Third Sunday of Easter: Worship of the Risen Christ

Unedited Transcript Follows:

Well, in the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy spirit. Amen. So, we continue walking through Easter tide. By looking at various appearances of the Lord Jesus after he rose from the dead, right? Did you notice that today we actually saw two? We actually got two looks at the resurrected Lord Christ, right?

We, both of them, were given to us by Saint John. We looked at him before his Ascension. In that second Miracle right of Jesus. Multiplying the fish after for a big catch, right? We can get a whole lot of insight from that pass. I'm not spending a ton of time in that.

Well, we have Jesus eating with his disciples after he's risen from the dead, showing us that he's still out of physical body. Physical body's good, he's eating, right? The second vision of the resurrected Jesus we see is in the Book of Revelation. We read it first, but it's it was written later, also given to us by Saint John, right?

This one's quite different, and it's an actual Vision. Rather than a simple appearance, right? We're seeing Jesus after the resurrection and after the Ascension. Being the only one found worthy to open the Scrolls or look into them, right? And as we look at these readings, we see what it looks like to worship.

What it looks like to worship in light of the resurrection of the Lord? And in light of the fear of the Lord, we see a transition between the fear of the Lord where the fear of the Lord. That is a really common biblical theme in the old Covenant Anew.

Turning toward the fear of Jesus? And we see what that means. That the fear of the Lord becomes the fear of Jesus. So, Worship in light of Jesus resurrection is based on this fear of the Lord. That theme is the. That's probably the main theme. That's that. All our readings share today is fear of the Lord, the Jeremiah reading, for example, would say they will be my people and I will be their God.

I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me forever. Psalm 33, verse 8, said let all the Earth fear the lord standing off him all that you that dwell in the world. If you happen to have, like? Unfortunate circumstance that you like fell into the lion enclosure at the zoo.

Right? That'd be a really unfortunate. Experience, right, what would you be feeling right? Uh, will you be afraid, right? But where would the fear come from? It comes from the idea that you are like, whether you live or die. Is based entirely. On what this lion decides to do with you, right?

That's it. That's why you'd be afraid. It's it's, there's nothing. If the if the lion wants to kill you and eat you? You're not going to outrun the lion. You're not going to out climb the lion that you're going to die, right? Everything's based on what that lion decides to do in that moment now.

Our relationship with God. Without it being tempered that God's might and his powers tempered by the fact that he's loving and gracious and merciful, right? But It's exactly like this. Do you realize that your continued existence? Depends entirely. On what the Lord decides to do with you. You understand that whether you live or die is completely based on what the Lord decides to do with you.

Now, he's gracious, he's loving, he's merciful. But if you're going to take the next breath, it's because the Lord has decided to give that to you. Do you realize that we don't get a breath if the Lord doesn't give it to us not only our next meal. Our next Bill being paid our next breath comes because the Lord has been gracious to us, right?

So, the scriptures talk about the fear of the Lord, what is it like to relate with a being that my entire existence? My next breath is dependent. And what he decides. We're afraid. We're afraid. We're afraid, rightly. But we also recognize that that God that holds our entire existence in his hand is gracious and merciful and loving.

So, fear of the Lord's, a common theme in scripture. This isn't something that changes. Um, because in the in the story of Jesus resurrection, but what does change? There is a shift. And because people realize that in the resurrection, Jesus proves himself to be the Lord. And so fear of the Lord becomes.

Fear of Jesus? People learn that if I fear the lord and I walk in fear of the Lord. I fear Jesus. I fear Jesus, who is the Lord, who, who just who, like his father, holds my life in his hands. And my next breath comes from him. So, how do we?

How do people who fear Jesus worship? How do people who fear Jesus? Worship. We get a beautiful picture of this in the Book of Revelation, right? Where we see this. I mean, just this astounding picture of worship, and everyone in the throne room worshiping and, and in Revelation 4, we get a picture of them worshiping the.

Right? Revelation 5 shifts. And now they're worshiping the lamb, Jesus, the lamb that was slain. They're worshiping Jesus. You see this shift between Revelation 4 and Revelation 5. And now they're worshiping Jesus. And what do we see about their worship? There's several things we could point out, but one thing that I always think it's important to point out here, especially in light of our tradition that we've inherited.

And not only as Anglican Christians, but But our tradition that we've inherited? Since the revivalist movement in America and how we measure worship? Um, Fair-shaped worship is liturgical. Did you realize that? Did you catch that? In this passage. Everyone saying the same thing. At the same time, you see that happening.

They're all saying the same words. At the same time, all together. They have this structure to their worship. Now, this isn't something that changed. At the resurrection. This is something that was all along, you know, the fun thing? I remember, like when I was I was, I grew up in the Baptist tradition.

Some of you guys know that, so I grew up in the Baptist tradition and we were kind of Baptist in name only. I don't know that we were like. All in on the Baptist thing. We were most like we were like independent evangelicals, like what would made us like a lot that makes like Baptist distinctive, like the Baptist faith and message.

I don't think I'd ever read that or anything but, but we were like independent evangelicals, right? And I remember one time that we, we had, like several Services. And I served on the worship team and the pastor, like, wrote out a prayer because he wanted to make sure that he.

Um. Was thoughtful about the words he was going to be praying, and I remember how that struck me at the time. And being, like, why writing out of prayer? Why don't you just say whatever comes to your heart before the Lord? That's what we do, right? We, we would just pray whatever comes jar.

We don't need to write down our prayers, then, is it genuine? Is it real if we had to write it down first, right? Can you believe that? Oh, this was me, you guys know me like. This was me thinking that, right, why are you riding down a prayer, you should say, whatever spontaneously comes to your mind in the moment, right?

And because it felt less genuine, but what had happened, what happened for us? In the revivalist movement. As we began to be distrustful of anything that doesn't seem spontaneous or in the moment, it felt less real to us. And I grew up with that inheritance, and so I like that felt less real to me.

If someone was going to write down a prayer first, right? But I, I think it'd be fun to do a challenge if you, if you're like me, and you're struggling with prayers that are written down. Just read the scriptures. About whatever worship is mentioned. Read what it says. And just ask yourself the question.

Do you get the sense that God is saying do whatever spontaneously comes to your mind in the moment? In worship. Because that's more genuine or real. Or, do you get this sense? I mean, it might be more scripted than you want to read. Like, you might get bored halfway through it all the instructions.

Of how worship is to be carried out? What's supposed to be said, who says, what? First, how the people respond? Think about the Passover meal, like, like what, what they're saying? You're gonna not only you're gonna kill the Passover Lamb this way. You're gonna put the things on this, like this, and then you're gonna say this, and they're gonna say.

And then, when they say, you're gonna say. This is because this is what the Lord did for us to release us, like, it's like. Very scripted. Right? It'd be. It would be a fun case study for those of us who grew up in a movie where we thought, hey.

What's most real is what spontaneously comes to my mind in the moment. To take a look at how worship actually looks in the scriptures, right? And the scriptures. It tends to always. Be structured liturgical on purpose. And since that revivalist movement, we have certain criteria like how we measure.

Whether we showed up to worship today. We have ways that we measure it and a lot of times it's centered on what feelings we had while things were happening. So, like, what feelings we had so, like if I? If I had warm feelings during worship, and I felt love for God and I, then I, I really worshiped.

And if I didn't have those feelings I didn't worship today or I wasn't in it, and it wasn't good for me, right? And sometimes I, I just worry that that leaves us feeling bankrupt and oppressed.

Because. What happens if you lose someone you love suddenly? Where you're dealing with. Physical or mental illness? Maybe those moments aren't moments where you need to hear get on your feet. Let's clap our hands and praise the Lord today. Aren't we glad to be here? Maybe at that moment, you need to hear blessed be God.

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and you need to say and blessed be his kingdom now and forever. Amen. Yeah. Maybe those moments. That's what you need. Right?

So, look at these worshipers. You are all of them looking at Christ and saying the exact same thing in the exact same time. The liturgical worship is not flashy. It's not designed to bring about, like, a particularly emotional response, however. It doesn't need to be boring, and it shouldn't be boring.

This doesn't mean that no part of the Liturgy ever makes you feel bored. There's times you'll feel bored in church. And it. It's actually one of the things I always teach my kids. If my kids are bored, I say it's okay to be bored sometimes. Like, we can learn to be bored, and we can learn to wrestle with boredom, and like, well, what?

And but we want to press into times when we're feeling bored in worship. And just say, hey, what's God showing me about me? I think what we see in the scriptures is when we're struggling with, like, a worship service rather than evaluating the worship service. Or when we're struggling with Worship in general rather than evaluating what's going on, see what the Lord might be saying about me.

God's inviting me. I'm really bored during prayers for the people today. It feels long, and it's drying out. And we're saying the same thing we said last week. Okay, what's the Lord saying to me? About that. Why is it hard for me to sit still today and say my prayers, like, what's going on with me today, is what God's I think inviting us into is just that process of that.

So, we enter into this communal worship where we, it's what we, you know, we have the book of what common prayer we pray these prayers together. We say these things together. And that's because we believe that's how worship is always structured in the scriptures, and particularly when we see.

People worshiping the Risen, Lord Christ. Another thing we see about this fear-shaped worship is that it's centered on Jesus. It's cristo-centric. In this passage, we see Jesus being gazed upon, and, and they're saying, Worthy is the lamb, who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom, and might, and honor and glory and blessing.

We've just gone through this whole journey where no one was found worldly. They're on the earth or above the Earth or under the Earth. No one could open the Scrolls, but I'll tell you this. This isn't the first time Jesus opened the Scrolls. You guys remember that story where Jesus is in the synagogue.

Our Lord is in the synagogue, and he opens the scroll of Isaiah, which is handed to him, and he preaches the gospel to them. This first sermon that got him in really big trouble because he said the blessings go outside of Israel. They go to the other people too, and all of a sudden.

Yeah, everyone was mad, then the first part of the sermon was good. You know, uh, freedom for the oppressed, all that's good, but for my enemies too. Oh, now that's when he got himself in trouble, right? But so, like, this isn't the first time you open the Scrolls. He opens up the Scrolls here because he's found worthy to look into the plan of God.

He's the only one worthy. He's the lamb, who was slain. No one can look into the inner dealings of God except him. Might remind us of the words of the hymn. Holy, holy, holy, where we sing, holy, holy, holy. Though the darkness hide thee. Though the eye of sinful man, thy Glory may not see, right?

None of us are worthy to look at the Scrolls. Except the lamb, who was slain?

God can't be in the presence of Sinners, but now we have Jesus. And he's not only worthy to look into the Scrolls, but he's worthy to be worshiped. Isn't there only one who's worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom, and might and honor and glory and blessing isn't God the only one worthy of all that.

And yet, here we have Jesus Jesus being given all that being showing us that Jesus is God that Jesus is worthy to receive worship not only to look into the inner dealings of the father's plan, but to receive worship to be worshiped. Jesus has been Vindicated. When Jesus walked on Earth, he made undeniable claims that he was God.

He claimed pre-existence. He referred to himself with a Divine name. He did things like that God can only do like he forgave sins. Pronounced judgment. And when he's risen from the dead, he's Vindicated. As the one who is worthy. And so he receives worship. As God.

Finally, Worship in the face of the fear of God being transitioned to the fear of Jesus. Is that it's trinitarian? Fear-Shaped worship is trinitarian. It's it's Center on the Triune God. In verse 13. We have another one being worship the father, right? And then we, and that might be confusing to us.

At first, it looks like, are they worshiping two people, you know, two persons? Yeah, two persons, right? But it says to him who sits upon the throne. And to Christ the lamb. Two, two persons, right? But yet, there's only one God. There's one worthy. There's one worthy of blessing and honor and glory, and might forever and ever.

So, what we're seeing here is, we're seeing the father being distinguished from the Sun. And yet we see that both the father and the son are one in dignity and honor and worth of worship. One in being is ultimately how Christians would come to describe that, and then they would talk about the Holy Spirit the same way.

We don't see the Holy Spirit mentioned here. But you realize everything about our worship. Is trinitarian right? We start with blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We say, Lord, have mercy upon us, Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us, father Son, and Holy Spirit.

When we pray the collect of the day, we say at the end every time through Jesus Christ, Our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen. Right? We recite the Nicene Creed. We say trinitarian prayers during the Eucharist, the whole thing from beginning to end is trinitarian.

It's meant to be that way so that we can reflect on who God is as we are worshiping him right. And this is because what we we learn when Jesus Rises from the? That Christian worship is trinitarian, although Christianity. Believes that there is only one God. We recognize that this one God has always existed as three distinct persons.

God's people didn't always know that. They learned that when Jesus rose from the dead and all his claims were Vindicated, right? So, Resurrection worship? Cristo Centric. It's centered on Jesus, but it's not only cristo-centric. It's cristo-centric in a specific Christian way. It doesn't collapse the godhead into one person.

It doesn't destroy the unity of the godhead by worshiping Jesus as separate from God, the Father. It worships, three distinct persons and one God. See the resurrection of Jesus transforms us entirely. Were made new as we gaze upon the Risen Lord Christ. Perhaps the way that transforms us most readily is that the fear of the Lord, which is the Old Testament theme all the way along fear of the Lord beginning of wisdom.

Leads us into the fear of Jesus. The fear of Jesus? And we worship as people have been transformed by the resurrection. So we worship liturgically because God has always been worshiped liturgically. We worship Christ because he has been Vindicated as the Son of God. And finally, we worship in explicitly trinitarian way because we know that the true God has been revealed to us as Trinity and unity, Father, Son, and Holy spirit.

So let us worship the Risen Lord Christ in a distinctively Christian way. Let us allow the experience of the Resurrection to transform our worship as we learn that the fear of the Lord is now the fear of Christ. Amen.