The Art of Worship (John 4:19-24)

John 4. Find the StudyMap of the Gospel of John here. 

The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know, we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Jesus, please explain to me what worship is. 

Response received: 

Among believers, the temptation is often to limit worship to a specific place and time in the creation. Many people limit worship to Sundays in churches for instance. Yet, this should only be a small part of worship. Since I came, people are invited to become temples of the Holy Spirit, and therefore worship should not be anymore limited to a moment and place, but it should become a lifestyle. Worship is about coming to God and responding to His love, through words, actions and attitudes of the heart. 

When I came on earth, I learned to worship by remaining in constant communion with the Father, and He trained me during all my years. As a human, I learned to worship him also in Jerusalem, but this was only a very small part of it. You are to learn to worship Him in spirit and in truth. To worship in spirit implies that you are not limited to a specific place, you can worship God in any place and at any moment, as you welcome the Holy Spirit in you and let us guide you. Worship implies dialogue with us. Worship is about centering your heart on God, on us, and letting us guide you as you worship. In ancient times, people would come to a king by lying on the floor until the king would tell them what to do. It is similar with us, we want to guide you in your worship, the Holy Spirit wants to teach you all things, to remind you my teachings, so that you can worship the Father with simplicity and truth. 

As you learn to let the Holy Spirit flow in you, like a wind can flow in a room, He will teach you, he will lead you in all truth. Remember that this is supposed to be simple, you ask and receive. You ask the Holy Spirit to my Father and He will give it to you, as a loving Father who has good gifts for His children (see Luke 11:11-13). As the Holy Spirit flows in you, ask Him or ask me questions, and we will answer you. Ask us how to worship the Father. Sometimes it is simply singing with your heart worship songs, sometimes it is showing love to your neighbor, sometimes it is listening and learning with us, sometimes it is showing the way to a person in darkness, sometimes it is accepting to be humiliated as you show love in the way we ask you to do it. Worship is a way of life, it is about welcoming the Father’s love and responding to this love in all you say and all you do. You can’t worship alone. Worship always needs for you to come in our presence, and sometimes to be with other brothers and sisters in the faith. 

As you learn to worship, you begin by inviting the Holy Spirit in you, to create a temple in your heart. As you do so, a space of dialogue with us is created. You are then to receive my words of truth, sometimes by listening to us directly, sometimes through reading biblical texts, sometimes through songs or hymns, sometimes through learning from nature, sometimes through listening to a person. As you welcome our spirit and receive teachings of truth, you will realize that truth is not only about facts to know, but that I am the truth, the way to life. The Holy Spirit will help you realize that I am your guide, that truth cannot be mastered but only received, that the ultimate truth is that you have been created to be in constant fellowship with us and that in knowing me, in knowing intimately the Father you have eternal life. 

Worship is not a technique, but a way to relate to this world through our love, through our presence in you. Worship is about love and freedom. As you learn to worship, you will perhaps first make simple steps like repeating biblical verses that bloom into your heart, or repeat words of songs with others, or listen to a sermon or to my voice, but this is only initial steps. You will then learn to respond to me, to respond to the Father or to the Holy Spirit, as we speak to you through our creation. You will then learn the flow of our love, to receive and to give, to listen and to respond. You will then begin to learn the steps of the dance of creation, of the joyful fellowship with us. As this love flows in you and through your words and actions, you will see flowers of hope and joy appear around you, you will see buds of love blossom even out of the mud of pain and despair. 

Worship is like learning to dance with us. It is not a lonely dance in which you want to impress people and attract the attention, but a humble and joyful dance in union with us. It is about moving at our rhythm, at the pace of our love, in the ways that the Holy Spirit opens before you. I learned to dance this dance with the Father, who led me in all I did and in all I said. In the same way, let us teach you the art of worship, the dance of divine love. As you learn to worship, you will understand what is the purpose of your creation, the reason of your existence. As your life becomes worship, you will learn that true happiness is a fruit of our love, a fruit that no person can destroy, a fruit that opens the doors of eternal life. 

Come to us, to learn with us the dance of creation, the art of worship, the rhythm of our love in you and through you. You will then understand what kind of worshiper the Father created you to be. You will then understand what it means to worship in spirit and in truth.