Do You Know Your Because?
Do You Know Your Because? by Rev. Oscar Clavel
May 22, 2016
A question that arose during the early days of computer sciences was, “What is it that humans can do that computers cannot?” Computers could play chess better than us, they could work out complex mathematical problems faster and further than us, and some even said that while they can’t do everything we can, it’s only a matter of time before they overtake us.
Now when it comes to computers there are two things we can do, that a computer cannot, because they fall into a different dimension, which is to cry and forgive.
A similar question has been asked over the ages by theologians, worshippers, and lovers of nature, “What can humans do that animal can’t do?” After all, some argue that we are just animals with a level of sophistication. However, the question becomes clouded because we now understand that the animal world has an elaborate emotional framework that weeps, reconciles, loves and communicates. Are humans really all that different from animals?
The short of it is yes but the difference is in worship. You see, only humans can say the word “because.” In particular, they can say it about God himself.
In the scripture passages we read, we are walking alongside John as he observes what is taking place in heaven, but in particular what is taking place in the Throne Room of God. And he describes for us that there are two songs of praise that we are to compare and contrast.
The first one is the song that the four living creatures sing without pause day and night, they praise God as the holy one, they praise Him as the everlasting one. The four creatures are almost magical in the description, but if we only stop to ponder their appearance we miss the point completely. These creatures represent the animal creation, including humans, at this stage, with the human-face creature being among the lion, ox, and flying eagle. They surround God with a song of worship that is very similar to the next song, filled with awe and admiration of who God is, but these living creatures are also ready to do God’s bidding. Twice John tells us they are ‘full of eyes’: meaning that they are unsleeping, keeping watch for God over his whole creation.
In the first Song, we are called back to the Psalms where it says “All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name.” So when we contrast the song from Creation with the twenty-four elders it couldn’t be more striking. Creation as a whole simply worships God, but the twenty-four elders who represent God’s people understand why they do so. They say “You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power” (here again awe and admiration like the first song), but wait here comes the difference, “because you created all things.”
There it is, that word ‘because’, what distinguishes humans from the creation. Humans alone are given the capacity to reflect, to understand what’s going on, and in particular to express that understanding in worship.
Now being that I am preaching in a church, I don’t need to spend much time reminding us that worship is the most central and important activity of humans and particularly of Christians. We know this because as Pascal once said, “to most humans, curiosity about higher things comes naturally, it’s indifference to them that must be learned.” So we are naturally bent towards worshipping someone or something.
But I have to take you beyond a simple reminder to make worship a priority, because heaven is testifying to us that with worship we have a unique responsibility and privilege to say “because,” why is God worthy of praise.
Humans, we understand, need to know why they do anything, if it’s out of love, ambition, or acceptance, we need to know why we continue to live and exist, so we search for and find meaning for our lives, careers, and families. In the church, we teach that the primary vehicle for finding meaning and purpose is through God, but I know many good folks who struggle with how in the particular does God give meaning and purpose. Some say you wait for God to impress a sense of direction, but I believe that meaning and purpose for your life is found when you know your because!
You see, if in our worship we can say that God is worthy of praise “because” he calls us His own and forgives us time and time again, then why on God’s green earth would you harbor hate towards another person. If your worship tells you that God is worthy of praise “because” He is good, then you couldn’t help but put yourself in places and situations where God’s goodness could be experienced by others.
And this is what John is walking us alongside. John shows us that worshippers understand their because, why God is worthy, that their lives, careers, everything is unified with meaning and purpose so that heaven and earth become enjoined together.
Wait a minute, what am I saying here? I don’t want to mislead you here but this whole passage begins with this exciting statement, “After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open!”
What John unveils for us here is something that could have huge ramifications for what we think about God, every aspect of earthly life and especially worship. John says that our world and heaven are open to one another. John describes it as a door and the closest illustration that I have found to describe this, which would resonate with you, is from the Chronicles of Narnia, where the bridge between Earth and Narnia are joined by a wardrobe.
John’s view of the world was not as limited as ours where we think that earth and heaven are separated from one another. Think of it as an algebra problem, in which you are trying to find the point of intersection between two circles. John believed that heaven and earth had finally intersected one another, not fully, that would come later, but for right now Heaven and Earth are operating like an open door policy.
And I believe that John tells us that the way these two worlds intersect is through worship.
So what we need for today is to expand our definition of worship. It needs to be more than beautiful music, and hymns, and instruments, and even beyond buildings where such music is played. Our definition of worship needs to extend to where you wake up every morning, drive to work, and spend the day with people who may or may not follow your Creator. Worship needs to extend to the moments where the music fades, and you experience the countless moments of adult Christian life which are mundane, routine, frustrating, and boring.
Image it’s after work and like everyone else you have the same idea to go to the grocery store. You go through the aisles and get your usual items and head to the checkout line and notice that only two checkout lanes are open even though they have five registers. In front and behind you a line has formed and you’re frustrated because the checkout person won’t move fast enough and honestly, there are better things you could be doing than waiting in line, so you get bored and internally angry that this grocery store doesn’t value its customer. It’s in a moment like this, that knowing your because could be the difference between another mundane, routine, frustrating moment or a place where worship happens. Let’s say instead of all the previous mentioned you remember that your ‘because’ for worshipping God is because he is greater than you, God sustains all things and He is compassionate, and all of a sudden that frustrating moment fades away as you remember that life is about more than your selfishness and petty frustrations. And for a moment in time heaven and earth intersect and a check out line becomes a place of worship.
This is the kind of ‘worship’ that John teaches us can encapsulate all of our lives, but only if we know our because.
If your because is that God is good then you will serve God in goodness, but if you don’t really have a because then God is an afterthought and the full purpose and meaning of your life will be limited and self-serving, rather than limitless and other-oriented.
So as worshippers I have to ask you, to take a moment to pause and reflect, and ask you, “Do you know your because?” Do you know why God deserves the glory, honor and power, because if we can’t answer that with great joy and hope, then we need to enter again and again that Throne Room of Grace, which we have access to as God’s children, to worship the Creator and ask ourselves, “what is my because, why does God deserve the glory honor and power, what has God done to show me His Greatness?”
Paul, in the first century prayed a prayer for us that is timely for today, “I ask the God of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!”
If you ask to know your because God will give it to you and I want you to know your “because”- it will set you free, it will give you meaning and purpose, and it will join heaven and earth again and again.