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The Need for Reverent Worship….and the Challenge of Guiding it….
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to the Cross…
“The people were delighted with their donations, for they contributed to the LORD with a willing attitude; King David was also very happy.” (1 Chronicles 29:9, NET)
““But who am I and who are my people, that we should be in a position to contribute this much? Indeed, everything comes from you, and we have simply given back to you what is yours.For we are resident foreigners and nomads in your presence, like all our ancestors; our days are like a shadow on the earth, without security.O LORD our God, all this wealth, which we have collected to build a temple for you to honor your holy name, comes from you; it all belongs to you.” (1 Chronicles 29:14–16, NET)
53 Servite Domino in laetitia!—I will serve God cheerfully. With a cheerfulness that is a consequence of my Faith, of my Hope and of my Love—and that will last for ever. For, as the Apostle assures us, Dominus prope est!…—the Lord follows me closely. I shall walk with Him, therefore, quite confidently, for the Lord is my Father, and with his help I shall fulfil his most lovable Will, even if I find it hard.
I have been doing a lot of thinking recently about the idea of reverence in life and in a life of worship. (see Romans 12:1-3 – worship is far more the Sunday Morning!) It goes along with my version of the ancient rule that how we worship/pray determines how we depend on God, which determines how we live. (Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi is the old phrase.
With that floating around in the back of my mind, my readings this morning included David’s provision for the Temple. He made all the arrangements, he subsidized most of it out of personal wealth, then he realized he needed to share that opportunity with others. This is all the vivendi part of the concept, the way in which they lived out living in the grace of the God whom they worshipped.
You see it in the embracing of difficulty, cheerfully, that St. Josemaria describes! Joy that is a consequence, he teaches, of the faith, hope and love he receives from the Lord. It is the same joy and attitude describes there in Chronicles, a joy that comes from realizing all that we have is from God. it all belongs to Him.
This to me is the core of reverence then, the attitude towards God that is found as we contemplate and live, reflecting the joy that comes from realizing how He comes and blesses us! I would say you have to experience that joy before reverence develops–but that means reverence has to come out of the joy of being blessed by God.
One might even say that reverence then is the reaction to the grace of God. It can be quiet and in awe, it can be loud as full of joy as when singing Handel’s Messiah. But as a reaction it needs to be natural, not forced. It may be shaped by cultural norm, or what is available in the language of the one God has given the gifts of faith, repentance and deliverance to, as they express their awe. And certainly their attitude toward the deliverance itself matters, someone who knows the depth of their sin maybe more enthusiastic than one who considers themselves less of a sinner, or just a normal sinner.
As an example – a stoic person from Finland, who grew up in a family that loved them, but no one spoke of it, would respond reverently different than a family from Jamaica–neither group wrong in their reverent worship – but surely different! Forcing the Finns to worship in a manner reverent to the steel drums and even dancing of the Jamaican would be awkward, the same as forcing the Finn to smile and laugh would cause them so much stress, they couldn’t focus on the God who delivered them from sin, and Satan and an eternity in Hell.
So what do you do in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi expression of joy and reverence community? How do you facilitate and encourage reverence? I believe the key is not focusing on the vivendi, but rather on the reason for worship/prayer. To focus on the gifts of God, being given to the people of God, . This requires making it clear that we should respect each other in their way of celebrating the presence of God, but not dwelling ther, but immediately returning to the fact that the Lord is good, He is with us, and He gives himself to us.
With the focus on Jesus, and the work of God in us, the response will happen, it will be natural, and it will be reverent….for it is only a response.
Escrivá, Josemaría. Furrow (p. 23). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Our Faith is Like Driving a Stick
Devotional thought of the day:
I often see people trying to create a division between “religion” and a “relationship” with Jesus. They bash the idea of there being a structured relationship, because somehow that limits them. Personally, I think there is more to the discussion than simply saying you don’t need the structure, you don’t need the discipline, you don’t need that which so many before you found to be essential to their walk with God. Let me explain using a illustration.
I love driving a manual transmission – especially a five or six speed stick. I really miss my old tiny Mazda 626 and the Sentra SE-R that replaced it. I used to work at a university, and lived about 20 miles away. The road was very winding and hilly, (Malibu Canyon) and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride – constantly shifting and just having fun. It was even fun when rocks dotted the road in the canyon, as you had to really drive. I even learned a few different routes – winding through the Santa Monica Mountains. The scenery was gorgeous- and driving a stick just made it a greater experience!
Driving in such a manner is a great example of religion and relationship functioning together. I didn’t think, downshift now – upshift now – double clutch…right now. I just did it, I guess the word is intuitively, naturally, and the senses became even more aware of what was going on. (for example – my carpool companion Ed screaming to slow down!!!) The “structure” of shifting and the discipline of driving were not negatives – they were part of the flow of life that enhanced the experience, that made it…incredible. Driving an automatic (whether my wife’s Geo Metro or later her RAV4) was no where near the same experience.
If I were to say I didn’t need the structure – that I could shift from 1st to 4th, or didn’t need to depress the clutch, the ride would have been somewhat different. And the damage to the car (our lives) could be exreme. That is what I think those who try to divide our “religion” from the “relationship”. They try to shift where they want, when they want – and there is nothing to keep their senses in check. Unfortunately, life isn’t like driving on a 100 square mile dry-lake bed. It is like driving through the windy canyon, with rocks falling, and a 700 foot cliff to the left! We have to realize that prayer, and reading the Bible, and gathering as the people of God are not duties to hamper our faith, but blessings to form it.
There is another problem that becomes evident here – how we train people to “drive” and “shift”. Nothing intimidates me more than contemplating teaching my wife to drive a stick. It is so intuitive to me, I can’t even think about how to express it in works. My brother in law once had a sheet of directions – “Zen and the art of Driving a stick” – basically saying – when it’s time to shift, depress the clutch, shift, release the clutch” Yeah – that’s about it… yet! So we struggle as we teach people the “mechanics” of our faith, and we just expect them to treasure them the way we do. Not to mention we get a little ticked when they grind the clutch, or don’t down shift or.. and our frustration frustrates them – and do we really need all this?
And so the idea of can’t we strip the religion from the relationship seems to be very… possible. And often times, to our shame, we let them – thinking they will never understand. Not remembering how long it took us to learn these things.
I thought so too – till I started ministering to people with dementia, or alzheimers, or near the end of their lives. To go through a short version of the liturgy, and see those who cannot remember why I wear a clerical collar – though they do know it is a great thing I am there – say the Lord’s prayer with me, and even the Creed, to read Psalm 23, or John 3, or Eph 2:8-10 and watch them mouth the words, and the same during the words of institution, or the light that sparkles in their eyes and they receive the Lord’s Supper. There is something to that structure, there is something to that faith – that is even intuitive when all else is failing. There is peace, and calm and even joy. The same when a family goes through trauma, or when what would cause anxiety in ost just doesn’t stress them out.
For it is then, that “religion” calls us back to know that which we should know – when our driving becomes fluid and graceful and we can again rise out of ourselves and sense that there is something else at work, Someone else providing the power, the beauty, the grace. When we are no longer just concentrating on the mechanics, but they are so natural, that we can more clearly experience walking with God. Because we know His promises, we know He is communicating with us in prayer, and we are ultimately aware of His presence… so aware nothing else matters.
So be patient, be diligent, listen to those who would disciple and train you… and if you are training someone – be patient, remember how it took you a while – and there were more than a few hiccups,
Lord Have Mercy, and help us to live in a way, that we rejoice in the journey, fully confident of Your presence.
AMEN
