Worshiping a Present God

by Nicholas Zork

How do we worship in a world that feels like it’s falling apart? This feeling and the realities that prompt it are, of course, not new. The horrific ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis in Israel and Gaza have made it impossible to ignore a conflict that has unfolded over decades (and, in a broader sense, millennia). For many members of our human family around the world, existential threats are a persistent part of daily life. When those of us who live with relative safety and peace can no longer look away, it challenges the assumptions we’ve comfortably carried regarding our worship practices. In the face of immense tragedy, some of our theological claims prove hollow, discouraging, and immobilizing. They provide neither comfort nor any call to action. One of the most problematic of these assumptions is reflected in the common statement, “God is in control.” We gather and pray words like, “God, we know that you are in control.” And we seem to make this declaration most ardently when it is most troubling to assert that God is “in control” of what’s happening. Grasping for some certainty, we end up, perhaps without intending to, suggesting that God is orchestrating the very evil we lament. This is not an Adventist understanding of how Scripture describes God’s sovereignty. Nevertheless, language about God controlling world events continues to show up in worship.

When we gather to worship, let us focus not on a God who is above it all, pulling the strings, but on a God who is present with us in our grief, confusion, fear, paralysis, and uncertainty. God is present with all who suffer, grieve, and are oppressed. In Matthew 25, Jesus makes a point of identifying in a particularly explicit way with those we dehumanize and deem least. We experience God’s presence when we, too, draw near to those in need. So, while God is not “in control” of atrocities, God is present with those bringing aid and making peace. And God’s presence indicates where we are called to be present and act.

This is the divine presence we can experience when we gather for worship. A present Holy Spirit enables us to respond to who God is and what God has done, is doing, and will do. God is always present with us and with all people. In worship, we learn how, by grace, we can be present to God. Adventist theologian C. Raymond Holmes, addressing the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, writes in Ministry Magazine, “The problem is not with the presence of Christ in Communion. The problem is with our presence.” Indeed, the problem is with our presence, or more pointedly, with our absence—from God, one another, and so many of the challenges in our world. Worshiping a God perceived as implicitly absent and distant, a God of “control,” misrepresents God’s character and fosters our absence from God, our neighbors, and those in need.

So even as we struggle to find the right words to speak, pray, and sing, let us worship a God who is present to offer grace, give us peace, and establish justice. We will not be perfect in our worship or our efforts to love, serve, and be peacemakers. But God’s grace is sufficient. We can let go of pretensions of self-righteousness, having all the answers, and measuring up. We can, instead, worship a God who loves, liberates, and is present with all people. And we can answer the call to seek peace and justice—to do what is good—not for our own supposed righteousness but simply because it is good for our neighbors, for us, and for the world God loves.