Thoughts on Casual Worship

Yesterday, I was driving by a church that had on its marquee the message “Casual Worship 9AM Chapel”. Something about this just immediately struck me as odd and even a bit bothersome. As I continued to think about it, I realized that it bothered me because there is nothing casual about worship! Now, I knew what they probably meant. They either were referring to dress code – meaning come casually dressed for worship or, perhaps, they were referring to a more contemporary style of worship. Seeing the term Contemporary Worship wouldn’t have elicited any kind of response from me because that phrase is used so much today to describe the kind of music that a church plays – contemporary vs. traditional. However, the use of the term “casual” has a very different connotation, in my mind. I thought of Isaiah when he saw the Lord sitting on a throne. There was definitely nothing casual about his response to that vision. The scripture says: “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’ 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: ‘woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.’”
There was certainly nothing casual about the encounter that Isaiah had. He was immediately faced with the reality of his situation and knew that he was an unclean man and he realized that everyone around him was in the same situation of being unclean before an almighty God. Reading further on in the passage it is clear that God’s mercy and forgiveness is needed before Isaiah can respond to the Lord. The Lord intervenes when the angel touches Isaiah’s mouth with the hot coal and his sin is purged. The purging of Isaiah’s sin allowed him to properly respond to the Lord. We also cannot come before the Lord in worship until there is a purging of sin, i.e. clean hands and a pure heart. Psalm 24 tells us that we cannot come before the Lord unless this is the case – “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.”

There is nothing casual about the worship of Almighty God. It may be contemporary, it may be loud or quiet, it may take on a charismatic appearance, it may even look chaotic from time to time, but it is not casual because no one can come before the Lord without clean hands and a pure heart. This is precisely why the Collect of Purity is recited at the beginning of worship. It is why we ask God to cleanse the thoughts of our hearts, so that we can WORTHILY magnify His Holy Name by saying with the angels: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”  by: Cathy Burke