Westminster Bells

The Rev. Dr. Skip Ferguson

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

September 22, 2013

Westminster Bells

John 4:23-24

You don’t have to travel to London

to hear the chimes of Big Ben;

the tune the bells play is among

the most familiar tunes anywhere,

the tune known as Westminster Chimes,

or for some of us, Westminster Bells.

It is more properly known as the Westminster Quarters,

notes written to signal the quarter hour,

notes written originally at the end of the 18^th century

for a church in Cambridge England,

and then adapted in the mid-19^th century

for the tower clock above the Houses of Parliament

in London England,

the tower clock known for its largest bell: “Big Ben”.

Up in the clock tower are words to accompany

the sounding of the quarters,

words adapted from the Book of Psalms:

“All through this hour

Lord, be my guide

That by thy help

No foot may slide.”

It makes for both fitting music and sentiment

for us here as we begin our worship service:

“All through this hour, Lord be our guide.”

It is why we are now starting our worship service

with the beginning notes from Westminster Chimes

as I pour water into the baptismal font.

We are doing this as a sign,

a signal for all of us to draw near to God,

to prepare ourselves for worship.

It is a sign, a signal to us to quiet ourselves,

to stop conversation,

to sit, settle,

and yes, to turn off our cellphones;

I’ll say that again: turn off our cellphones!

It is a sign, a signal that it is time,

time to turn our full attention to God,

time to turn from all the other things that fill our lives,

fill our minds, as busy as we all are,

and focus on God,

focus completely with heart, mind and soul.

After all, doesn’t God deserve all of you,

and not just a part?

Go to the theatre or a concert

and there are very visible, obvious cues

that the performance is about to begin,

that it is time to take your seat,

settle in and settle down,

quiet yourself, get ready.

The performance doesn’t begin

until everyone is seated, hushed,

filled with a sense of anticipation.

Worship is not a performance, of course,

even if it sometimes can appear that way,

with those of us who are worship leaders

up front rather like actors,

and you the congregation arranged

much like an audience.

But it was Soren Kierkegaard who observed

that if there are indeed performers

and an audience in a sanctuary,

the audience is God,

and the performers are all those seated

in the pews or chairs: That’s you!

You who have come to worship.

You have come not to sit and be entertained;

but to worship,

to be engaged in worship.

We come to lift our hearts, our minds,

our heads, our hands to God,

to lift our voices in prayer and praise,

to hear, to listen,

to learn,

and ultimately, to be transformed,

transformed by the Word of the Lord,

transformed by the Spirit of God

that fills every moment of every service.

There’s nothing passive about worship –

it is as active as can be.

Worship takes work,

work not just on my part, or Deborah’s part,

or the choir’s part,

but on everyone’s part – your part.

The saying could not be more true for worship:

you get out of it only what you put into it.

Worship takes work right from the start.

It takes concentration right from the start,

It is hard to turn from all the distractions that fill our lives,

but we must.

It is hard to quiet ourselves,

but we must.

It is hard to turn ourselves completely to God,

but we must.

                          

When I pour the water into the font

to mark the beginning of the service,

it is a reminder of our entrance into the church universal,

that baptism is something

all denominations have in common,

something that unites all followers of Jesus Christ.

We’ve added the Westminster Chimes as an audible partner,

to provide an additional cue to help us quiet ourselves,

center ourselves –

“O Lord be my guide through this hour.”

When you see me step to the font

and pour the water,

when you hear the notes of the chimes,

the message to all is that we have entered God’s house,

come into God’s presence,

begun to draw ever nearer to God. 

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

says James, the brother of our Lord.

(James 4:8)

“Draw near to God” –

a reminder in those words,

that we – we, all of us –

are called to act, to respond,

the psalmist teaching us that the first step

to drawing nearer to God

is so simple: “Be still before the Lord”

(Psalm 37:7)

It is too easy to skim the surface of worship,

to dip in and out,

dialing into this moment,

tuning out for that.

But God knows where our hearts and minds are.

As God lamented through the prophet Isaiah,

“these people draw near with their mouths

and honor me with their lips,

while their hearts are far from me,

and their worship of me is a human commandment

learned by rote.”

(Isaiah 29:13)

If Kierkegaard is right and God is the audience,

then Paul’s words to the Christians in Rome

can guide us and help us to give God our all as we worship:

“offer your bodies as living sacrifices,

holy and pleasing to God –

this is your spiritual act of worship.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,

 but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”

(Romans 12:1-2)

We are here to be transformed,

but that will only happen if we give God our all.

The Reverend Eugene Peterson captures this perfectly

in his paraphrasing of Paul’s words in “The Message”:

“Fix your attention on God.

You’ll be changed from the inside out.”

“Fix your attention on God.

You’ll be changed from the inside out.”

In our lesson we heard our Lord say to us,

“But the hour is coming,

and is now here,

when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth,

for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.

God is spirit,

and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

(John 4:23-24)

Jesus is reminding us that worship isn’t about ritual,

it isn’t about adhering to certain practices;

it is about worshiping God from the heart,

worshiping God with all our mind,

all our strength,

all our soul,

in the same way we are called to love God.

Again, Eugene Peterson’s words help us understand:

“Your worship must engage your spirit

in the pursuit of truth.

That’s the kind of people the Father is looking for:

…Those who worship him

must do it out of their very being,

their spirits,

their true selves,

in adoration.”

Giving their all, their everything.

Our Book of Order summarizes worship this way:

“The people call God by name,

invoke God’s presence,

beseech God in prayer,

and stand before God in silence and contemplation.

They bow before God,

lift hands and voices in praise;

sing, make music, and dance.

Heart, soul, strength, and mind,

with one accord,

they join in the language, drama,

and pageantry of worship.”

Do you hear all that activity?

The people call,

invoke,

beseech,

stand,

bow,

lift hands,

sing,

dance,

make music;

join,

pray,

listen,

learn,

grow,

are transformed.

The people – that’s you,

that’s me,

that’s us,

all of us together.

This is the work of worship;

this is what happens each week

in the hour or so we devote to God.

So cue the chimes;

Cue the water;

Cue the people of God.

For it is time for the people to draw near,

for the people to take center stage,

for the people to worship in spirit and truth,

for the people to worship with hearts and minds,

strength and soul.

It is time for the people of God

to worship the Lord our God.

AMEN