Should We Insist on Everyone Being Happy & Calm At Worship?

Ezra 3:12-13
(12) But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. (13) No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

After seventy years of absence from Jerusalem, Israelites were now back and restoring life. They started restoration with worship. If worship comes first everything else fits in.

The Israelites who came back were of two major generations and in between. The older generation had lived in Jerusalem before the seventy years of captivity. The older generation knew Jerusalem as it was before captivity.

The younger generation is made of those who were born in captivity. They had never been to Jerusalem or any part of Israel. They knew the past from teachings and stories. For this young generation, it was their first time in Jerusalem and they were excited.

Ruins of the city depressed the older generation. The site of the ruins of the city excited the new generation because just being here, for them was a dream come true. Same city, same ruins, same time but the reactions are totally different. The difference was in what was going on in each group. One had traumatic memory, the other had exciting anticipation.

Therefore, when they came to worship, each group brought their experience to worship. The old generation brought pain and disappointment to worship. The new generation brought anticipation and excitement to worship. The group in between were confused and unsure of how to react and they brought their uncertainty to worship. They came to worship but what was going on in them was not the same, but the variety was welcome!

As the worship went on, the older generation wept loudly for that is what they were going through. The younger generation celebrated loudly in joy. There was a noise as each group responded to the moment. You can’t schedule weeping in the program. You can’t announce that it is now time to weep, or weeping is now over we now move on to rejoicing. These reactions are natural and the best was to let them go on concurrently!

Nehemiah 8:8-12 is a worship moment when for the first time in many years, God’s word was read. The people felt guilty and they all mourned and wept. The leaders comforted them by telling them not to mourn and weep because it’s a holy day to God and they are restored and forgiven. They were mourning and weeping because they misunderstood the situation and the leaders clarified it and the crying ended. However, in our text today, the reactions of weeping and rejoicing are in order and they are permitted.

Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

In the Lord means another level of experience. In reality it’s mourning but in the Lord because of hope we rejoice. Believers have two experiences, the reality and in the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 do not mourn like others. Reality is mourning, in the Lord is hope of resurrection. Mourning is not banned. Mourning is allowed but with hope of resurrection which makes it possible in mourning to rejoice in the Lord.

Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

When circumstances of life bring joy we rejoice. When circumstances of life bring mourning we mourn. We should not deny those realities even in worship. That is why the Roman church is told to accommodate both the mourning and rejoicing saints among them. Don’t force the mourners to rejoice, instead mourn with them and vise versa.

You can’t stand up and demand that everyone behave happily or stay calm. Unless you are asking them to pretend to be happy and pretend to be calm. Who are we impressing by pretending to be happy, yet the God we worship can read our moods and feelings? Is worship about the impressions we give others or the authenticity we bring before God?

If someone weeps during worship, should ushers escort them out so that they don’t interrupt worship, or does the congregation weep with those who are weeping and rejoice with those who are rejoicing? If worship caused the weeping, isn’t, therefore, the weeping part of that worship? if worship caused rejoicing, isn’t, therefore, rejoicing part of worship?

It is wrong to force people to have a certain mood as if other moods are not welcome. At the time of Ezra, the weeping was welcome and the rejoicing was welcome. Shouldn’t we also welcome all people in our worship services? Shouldn’t the weeping and rejoicing be both welcome?

The lessons we learn are many. First, we should tolerate each other since all sorts of people with varied feelings and backgrounds come to church for worship. Secondly, we should force people to behave uniformly, because our experiences are not uniform. We shouldn’t force happiness or sadness. Thirdly, the God we worship can read our moods and heart’s circumstances, therefore we shouldn’t pretend in God’s presence.

When people pretend in God’s presence in order to impress others, the worship becomes superficial and unsatisfactory. It is easy to miss and avoid such worship. The whole exercise seems fake and choreographed. The worship becomes boring and mechanical. The happy never fully express their gratitude before God because everything is regulated. The sad never express their frustrations before God because it seems out of place. Both groups go home disappointed and unsatisfied by worship.

From such regulated worship services, the measure of success becomes, amount of money collected, the number of people present, how the choir sang, the theatrics of the preacher, and how time was managed and everything flowed well. Did the worshippers express themselves and respond accordingly? It doesn’t matter. Such worship, in the long run, is unsatisfactory.

This is not to suggest that disorder is authentic, no! The Bible extensively teaches the need for order. Worship must be orderly. Orderly however doesn’t mean we regulate how people respond to worship. If it is singing time, that is the order, but let the people sing their hearts out in weeping and rejoicing depending on their circumstances. If it is prayer time, let all requests be presented, requests for the weeping and for the crying. In order, there should be liberty for authentic participation in worship.

It is wrong to whip up certain moods using music and sermons designed to elicit certain emotional reactions. Worship is best, authentic, and satisfactory when we naturally and genuinely respond to God. To respond emotionally to music or sermon is not equivalent to responding to God, it is like forcing a child to say thank you when they don’t want to. You are being forced to rejoice or cry when you don’t want to.

Worship programs should be orderly but allow people to fully express themselves before God. Every group should be catered for and made to feel welcome and not out of place. Weird looks and whispers should be reprimanded. At the same time, we should be conscious and sensitive that our liberty before God does not become a stumbling block to others. That balance is what we should aim at and pray for.

May God make our worship experience authentic and real, leaving us satisfied and happy to have been before God. May this be our experience in Jesus’ name, Amen!

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