It often strikes me that Christians in general fail to appreciate the full ramifications of God's Incarnation in the man Jesus. One area in which I find this reflection lacking is in the meaning and purpose of worship. Most people think of worship as a kind of automatic response to the glory and majesty of God. God is so great, on this view, that He commands our worshipful response.
I think there is truth in this attitude, but it brings up some problems, including the argument from autonomy. But more precisely, I think Jesus forces us to rethinks what worship is all about. The John passage illustrates the point I want to make. Jesus is a statement from God. The message must be understood in the New Testament juxtaposition between Christ and Caesar.
The Gospels say to us, " The world finds God in the halls of power, in fame, in money and control. But the world is wrong. God is found in an ordinary family in a backwater town, in the Suffering Love of the Crucified Carpenter."
In John God In A Man takes the lowest position possible. In all of our lives, as we cram for power and control, for recognition, for 'the top', we all make a pretense to godhood. The irony is that in this quest we leave Godhood behind. For it is not found in power and control, but in vulnerability and self-emptying. It is not at the height, but in the depths.
On this view, worship is about imitation of God. It is returning to God the attitude of service and respect He gives to us. We drop to our knees, and there find God. Through worship God shapes to be more like Him and helps us find the Ultimate Power, which is paradoxically found only in radical vulnerability. That's a different understanding of worship, and also changes our concept of WORTHINESS of worship. On this view, both become consonant with Jesus actions in John 13. But it is something that I think escapes most people, even most Christians.
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