Being the Wheat: July 20, 2014

Sunday, July 20, 2014  Proper 11a

Readings: Isaiah 44:6-8; Psalm 86: 11-17; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30,36-43

In God’s Creation, there are both wheat and weeds.  That’s our reality---in this life on this earth in which Jesus has initiated the Kingdom of God, but the Kingdom has not fully taken root everywhere and every place----there are both wheat and weeds.

Wheat symbolizes the fruitful growth of the Sower---the life that reveals and illustrates God’s love and compassion, while the weeds are the growth of that which works against God’s love and light and mercy.  

Often this parable is simplified down into a small tasty nugget of “there’s good and bad” and of course, we self-identify with the good (the wheat) so that we can then safely say: well, whatever doesn’t look like us or act like us must not be wheat, but a weed----and bad.

Let’s try to walk away from that particular interpretation today and enter the parable through another truth:

Yes, in God’s Creation there are both wheat and weeds.  And, as the wheat (the fruitful growth of the Sower, God Almighty)---it is not our job to rid the world of the weeds, that is evil.  We are not called to identify the weeds or to pull the weeds, kill the weeds or condemn the weeds.

Let me repeat that:  Our job---at least as seen in this parable---is not to identify the weeds, pull the weeds, kill the weeds, separate ourselves from the weeds or condemn the weeds.  In this parable---our Good News for today---we are to be the wheat in the midst of the weeds.

We are called to live as the fruitful and life-giving harvest of God’s seed, God’s Word, God’s works in the world.   Right there among all them weeds---we are to live as the fruit of God’s love.  As Jesus tells us: We are the light and the salt---that which is good and life-giving----this is who we are.  Even in the midst of that which is not, in the midst of evil.

In the midst of tragedy and destruction, darkness and vengeance.  This means when evil shows its ugly face, we are called to respond first as God’s people.  So often we respond in ways that are self-centered, protective of our way of life, our stuff, our treasure.  We respond as Democrats or Republicans, if we deem it political.  If it’s about our family or children, we respond as “Johnsons” or “Bemowskis (insert your last name here).  If our nation is involved, we respond as Americans.  If money is involved, we respond with our checking balance at the top of the list.

But today’s parable invites us to consider this: if our identifying marker is that we are Christ’s own---sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever---shouldn’t our response to any and all situations be based on who is our King?  This world would have us believe that our identity is split based on the situation: our identity might be political, family, national, social status---what have you.  But, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, says otherwise:  We have one identity-----God’s beloved.  Everything else is rooted and grounded on that.  If we are serious about this Jesus living, then how we see and respond to situations must be considered from this Truth.  If our job isn’t to condemn the evil or root out the evil or judge the evil (God’s work, not ours), then our work is to live as God’s people in the midst of the evil.

How do we live as agents of the Kingdom in the midst of thousands of children fleeing violence in their home nation?  Imagine how desperate the parents must be to send their children hundreds of miles away---often on their own. It’s almost impossible to imagine: I think to myself: “I’d never do that.” But, here’s the truth: Parents from Central American countries do not love their children any less than you or I.  But, due to the violence and turbulence in Central American countries, these parents do not have the ability to keep their children safe like you and I do.  So, if it came down to being able to give our children a life free from violence---a life with the strong promise that they’ll actually have a tomorrow---wouldn’t we, as parents, do almost anything for our children?

This crisis is a complicated business; there are no easy answers.  And I certainly don’t have them.  You and I do not have to agree on the same solution for this crisis that is happening on our Southern border; this crisis that is about immigration; these children and parents who are refugees---fleeing from a life of violence and retaliation that offers them no sanctuary, no safety.  We don’t have to agree on a solution, but as Christians, we are called to consider this situation first as a follower of Jesus.  Not as an American, not as a taxpayer, not as a Democrat or Republican, but our first question should be: How would Jesus have us respond? 

I read an article that interviewed people who live in Texas, near a temporary shelter for some of the children refugees and one person said: ““That’s my tax money taking care of a foreign national or however you want to classify them. …I don’t want to take care of a foreign national. It’s not my problem.” (new york times, July 16, 2004)

Friends, let’s be honest.  Jesus would not classify any of these people as “foreign nationals” nor as “immigrants” nor as “refugees.”  Jesus might call them: my little children, brothers and sisters, the poor and the needy, but most certainly as: God’s people.  Our neighbor.  Our own.  They are our problem.  Not because they are Americans, but because they are God’s people.  And yes, it’s complicated.  And yes, we live in a world with legislation and laws, with pragmatic matters and an economy-----but none of that should determine how you and I---if we are going to be the wheat in God’s Creation---how you and I respond.

We are joint heirs---heirs of God’s Kingdom—any place and any where God rules.  God’s Kingdom begins small---like a mustard seed---in our hearts and minds.  Taking root there and then growing---through our actions, choices, our positions and words---to our homes, our neighborhoods, our parishes, our communities, our states, our nations, our continents, and beyond all borders.  Just like Jesus in the Gospels who wanders among Jews and Gentiles, crossing borders and boundaries of nations and ethnicities---we, as the fruit of God’s love and compassion—we are not bound by borders and boundaries.  God doesn’t see us based on nationality and race; gender or age; position or status.  To God, each one of us is God’s creation, made lovingly and purposefully to fulfill the promise for the wholeness of all God’s people.

The Roman Catholic theologian Richard Rohr writes this:  “Why does the Bible, and why does Jesus, tell us to care for the poor and the outsider?  Because we need to stand in that position for our own conversion.  We need to be in a position to actually need the mercy of God, the forgiveness of God, the grace of God.  When we are too smug and content, then grace and mercy have almost no real meaning.  They are just words.  Jesus is always on the side of the crucified ones.  He changes sides in the twinkling of an eye to go wherever the pain is.  He is not loyal to one religion, to this or that group, or to the worthy; Jesus is only and always loyal to human suffering.  Jesus is what mythology called a “shape-shifter,” and no one seeking power can use him for their private purposes.  Those whose hearts are opened to human pain will see Jesus everywhere, and their old dualistic minds [of us and them] will serve them less and less, for the Shape-Shifter ends up shifting our very shape too.”

I know these words I speak today may be challenging.  I know some might hear them as “political.”  Well, if political means what is good for the many, the all…..then they are.  But the intent of these words is not political, but Gospel.  The Good News of salvation for all people.  No borders, no boundaries, no nationalities.  If we live in a land of many blessings, then our truth is we are called to be a refuge and a fount of blessings for others who do not have the riches we have. 

I do not ask you to respond in any specific way, that is not my place nor what I am preaching---but I do think we are called to respond from a specific identity: as those who have drowned to one way of life in order to live the new life of Jesus.  As those who have promised to respect the dignity of every human being; as those who follow the command to love one another as God loves us; as those who claim Jesus as the Lord and Master.

Our lives, our daily living, constantly demand that we respond.  Some of the situations are joyful and gracious---it’s so much easier to respond with God’s love and grace when we are in the midst of the wheat—when it is people we love or situations for our benefit or events that are life-giving.  But, the rubber truly hits the road when we have to take ownership for the reality that we are also called to respond in fruitful, other-centered, God’s compassionate ways when we are put face to face with the enemy.  With evil.  Jesus did not ignore or turn a blind eye to the pleas of those who suffered---even when they were Samaritans, or lepers, or women or children (who were basically nobodies in his society).  No, Jesus says: Bring the little children to me; Come to the table and let me feed you; Come to the fount and let me refresh you with living water; Come.

And to us who already claim Jesus as our identifying mark---to us who have made promises and who call ourselves Christians, Jesus says: Follow me.  Do what I do.  Speak as I speak.  Love as I love.  Respond as I respond. 

“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  Let anyone with ears listen!”

To Welcome God: June 29, 2014

Proper 8A

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Jeremiah 28:5-9; Psalm 89:10-4,15-18; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42

When I was a kid, there was a neighbor lady who always told us kids to stop over for a cookie.  But when we got there, it would be: "Oh, okay, you can come in, but don't touch anything.  Don't sit there; sit on the covered furniture only." I never felt very welcome in her house.

Now, when I go to my Momma's house, I feel so welcomed.  She is often waiting at the door--almost leaning out---ready to greet me with open arms.  Two weeks ago when I arrived pretty late at my mom's around 10:30 at night, so we could leave on our vacation the next day, there she was at the door, and before I could even get out of the car, she said: "Get in here!"  She was ready to greet me--no matter how tired or grumpy or late I was---she welcomed me just as I was. 

And she always makes or buys something I like to eat---she prepares for my arrival.  With arms open wide, she welcomes me.

To welcome is a compound word from two Old English words: willa---desire and cuma---guest.  So to welcome is to desire the arrival of the guest--to receive gladly into one's presence or companionship

The Greek word used in this passage is dechomai---to take to one's self; to embrace; to admit

How do we welcome God?  Do we embrace God or do we hold God at arm's length? Are we preparing for God's arrival, with our arms open, leaning forward in order to receive gladly into our presence the Creator of all things?

Do we even want to welcome God? After all, God has a way of messing around in our hearts and minds---The Almighty continually wreaks havoc on our comfortable status quo--challenging us to transform and change into God's image instead of being content with the image we have crafted for ourselves.  Let's face it: to welcome God is to make oneself vulnerable; to welcome God is to risk everything---our practices, our preferences and comforts, and our very way of life. 

First then, we must desire God--the first word in the compound "welcome."  How does one come about desiring something?  Sometimes we begin to yearn for something because we have seen it in others' lives or in the world around us, and we recognize something is missing from our own life, and we begin to long for it for ourselves.

Other times, we have experienced it, or tasted it, and we want more.

You know, as a priest's kid, I have always had God in my life.  But there is a difference between allowing God to remain in the background of our life as white noise versus welcoming God in and granting the divine full access to our hearts.  Today asks us to consider if God is just white noise in our lives----there, but not allowed to make much of a difference---or if God is embraced fully and granted reign over our wills, our hearts, our lives.

Lucky for me, my parents made me go to church---I know it is not always a popular concept in modern parenting---making our kids---especially our teens---do something they don't want to do.  I recently read a novel with a mother and father who told their friends that they were enlightened enough to realize that they cannot force their own faith onto their children.  They want to allow their kids to choose for themselves.

Thank God my parents were in the dark, that they knew I must first have a deep grounding in what I was choosing or walking away from  before I could decide my direction. Thank God they thought that as my formative adults they might know more than I did at 12, at 15, even at 18.  I thank God every day that I didn't have the option to bow out.  Instead, my "forced" attendance exposed me to regular worship, weekly Thanksgiving meals with God and God's people.  Because I was required to live into the parish life---I got to know God in Sunday School, in VBS, at church camp, so that when I finally opened wide my soul, I saw God in the world around me.  I knew, from an early age and had it affirmed several times throughout my life, that my church family supported me, loved me, and cared about my well-being.  We all have to pick our battles, and I am incredibly grateful that my parents chose my relationship with God and God's people as a battle worth fighting.

These relationships created in the Church that I was "forced" to attend have been the web of grace in my times of need and fear and trouble.  They have been the certainty in times of doubt and the light in eras of darkness.  Thank God my parents did not know any better.  Their insistence that I experience God week in and week out at church, year in and year out in the life of the church---it gave me the taste I needed to want more, to desire God's presence forever and forevermore in this often broken, but always blessed life of mine.  When I was confirmed, I made the choice myself to keep coming back to this Body of Christ as  my refuge----because I had experienced what that means----sometimes in vital parishes, sometimes in struggling ones---but always in the midst of welcoming disciples who loved me as I was and encouraged me to keep seeking Jesus.

I know it doesn't always work out this way, that kids who go to church every week sometimes still walk away.  Not everyone experiences church life the way I did.  Attendance doesn't equal transformation.  But attendance and participation does give transformation a fighting chance.  It does lay a groundwork for future revelations-----especially when our faith communities take seriously the practice of welcoming God----the discipline of living Jesus.

Oh, don't get me wrong.  I got bored at church; I complained about going.  I reminded my parents of my busy schedule, my need for sleep, and my prowess at school and other aspects of my life---so they should just cut me some slack---but my parents decided that putting God first and foremost on my calendar was not optional---no matter what else was going on in my life---and I thank God, and them, for that.  Because that denial of my youthful freedom guided me into encountering the only true freedom there is---a life in Jesus.

Now, let's not get too down on teens, kids, parents----even us adults are guilty of putting God at the edge of our life. We are very good at keeping God as white noise instead of embracing God fully at the center of our lives.  After all, we have so many demands on us---so many expectations---but when we come down to it---we have the same excuses I gave my parents as a teenager: we're busy; we're tired; we have commitments elsewhere---look at what I am doing God---don't you think my parish can do without me for a bit?

Apparently the years and wisdom gathered between the ages of 15 and 65 do not really provide better excuses for our shilly-shallying, our unwillingness.

So today, let's take seriously this question: How do we welcome God?

Like the neighbor lady, Well, I guess you can come in. Don't touch that! Don't sit there!  Or will we welcome like my momma, leaning forward, preparing, anticipating with joy God's presence and movement in our lives?(arms open wide) Placing all that we are, all that we have in the vulnerable position of granting full access to the Holy Spirit.  Putting ourselves in the posture of welcoming others so we can embrace them---just as they are, with all of their preferences and gifts and idiosyncrasies----because we know that when we welcome one of God's people, we welcome the Divine itself.

And we know, our welcome invites others to taste and see---to experience and know---the God who loves us all with an unending, life-changing, world-transforming love.  Our welcome--as expressed in our Vision statement---creates the desire to want more, not only in us, but in others--to experience more---to live more fully into the life of God's Kingdom.

Today we stop, take rest and nourishment and request God to grant us the desire to turn our lives over to God's plan.   And we ask our Heavenly Father: what would you have us to do? Whay are our next steps on this Kingdom road? Whom are we called to embrace right now---at this point in the journey? We call upon the Holy Spirit to take these pieces and parts of our lives and use them to build a holy temple---a dwelling place for God---that all may see and know God's Kingdom and true freedom. 

Will God be white noise in the background of our lives or will we allow God to be the burning pillar who leads us?  Will we welcome God like this(closed arms) or this (arms open wide)?

Come Holy Spirit, live in us

With God the Father and the Son,

And grant us your abundant grace

To sanctify and make us one.

May mind and tongue made strong in love,

Your praise throughout the world proclaim,

And may that love within our hearts

Set fire to others with its flame.

An Alternative Experience

                                         This post is written by Chad Moertl

Tendrils of incense rise from glowing tips, consecrating the simple room with a holy fragrance. Saints set in iconic plaques watch with ancient eyes as the priest readies the space for worship. She touches a match to the wick of a slender white candle she has placed at the center. Chairs encircle this solitary flame.  

We arrive, sit, and open in prayer. We arise, softly singing a meditative hymn, and together light the remaining candles, drawing our flames from the first candle. Some of them sit in ornate candelabras while others are tea lights nestled in small ledges of the stone wall. 

Scripture is read and the words linger in the air. We breathe them in. God is among us.

The priest invites us to comment on the gospel. We ponder, we share, we listen. We seek, find, and grow. Following this discussion we reaffirm our baptismal covenant, confess our sins, and pass the peace. The Holy Spirit is among us.

We arrive at the liturgy of the table. With the priest we sit cross-legged on a braided rug as she recites the Eucharistic Prayer. The bread and wine are consecrated in unadorned clay vessels. The shallow bowl holding the bread is passed around, and we administer the sacrament to each other in turn. The goblet of wine follows. Jesus Christ is among us.

We close with a prayer of thanksgiving. As we sing Bless The Lord, we clear the table and snuff the candles.

Experience “Alt Worship” for yourself. Join us each Sunday at 7 p.m. in the Canterbury Room. Come,  participate, be blessed, be a blessing. All are welcome here.

May 18: Be the Church

Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5,15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14

Finish this statement for me:  If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck……

Okay, keep that in mind.  We’ll come back to it.

Jesus said: I am the Way……Now, there is a debate  about whether Jesus daily spoke in Hebrew or in Aramaic.  There is no debate about the Scriptures Jesus read and quoted; they were in Hebrew.  So, even if Jesus often spoke in Aramaic---a close language to Hebrew, he was also fluent in the language of the holy texts—the psalms, the prophets, the writings….and the meaning of the word  Jesus uses in this I am statement, the word kr<d<, is: Way, road, manner.  Jesus says, I am the manner……

Manner is defined as a person's outward bearing or way of behaving toward others.  Jesus’ way of behaving toward others is the road we are to walk.  The way we are to live.  The manner we are to acquire.

What does it look like if we follow steadfastly in the steps of Jesus---this path that leads to eternal life---a life that is inseparable from God?

Stephen exemplifies it for us today.  Stephen, of course, is considered the first martyr of the church.  At the root of the meaning of “martyr” is the word: witness.  Stephen is a witness to Jesus, pointing to Jesus, because through his words, his choices, and his actions, Stephen proclaims what he has seen and what he knows of our Lord.

Today’s story takes place just as Stephen has finished telling the Jews their own salvation story, their own history with God, in a very prophetic manner---pointing out that they have missed the boat because they rejected the mighty act of God who is Jesus.  Stephen also points out their unnecessary need to place great emphasis on the temple; he proclaims that God has been their God, God has been with them, long before the temple.  Because, Stephen says, God doesn’t dwell in the temple---God lives in Creation—in humanity---in transformed hearts and minds and souls of God’s people.

Even in the face of great danger, at the risk of his life, Stephen proclaims his experience of God.  Stephen’s words threaten the people’s current understandings; his words threaten their status quo, their comfort, and their preferences.  Stephen witnesses anyway.

We all face some of this in our lives---moments when our beliefs and understandings about God seem contradictory to the conversation or the activity taking place.  Like Stephen, we are faced with a choice.  Keep silent or share.  Keep silent and let whatever is being said, be said or whatever is happening to happen……or share.  Open our mouths and proclaim our Truth.  Our Truth that it is not okay for some to go without.  That it is not okay to deem any other person---either because of their skin color, their poverty, their sexual orientation, their gender, their age, their atheism, their religion, their mental illness, their addiction---it is not okay to deem any other person as not worthy.  Not worthy to have enough food, enough clean water to drink, shelter or medical care.  It is not okay to say that any person is not welcome at God’s table.  It is not our Truth, because it is not God’s truth, that any one person has less value than another person.  God lays claim on all people---even those our eyes and hearts deem as unworthy.  Jesus’ life witnesses to this truth---pointing us to God’s way of seeing our neighbors instead of seeing in the world’s way.

And while we may not be putting our mortal lives on the line to proclaim this truth—at least here in America---we very well may be laying our daily lives on the line.  To proclaim our Truth and live differently may make us outsiders or unwelcome or considered “freakish.”  We may be made fun of or not included or marginalized by our peers.  Perhaps this is what martyrdom in 21^st Century America looks like.  To be set apart---made holy---requires sacrifice.  There is no doubt.  Witnessing has its cost.

Those of us who have lived a few decades, we know that these moments occur several times a day---moments when we must decide if we live and speak and behave as Jesus or if we pretend we don’t know any better.  Our younger generations—who haven’t lived quite as long as us yet---have probably already glimpsed this as well.  So many times when jokes are told or pranks are pulled at the expense of someone who is vulnerable.  Occasions when one must decide to retaliate or forgive.  Instances when we are confronted with the opportunity to welcome or to ignore.  To serve or to stay home.  To attend worship or to skip.  To learn and grow or to remain as we are.

My question for us, this family of Intercession Episcopal, is how will we---how do we---act as living witnesses for one another, and most especially, for our young people?  How do we show what it means to live Jesus?  How can our words, our choices, our behavior point to the truth we have seen and experienced in God?  Do we, will we, invest our time, our talents, and our treasure to support the faithful living out of our baptismal vows of gathering in fellowship, continuing the teaching of the apostles, breaking bread, and treating all others as the beloved children of God?  Will we have the manner---behave toward all others---like Jesus: with radical welcome and hospitality?  With grace, mercy and forgiveness?  In loving and compassionate ways that shine the marvelous light of God into the darkness of the world?

My friends, we are a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people….once we were not a people, but now we are God’s people.”  We are called to proclaim---by word and action---by choice and the use of our gifts and treasure---we are called to proclaim the mighty acts of God.  To witness so that those who come behind us and beside us will see and experience what we have seen and know.  In doing so, our hearts are changed, transformed, enlarged.  Enlarged so that space for God to dwell is made and God makes his home in us so that others might see and know God through us, in us, and with us.  This is what it means to be the church---the living members of the Body of Christ.  We are not simply called to attend church; we are marked as Christ’s own forever in order to be church.

You know what they say: if it walks like duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck……

If we desire others---if we want our younger generations---to believe that Church is a living reality, that Jesus stills lives and moves in the church---that this faith, this following Jesus, is relevant and life-changing……well then, we better walk like Jesus, sound like Jesus and behave like Jesus.  The proof is in the living. And the living is our witness.

May 13: Who are we?

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.   1Peter 2:9

This past Sunday, the beloved Psalm 23 was the appointed psalm.  So many of us can quote it, or at least paraphrase it, without looking at the words.  What a wonderful thing.  But sometimes, when we know a text of Scripture, we forget what it is saying.

So many wonderful acts of God happen around Intercession Episcopal, and the previous week had been one of abundance when it comes to God's mighty acts, so I thought it would be good if we put our beloved Psalm 23 in the context of how we live it out as a community.  I had too much material to work with, but that's a wonderful "problem" to have.  Here is what we proclaimed on Sunday, May 11th:

Living Psalm 23 @ Intercession One Week in May

Facing ongoing back pain and

surgery, a mother of four was given

the ability to feed her family this week

due to Intercession family members sharing their riches

The LORD is my shepherd; *

I shall not be in want.

One young mom lends a helping hand and

a friendly presence to another young mom,

bringing relief and friendship.

He makes me lie down in green pastures *

and leads me beside still waters.

Several women meet to share the grief and sorrow

of divorce; hope, friendship, and new life blooms.

He revives my soul *

and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.

Last Sunday, worshippers at Intercession gave $325

to help recent victims of tornadoes.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I shall fear no evil; *

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Friends gather to break bread, share fellowship,

laugh over dinner conversation and share joy on

Wednesday night.

You spread a table before me in the presence of those

who trouble me; *

you have anointed my head with oil,

and my cup is running over.

We gather each Lord’s Day to meet Jesus in the Eucharist

and to seek the opening of the Word.

Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days

of my life, *

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. 

April 29: Called to Action

“Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed.....Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct;”  --1 Peter 1:13, 15

As Christians, we are called to worship God.  This is what many of us “do” on Sunday morning; we go to church to worship God.

To worship is to show reverence, respect and admiration.  And, I do believe, this is what we do on Sunday mornings.  Oh, it is more than this, but at the root of what we do....we come to worship God: to show reverence, respect, and to give thanks.

But what we must not miss is this is not the end-all, be-all.  We worship God in order to become holy.  The word “holy” means to be set-apart.  To be different than....different than what?  Than those who do not worship God.

Not merely that our words are different, but that who we are is different---our actions are different; our choices are different; our responses are different.  All because our actions, choices, responses, beliefs, and words are founded in Christ Jesus.  They are founded in sacrificial love, the good of the whole (rather than simply the good of self); they are founded in compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and grace (you know, giving out of love instead of giving due to deserving).

In the Anglican Church, we have clarified and defined this type of love, this type of discipleship that lives out the Gospel, in the Five Marks of Mission:

The Mission of the Church Is the Mission of Christ

~ To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom

~ To teach, baptize and nurture new believers 

~ To respond to human need by loving service 

~ To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation

~ To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

The first letter of Peter clearly reminds us: Be ready for action.  Faith isn’t merely about what we do on Sunday mornings.  What we do on Sunday mornings (worshipping and giving thanks to God) should be transforming us so that we can worship God all the other days of the week by how we live.  How we act and respond and treat others.  

Let us worship God with our very lives.