with Abraham, and later extended to the people of Israel under the leadership of Moses at Mt. Sinai. In Christ, God embraces the whole world in this one, eternal covenant.

In worship we recognize one another as co-participants in the covenant. We are God’s children by adoption.

What each of us brings to this covenant relationship pales in comparison to what God brings to us. Whatever gift or talent or ability we have to commend ourselves, is nothing compared to what God has given to us. Indeed, whatever we have is already a gift of God.

Whatever short-coming, or failure, or shame that weighs us down is of no consequence in the light of God’s grace which we all share in equal measure. One cannot say to another, I am a person of special privilege before God, for each of us are privileged in equal measure before God.

In worship, then, we celebrate God who blesses us. In worship, we also welcome one another, each of whom receives God’s blessing in full-measure. In worship we acknowledge the divine grace that restores the nobility of human dignity.

We gather to worship together to remember the first truth of the human experience: Jesus’ death on the cross is the measure of our value to God. Our commitment to lift our hearts in gratitude is the measure of God’s value to us.