"I Hate All Your Show"

21 “I hate, I reject your festivals,

Nor do I [o]delight in your solemn assemblies.

22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,

I will not accept them;

And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings.

23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs;

I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

24 “But let justice roll down like waters

And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Amos 5:21-24

We make mistakes in our worship.  A few weeks ago our pianist started playing the hymn just after one of the leaders asked the congregation to stand for the call to worship.  He stopped her and we all laughed.  The band has lead everyone in the wrong words before.  Our  pastor will have to back track on a quote or analogy.  Sometimes I trip through the wrong chords.  The microphones will give awful feed back.  Sometimes the electricity goes out.  Sometimes the slides aren’t put up fast enough.  This often makes us uncomfortable, embarrassed, but most of the time it makes me smile. 

I see the heart of my small portion of the body of Christ.  I see how they reach out to the community, how they serve the poor, love on the special needs children in our congregation and at the camp we have during the summer, help a girl in the hospital move out of her apartment, lovingly call someone out about living in sin…I see them striving to be holy as God is holy, to preach and teach the Word to the best of their ability…I see them fail and own up to that failure…I see them love and have been loved by them.  

While we work to be the best we can at what we do when we worship together, the little mistakes, the feedback, the failings all remind us that ultimately this is not a show.  We are not gathered together for a concert, we are gathered together to worship the God of the Universe and He already knows we’re not perfect.  After all, that’s why He sent His Son.