Wild or Mild?

Hebrews 12: 18-29

08-26-07

When reflecting on this week’s passage I had one particularly strong thought…What? Let me read it one more time out of the Message and see if we can’t hear it a little differently. If you don’t understand it, don’t worry, this morning’s text is a perfect picnic text. I promise. We will walk through it together.

I would like to begin this morning talking about amusement parks. This all relates, I promise. It used to be amusement parks would make their living attracting the thrill seekers, those would travel half way around the world to find the gnarliest roller coasters; bigger, steeper, faster. These rides had more loops than a perm and would leave even the greatest thrill seeker hyper with adrenaline. Amusement parks were not for the weak of stomach or resolve. The amusement parks sought to terrify.

This isn’t necessarily the case anymore. Theme parks still advertise their "big" rides, but these particular rides don’t draw the same crowds they once did. They often leave people nauseous or have height restrictions preventing the shorter or younger members of the family from riding them. Rides that create sick or marginalized riders aren’t what Mom and Dad had in mind when they plopped down a couple of hundred bucks to get the family in for a day of excitement.¹ Over the years we have seen more Tea Cup, Peter Pan-like rides come on the scene. Who doesn’t like Peter Pan?

Many theme parks are attempting to move away from the extreme and become a little more family friendly. After all, research shows that it is Mom and Dad and their young brood spending money on the theme parks, and not so much the wild thrill seeker . With all the new and wild extreme sports, the thrill seeker is more likely to spend a Saturday bungee jumping, sky diving, or cliff diving, so that leaves a huge market for families. For example, last year King’s Dominion theme park in Virginia released The Italian Job Turbo Coaster; billed as "the wildest ride in the mid-Atlantic."² True to its 2003 film namesake, riders board Mini Cooper replicas to roar down stairs and through exploding urban obstacles … at 40 mph. That’s one-third the speed of the fastest roller coasters. My grandma drives faster than that in her old Ford. Reviews sounded a lot like, "This is a great coaster for families to ride. I can’t give it a bad review; however, it just wasn’t for me."

The hair-raising scream machines are being replaced by mild, scenic glides. But that’s the intention. Six Flags has added daily parades to their parks and banned smoking. Catering to the families of 2-6 year-olds, they’ve created some real "adrenaline-pumping rides" such as The Big Red Car Ride and Dorothy the Dinosaur’s Rosy Teacup Ride. The newest theme park attractions are about as hard-hitting as a pillow fight with your 4-year old. What’s next? The NFL switching to two-hand touch? In truth, amusement parks aren’t trying to eliminate the thrill experience, but rather, increase accessibility to their major demographic, the family. They are actually making sure that the park actually amuses those who come and spend money to be amused.³

So why are we talking about thrill rides near the end of the summer? Because, amusement parks aren’t the only venues that are pressured to bend to the demands of their consumers. The church faces the same cultural tug and the church is just as vulnerable to issues of supply and demand; more than we’d like to think or admit. Many of us have sensed the pressure to have more exciting and innovative ministries so our families don’t head for trendier churches. We’ve felt the tug to keep services ending on time in order to honor kickoffs and family outings. Rumor of a dynamic new preacher in town makes us, (or at least me) nervous about our relevance in communication.

The "worship wars" of the last several decades demonstrate the pressure to bend. "Oh no, we could never do ‘X’ style of worship. It is too ‘Y’ for the ‘Z’ population in our church." We all have our ‘X’s, ‘Y’s and ‘Z’s. So now we have traditional and contemporary worship services. For the gap-bridgers we offer the "blended" service. We offer guitar or organ. You can sit or stand. You can clap or not. We have the "fun", "casual", "family" picnic each summer. "Ever stop to compare how similar people sound describing worship preferences and Starbucks orders? "I want a Venti, extra hot, blended, two-pump vanilla latte with one Splenda." "I want an acoustic guitar-driven, three or four part harmony, traditional-contemporary blend with one prayer." It can easily feel as though we need to design the next worship ride to fit the demands of the demographic."⁴

Now before you start reflecting too seriously, I’m not comparing worshipping God to the exploits and woes of the amusement park industry, but I am suggesting that worship can have its people who have certain preferences when it comes to adrenaline pumping versus quiet, reflective worship. Further, most businesses have to reflect on how to attract and entertain large crowds of people, the church needs to revisit not so much how we can cater to throngs of people, but what it means to worship and how it can help people learn to worship.

Believe it or not, I believe (or at least I think), today’s passage is important for our understanding of worship. The passage has nothing to do with style of worship, but speaks to the substance of worship regardless of how people prefer to express themselves. Oh this worship thing would be so much easier if we had a definite outline of how to worship God….this kind of song here…this prayer here….this type of baptism here…communion here. But how boring that would be!

The first part of this particular passage (vv. 18-24), there is a comparison between two mountains, one wild, fearsome, frightening, and the other mild, safe, inclusive. The wild mountain is Sinai (vv. 18-21), though not referenced by name. Alluding to the story of Exodus 19-20, this mountain represents the tangible presence of Yahweh through its awesome symbols: an untouchable mountain, darkness, gloom, a voice booming from the heavens. This mountain is raw and inspires a dread and awe that even the gnarliest coaster can’t come close to. No one wants to go near this mountain for fear that they won’t survive!

The second mountain is Zion, whose seven-symbol description (vv. 22-24) contrasts a picture of pure invitation against unapproachable Sinai. Here the images are of celebration and invitation, joy and excitement. This scene is the Street parade in Disneyland with the fireworks and Mickey. This scene is of anticipation, the spiritual equivalent of the first time we see Cinderella’s Castle towering in the distance. For the Israelites it was like access to a dream world. But we shouldn’t think these mountains loom only in the distant past of Israel or the distant future of everlasting life. These are mountains that shape today’s landscape and our approach to God - Sinai and Zion are the faiths of the Old and New Covenants, covenants that point to people’s worship realities.

Is our relationship with God a series of events that are impersonal and legalistic? Do we view God as remote and unapproachable, uninterested, except when angry? Or is God the host and life of the party motioning people off the street to come inside and celebrate life? Do we see God as a God who desires intimacy with us, inviting us to live the Zion life? The point of the wild vs. mild mountain comparisons is not that God has changed or is any less fear-inspiring. God’s covenant has changed. God is accessible. We don’t need anyone else mediating our relationship with God, but it is by God’s grace that we are able to be in a meaningful relationship with God. How we view God — Sinai or Zion, Old or New Covenant — has much to do with how we view worship. Worship is about realizing our intimacy and access with God, not about cowering at a distance or settling for a relationship of regulations.

The latter part of this passage builds on the imagery of access to God with the idea of responding to God through worship. As God beckoned Moses and the people at Sinai, God also beckons us from Zion. The author of Hebrews warns his audience to "not refuse the one who is speaking" (v. 25). The way to not refuse is to respond — to "give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe" (v.28). Worship is always a reply to God. It’s God’s voice which initiates and calls God’s people to a response. Worship is a conversational rhythm — God speaks and we listen, then we sing and pray and God listens. We "give thanks" since we "are receiving an unshakable kingdom" (v.28).

The verbs in this text are ongoing present tense verbs. Worship extends outside of 15 minutes of singing and 30 minutes of announcements, in fact, our Sunday morning worship is just the tip of the iceberg. Worship is never an event; rather, it’s a lifestyle. It’s a spiritual, mental, and physical posture; an attitude, an ongoing recognition of the need to respond to God for how God continues to bless us. This is the reason that, ultimately, in our church, styles of worship are only means to an end. Guitar and organ alike will allow us to communicate with God. The true ends of worship are not whether we like it mild or wild. This debate leads us to the worship of worship. Worship of God is about our access and our need to respond to God’s calling and blessing.

Be thankful in all you do that we serve a God who is a God of an unshakeable kingdom. Worship as a way of life. Give thanks each and every day for the way God continues to bless you with opportunity, growth, love, the privilege of gathering each week to shake our house of worship with praise. Thanks be to God. Amen.