Our Worship and The Thin Veil Between Us and Heaven

Worship*

Our Worship And The Thin Veil Between Us And Heaven

Psalm 95:6 (ESV): Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

Luke 4:8 (ESV):  And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”

Hebrews 12:28 (ESV): Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe

Have you ever felt that when you worship you have been as close to Heaven as we are any other time in our lives?  When I worship, when my focus is on God and His presence, I think I am having a preview of what Heaven is like.  There is a thin veil between our worship of God and Heaven.  It’s as if we could touch God, and simply know we are with Him at His throne. Worship is like being transported to the presence of God.  And as we sing the great hymns of faith, we are also transported to the saints, the whole company of God.

This is what I experienced the last two days.

Bec and I attended the Mere Anglicanism Conference in Charleston, S.C., and there we worshipped like I rarely experience.  I used to say something like this: “high church,” which implies that it is regal, formal, liturgical, and ordered.  And it was.  Bec and I worshipped twice in the three-day conference.  The first was the Choral Evensong, with such beautiful choral music that my heart leaped for joy.  Then, the next evening was The Holy Eucharist, that lasted almost 2 hours. Both worship experiences were in one of the most beautiful sanctuaries in which to worship. We saw the gates of Heaven open, and I felt ready to walk in.  Preaching was with integrity, and it was literally high and lifted up because the preaching pulpit had a spiral staircase to climb to get into it.  The robes and vestments that the clergy wore honored God, and holy symbols drew us into the meaning of worship. We could not have asked for better worship.  The majesty, the glory, the feeling of being transported into a most holy world. And, one side note, their contemporary music, which was a part of the eucharistic service, was absolutely beautiful, combining piano, organ, violin, and drums. It was absolutely wonderful.

We traveled back to our residence in Colfax, NC, in hope to get back to RL before the “winter storm of a lifetime” descended upon us.  We made it.  But soon after our return, they closed everything down, everything.  In fact, many of the employees volunteered to stay the night so they could be here the next few days to make sure the residents had their needs met. Church worship was cancelled across this area.  The roads were covered with ice and snow, so we were relegated to stay at River Landing, our home.  

There is a Sunday School/Faith Enrichment class at 9:00 a.m. at RL, so we gladly attended it.  In it, we felt such warmth and openness to those of us who visited due to not being able to attend their church.  The teacher was so good.  He taught us the lesson as if he was sitting in and privy to a conversation that Paul was having with Timothy about the Thessalonians. What a way to immerse ourselves in the Word of God. 

We were invited afterwards to go to an impromptu worship experience in the rehab and assisted living area.  So we went, not knowing what to expect.  But what I thought could not be equalled in our worship experience at St. Peter’s Anglican Church was experienced once again.  Even here the thin veil between our worship and Heaven was virtually transparent and we could see and hear the saints of Heaven sing praise and glory to God.  Was it the music, no….not this particular worship. There was no preaching, just hymn singing, led by two women who were in their work clothes.  But worship this hour was with people, most who could not come on their own from their beds down the hallway to worship. Several were from assisted living, a few from nursing care and memory care.  But these residents asked to come to worship and people in our independent community came over and brought them.  The two leaders of the worship were not professional, but so loved the residents in their community they work with on a daily basis, that they stayed the night to care for them. Why?  Because they knew how much many of these folks look forward to the hope of Heaven that worship cultivates. They know that their time of earthly departure was upon them so they come to have their faith confirmed and renewed hope instilled within them.  The pianist lives in the assisted living area with her disabled husband and she played “by ear” all the hymns selected by the residents.  There was not a choir, only weekend voices that tried their best to sing the familiar hymns, no professional organists nor instrumentalists, nor articulate readers and preachers as in the services mentioned above.  But to see the men and women try to sing the hymns they knew and tears running down some of their faces, moved me into the throng of the heavenly saints. In essence they were waiting to die, but until then, they wanted to be in the presence of God, here.  And they were.

Now, as I am about to close, I am writing these lines, while Bec is trying out some hymns from her new “Sing!” hymnal on her keyboard.  I love to hear her practice, because it becomes for me another way to worship as I close a day. People, denominations all have their styles of worship, but all true worship is dependent upon the attitude and approach of the worshipper. 

Psalm 29:2 (ESV): Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

Thank you, God, for allowing me to come before Your presence in the heavenly realm through worship. Thank you for the gift of worship which draws us to You in praise and thanksgiving, and with the depths of our souls, love You as You love us.  Thank You for the joy that radiates from my heart as I leave worship only to feel it continue until I come to worship again. 

One of my favorite prayers is the Prayer for Purity, found in many services of the Lord’s Supper/Eucharist.  This describes what God revealed to me as He has to those who have come before me. It also articulates my desire to worship Him with a pure heart, no matter where I worship: in a beautiful reverential sanctuary, on a picnic table as the only place our family could worship in the middle of no where, in a Pentecostal service where the preacher is the custodian of my church, or in a make shift worship center in a residential area for dependent members who miss the one thing that keeps them close to heaven. 

“Almighty God, to You all hearts are open, all desires known and from You no secrets are hid:  Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify Your Holy Name through Christ our Lord.  Amen.”  

Psalm 100:1-3 (ESV) Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

   

Quentin

Sharecropper’s Inheritance

January, 2026

Epiphany