Worship

I remember years ago, I had a friend who said he did not like going to church because, for him, worship was kind of boring… He said, “You know you just sit there, and the music is often reflective and quiet.”

On the other side of this, Annie Dillard has this great quote. She wrote: “On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke?… It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews.” 

What’s happening in worship?

The Irish poet and philosopher John O’Donohue put it this way: “When one enters the sanctuary, one does not simply enter a building; rather one enters unknowingly the gathered memory. This house is a living archive of transcendence. People have come into this (space) with burdens of heart that could find healing nowhere else in the world. They have come in here for shelter when storms have unraveled every stitch of meaning from their lives. And they have come in too to give thanks for blessings and gifts they could never have earned…” 

“Somewhere in this (space) the affection that created us, waits to bless and heal us.”

What’s really happening when we come into worship?

I think about how, sometimes without thinking about it, we come forward to the table side-by-side with others who see the world completely different from us. We sit side by side with those who don’t share our politics or world views, side by side with those who may have stepped on our toes, or rubbed us the wrong way or even hurt us. Every week we hear of God’s forgiveness, grace and mercy. We tell stories that shape our lives in the ways of serving, and giving, and gratitude. 

What happens when we set aside our lives to worship God?

Let us pray: We love you. We praise you. We worship you, O God. We thank you for healing, shaping and challenging us to grow; through Christ our Lord. Amen.