Friendly Freethinker: What Does it Really Mean to Worship?

I was raised on worship. That is, I participated in worship services from childhood. In high school I delivered a few sermons and sang in the church choir. In my Christian college, I attended chapel services several times a week. As a minister and chaplain, I led many worshipful gatherings through the years. From time to time I still show up at a service. And I continue to ask myself what worship truly means.

The act of worship comes up here and there in the Gospels. In the nativity story, the wise men “fell down and worshiped” the child Jesus (Matthew 2). After Jesus and Peter took a walk on the waves, the disciples on the boat “worshiped Him” (Matthew 14). When Jesus spoke to a woman drawing water at a well, he told her: “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4). It seems important to worship “what you know.” Something to consider.

The Greek word for “worship” in these passages is prosekuneo. It literally means to prostrate yourself like a dog licking his master’s hand. Some might recall the stunning—perhaps offensive—passage in Mark when Jesus speaks to another non-Jewish woman who falls at his feet and asks for help: “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” The woman replies: “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” (Mark 7). Jesus seemed impressed.

Was this what “worship” was supposed to mean? Humility, without sacrificing our humanity?

One popular Christian nationalist preacher speaks of worship as warfare. He means “spiritual warfare” against the “demonic culture” that he believes “hates God” while “persecuting” Christians. I would call that delusional, and call attention to this radical view of worship—an “us and God,” “God’s on our side” mentality. Through loud public prayer, praise and preaching, this minority of Christians doesn’t seem to be practicing the humble kind of worship in the gospels. They aren’t falling down like pets at the feet of Jesus, but instead humiliate themselves at the feet of pandering, power-hungry evangelists.

A colleague in ministry used to conclude every Sunday gathering with the words: “Worship is over. Let the service begin.” I have often thought more clergy ought to take the meaning of the phrase to heart. Singing, praying, reading, sermonizing, is fine. Gathering with likeminded believers can be a good thing. But what is the purpose, really? To make God feel good? (think of “praise services”). To prove to God, and others, how much faith we have? Or, is it to get charged up to do the work, actively living the quality of life Jesus spoke about? Did he ever say: “Fall at my feet and act like a dog” or, “I want you to spend countless hours thanking and praising me—while begging me for treats”? The story of a woman who poured precious oil on his head and feet seems to suggest it was ok to humble yourself and show respect for the teacher. But then, what did Jesus do at the end of his life? He got down on his knees before his disciples and washed their feet. Some Christians still practice this from time to time, and we could wish this was the central ritual in a faith that claims loving service is important.

Here’s a radical thought, which might be too much for overly sensitive believers. The wise Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote: “A person who has put first their own mind and divinity, and worships the supremacy of the god within, makes no drama of their life …” (Meditations, Book III,7). By “divinity” and “god” he may have meant a unity of nature and the rational mind. Is he merely suggesting we worship ourselves? I don’t think so. He was saying something we are perhaps too hesitant to say: our reasoning mind should be supremely respected, honored, even revered. We might remember that Jesus added “mind” to the central confession of faith of the Jews (the shema: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul [mind] and strength”—Deuteronomy 6). Why did he, or the gospel writer, add that word? Maybe for a similar reason that Marcus Aurelius shined a light on reason. To “neglect the intellect” is to invite all manner of dehumanizing superstition.

We are no one’s pets. Yet, we can humbly, reasonably, show respect for others and ourselves—and stand tall.

Chris Highland was a minister and chaplain for many years. He is a writer and teacher in Asheville, NC. www.chighland.com (chris.highland@gmail.com)