Sacrifice of Praise

People prefer different styles of worship.  We know that.  What can you do when you don’t easily connect with the style of worship where you are?  I think this is an important question as worship styles change all around us.  The reason for change in worship style is usually related to the work of reaching different people, drawing in a new population to connect with God in worship.  For those who are already settled in a particular worship service that changes in style, or for those of us who visit a church that worships differently, how can we continue to connect with God through worship when it is not our favorite style?  Here is an excerpt from “Common Prayer” that addresses this question, though mostly it seems in defense of traditional worship.  I am excited about this prayer book, by the way.  It is a great daily reading and is co-edited by a Duke classmate, Enuma Okoro.

“There is an old saying many Christians use: ‘Offer the Lord a sacrifice of praise,’ referring to Hebrews 13:15.  In many circles this notion of a ‘sacrifice of praise’ almost becomes cliché. (Perhaps because worship does not come at much cost, especially compared with the sacrifices of saints who’ve gone before us.)  But when we worship with folks of various traditions, there are times when we may hear a prayer that uses language we might not naturally use or sing a song that isn’t really our style.  That is part of what it means to be a member of a community as diverse as the church is.  And perhaps that also helps shed some light on why it might require some sacrifice for us to give up ourselves.

When a song isn’t working for you, consider praising God, because that probably means it is working for someone else who is very different from you.   Offer your worship as a sacrifice rather than requiring others to sacrifice for your pleasure or contentment.  There is something to the notion of becoming one as God is one; it doesn’t mean that we are the same; it just means that we are united by one Spirit.  After all, we can become one only if there are many of us to begin with.

Liturgy [ordered prayer, Bible readings, etc.] puts a brake on narcissism.  Certainly, there is something beautiful about contemporary worship, where we can take old things and add a little spice to them, like singing hymns to rock tunes or reciting creeds as spoken word rhymes.  But liturgy protects us from simply making worship into a self-pleasing act.  So if a song or prayer doesn’t quite work for you, be thankful that it is probably really resonating with someone who is different from you, and offer a sacrifice of praise.”