Sunday 9 August 2020

To Worship or not to worship

Can anyone have too many books?

I love books. Books that challenge my thinking and perspective on life. Books that take you across the world into a variety of cultures and give an insight into other people’s hopes and dreams. Books that teach me skills, from cooking to needlework or languages; books that stimulate my curiosity, that give me a glimpse of insight into the world we live.

 

Needless to say, we attended the local book fair over the weekend. There were a lot of people, silently moving around the endless tables with novels, scanning titles and authors. A separate hall with cooking and gardening books was soon filled with cries of excitement, as someone found the perfect cookbook, while children rushed around to the kid’s corner. The supply seemed never-ending. We went back twice, as new boxes were brought in when space became available. Novels were put on the table as they came out of the box, not on alphabetical order, so if you were looking for a specific title or author, you had to go around all the tables. A church, full of tables.

 

I sensed a slight panic with some volunteers. They were supposed to close at midday, so they could clear the space for Sunday worship. There were too many patrons, still milling around; there were far too many books to call it a day.

 

It seems worship requires a particular space—a sense of sacredness, a sense of peace and quiet. Although to be fair, that is my idea of communal worship. There are other traditions where a band offers music, rather than a pipe organ! So stillness and quietness are relative.

 

Worship, according to Wikipedia, is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, or by a designated leader. Worship means different things to different people.

 

In my church, I have noticed that some people genuflect or bow to the cross, as an acknowledgement to the Divine Presence who is present in the place of worship. It seems odd though… We know that God is present everywhere. God is within us and around us.

 

For me, I sense God’s presence at the beach. However, I don’t bow to the beach. I assume God is present in the Supermarket; again, I don’t bow when I enter the shop. I wonder what worship means to others and even to God.

 

You are all aware of the debates if God requires our worship or not. I suppose God doesn’t. It is for us and our sense of relationship. I wonder if it is like many relationships. My children know I love them; still, it is important to nurture that relationship, talk to each other, and share our life stories. To celebrate and grow that relationship with God, I need to invest time and effort, pray and sit in silence, for that is the time I find God’s voice is most apparent.

 

Worship, music, song and dance, preaching, and all other aspects of what we name as worship, is for our benefit.

I am sure you are familiar with some dramas of the faith community, where singing becomes a performance or is a ‘put off’ for those in the congregation. Another point of contention is the length and the message of the sermon. I don’t know what kind of music God likes, and I don’t know whether God wants to hear one sermon after another, words, and more words.

Frankly, I wonder if all God needs is for us to love God as we love our neighbour and ourselves. I wonder if all God wants for us is to take care of Creation and engage in our spiritual practice–not for God’s sake but ours. 

What do you think?

 

 Seek Peace and find it within.

No comments:

Post a Comment