OLD FAITHFUL AND WORSHIP
by Pastor Lem Niere
Yellowstone National Park is a geological hotbed with hundreds of geysers and hot springs. One of our first stops in the scenic wilderness was the geyser known affectionately as Old Faithful. Old Faithful is the most visited of all the geysers for a simple reason: It is faithful. It is not the tallest geyser or the most beautiful, but it is faithful. Presently, one can count on Old Faithful erupting every eighty minutes.
The National Park Service has built a boardwalk that encircles the old geyser with benches around one side. (You can stand on the other side, but when the geyser erupts you will get a shower.) The historic hotels and quaint shops fan out from the geyser. No doubt about it, Old Faithful is the center of attention.
As the time for the eruption gets closer, more and more tourists arrive, seating on the benches or on the boardwalk. Latecomers stand behind. Many have their cameras—video and still— trained like weapons on the famous hole in the ground.
From the steam rising from the opening in the earth, first there was a sputtering of water. "There she goes," exclaims one observer.. But the sputtering stops. A moment later comes the sputtering again, turning into a fountain of hot water streaming toward the heavens a hundred feet high.
Everyone looks up. Jaws drop. Eyes pop. A sense of wonder fills everyone encircling Old Faithful as the geyser sends cascading waters up and up. The crowd is spellbound, awe-filled, as the dancing water performs its magic for a minute and then quietly returns to earth. Its water supply depleted, but in another eighty minutes it would be filled again ready to burst forth toward the sky. But notice something. Onlookers display a sense of awe, a worship-like quality. They have witnessed something powerful, something from beyond themselves.
A father says to his kids, "Did you see that? Amazing, wasn't it?” A little boy tells his sister, "I can't wait to tell Johnny when we get back home.” Another shouts, "Hey, Grandpa, did you see that?” Still another said, "Can we watch it again?” With a sense of reverence people return to their cars or the gift shop knowing they witnessed something spectacular.
The same dynamic occurs when we come to worship God. Or, must I say, should happen. We ought to witness the spectacular hand of God. We are supposed to witness something beyond ourselves. We are to be in awe, spellbound, mesmerized by the life-giving, life-flowing, power of God. We should be motivated to tell others about what we have experienced.
What Old Faithful does for the tourist in Yellowstone, our worship of God should do for those who worship God in church. The psalmist David wrote,
