Title: THE PERFECT LITURGIST
Focus: Worship God through Christ; He is our perfect liturgist.
Function: Move the people to worship God through Jesus, for he is God’s icon and our only high priest or mediator.
Texts: Leviticus 10:1-11; Hebrews 7:24-28
Catechism: Lord’s Day 35
It’s hard to worship an invisible god. That’s why the Israelites were tempted to build a golden calf and call it their god. And that’s why the Israelites would often pattern their worship after the practices of the nations surrounding them. The worship of Baal and Ashtoreth (the Canaan gods of power and fertility) was physically far more satisfying to the eyes and human nature than the worship of Yahweh, the invisible God of Israel. It’s hard to worship an invisible God.
Perhaps that’s why many people today turn toward nature and adopt her as a deity worthy of worship. Mother earth or “Gaia” is the object of worship by many today. A quick search on the internet will introduce you to a host of websites telling us about Gaia and how to respond to her. You will quickly see that modern-day Gaia worship is an ancient version of Greek paganism which shows its head in various forms throughout the ages. And you will be surprised to discover how paganism is woven into all kinds of movements today, ranging from extreme environmentalism to anti-globalism to anarchy.
In the second commandment, God says: You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. In other words, idols in any form or shape are off limits for God’s people, whether in the days of the O.T. or in our N.T. era. In fact, the Scriptures call us to worship God through Christ Jesus. He is our perfect liturgist.
The Heidelberg Catechism interprets God’s will for us in the second commandment as follows: “That we in no way make any image of God nor worship him in any other way than he has commanded in his Word.” The Catechism, then, rejects the crafting of any idol or picture of God and the worship of such created things. Do not bow down and worship objects made by human hands. The Catechism also appeals to God’s commands in the context of worship. Do not worship God in any other way than he has commanded in his Word. Appeal is made to the story in Leviticus 10 and also to Jesus’ words in John 4:23
In the context of Medieval church practices of images, statues or icons as worship and teaching aids, the Catechism emphasizes that God “wants his people instructed by the living preaching of his Word—not by idols that cannot even talk.” I like the emphasis on the living preaching of God’s Word, because God reveals himself through his Word. That is, if you want to see a picture of God, an image, you need to consider the entire Word of God and take note of how he reveals himself.
But I wish that the Catechism had said a lot more about Jesus. For Jesus is the perfect liturgist. He is God’s icon. And today, therefore, we worship God through Jesus.
But first we must explore this unsettling story in Leviticus 10. Consider
The second picture shows us Moses talking to Aaron, explaining what went wrong (vs. 3); The third picture portrays Moses commanding Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, to remove the bodies of their cousins from the Tent of Meeting to be buried outside the camp of the Israelites (vs. 4-5).
The fourth picture shows us Moses talking to two other sons of Aaron (also liturgists or Levitical priests of Israel). Moses tells them not to mourn the death of their brothers by forsaking their priestly duties now: “Do not let your hair become unkempt, and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the Lord will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the house of Israel, may mourn for those the Lord has destroyed by fire. Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting or you will die, because the Lord’s anointing oil is on you” (vs. 6-7). The fifth and last picture is that of the Lord God talking to Aaron, reminding Aaron of his priestly calling and duty. So the story’s movement comes to us by way of 5 snap shots or pictures. Also consider
b. The Story’s Severity: Our first reaction to the story may be one of compassion. I feel for these boys. They made a huge mistake. But why can’t God see it that way? The punishment of being consumed by God’s fire seems so harsh. And I feel for Aaron. The man is in shock. And I would not be surprised if Aaron feels bitter toward God. Did you notice what the storyteller in that second picture (vs. 3) says? After Moses explains to Aaron the sin committed by his sons, the storyteller says: “Aaron remained silent.”
And in the fourth picture we note that Moses instructs the other two sons of Aaron NOT to leave their liturgical post by joining their family and the Israelites in mourning the death of their brothers. No, Moses tells them to stay at their post and do what God has commanded them. It all seems harsh and severe. But now also consider
c. The Story’s Focus: The spotlight or emphasis of the storyteller is on the holiness of God and on the need to honor God’s holiness with complete obedience to his instructions. Moses points to the holiness of God when Moses explained the death of Aaron’s sons: “This is what the Lord spoke of when he said: “Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.” This focus on God’s holiness becomes really clear in that fifth picture (vs. 10) where the Lord speaks directly to Aaron, saying: “You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses.” In other words, worshiping the holy God of Israel calls for obedience and deep reverence.
This was a tough lesson for the Israelites to learn. But as the Levites were just beginning a new era of leading the Israelites in worship before God in the Tent of Meeting, they needed to know that God wants to be taken seriously: Obey his instructions about worship in the Tent of Meeting, because God is holy.
All throughout the O.T. era, God’s people would remember the holiness of God and God’s harsh punishment on Nadab and Abihu. They were liturgists or priests who learned the hard way that God is holy and to be worshiped and feared with awe, adoration and obedience.
Then a new era began: the era or age of the Holy Spirit, ushered in by God’s perfect liturgist, the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, Christians worship the triune God NOT in the O.T. style of priestly rules and regulations, but in the style set forth by Jesus. Christians approach God NOT through Levitical priests and prescribed ceremonies, but through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the perfect liturgist through whom we come to God.
Let me set forth the New Testament picture of worshiping God by way of three steps:
Step One: (John 4:23,24) In his encounter with the Samaritan woman, the Lord Jesus reminds her (and us today) that worshiping God would move away from sacred places such as the temple in Jerusalem, or the Mountain of Gerazim in Samaria). Jesus said: “… a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” As Jesus continues his ministry among us, he revealed to us that he is “the truth” personified and that he would send his Spirit who will lead us in all truth. The focus of Christian worship, then, is Christ.
Step Two: (Hebrews 1:3) We worship God today NOT through graven images or through hand-made or computerized pictures of God, but through his perfect icon. Listen: “…in these last days God has spoken to us by his Son…The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being….” The word translated as “exact representation” is the Greek word Xharacter (from which we get the word “character”). The Greek word Xharacter means “impression” reproduction” representation;” it also means “outward appearance.” In other words, if you want to see God with your naked eye, you need to turn to Jesus, for Jesus is the exact representation or icon of God’s being. The invisible God reveals himself visibly in his Son, the Lord Jesus. He is our perfect liturgist.
Step Three: (Hebrews 7:24-28) Nadab and Abihu (and all subsequent O.T. priests, including the many high priests) are imperfect priests: they are sinners and they are mortal (like all of us). But Jesus Christ, the Son of God “lives forever.” And because Jesus lives forever, having conquered death by his resurrection, he has a “permanent priesthood.” The writer of Hebrews says: “Therefore (Jesus) is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Did you notice? Whereas the O.T. people of God came to God through the priests and their intercessory work, Christians today come to God through Jesus. Jesus is our only high priest; he is our perfect liturgist, the One who meets our need.
I say “perfect” on the basis of what we learn in Hebrews 7:26 “Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. (Jesus) sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.”
We do not need carved idols; we don’t need to bow down to mother nature or Gaia. All we need to worship God is Jesus. We come to God through Jesus. And we do so by and in the power of Jesus’ Holy Spirit.
Here’s something that may help you in worshiping God: It has taken me a long time to come to grips with this picture of worship. But when I enter this sanctuary for public worship, I envision with the eyes of faith the ascended Lord Jesus in our midst. You and I gather in the name of the ascended Lord Jesus. And through the Lord Jesus, our prayers, our praise, and adoration, and all our petitions rise before God the Father. And all our acts of worship here belong to the energizing workings of the Holy Spirit given to each and everyone of us who believes in Jesus Christ.
Christian worship is Trinitarian in nature: we come to God the Father through Christ, the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is our perfect liturgist.
Glory be to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Both now, and forever more! Amen.