Who We Are ~ Reflections for the Rector
November - December
For some time now a line from Psalm 96 has been floating into my mind during morning prayer. "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." What, I ask myself - and now you - is the Holy Spirit trying to tell me and the church I serve?
Four key words need unpacking as we begin to look for an answer: worship, Lord, beauty, and holiness. You would need a book for each, but a book of a thousand pages begins with a first paragraph. And so ...
Worship. Worship is an act, something we do - give praise and thanks to God - but more than that, worship is an attitude or orientation of the heart. In worship, we stand before the one who created the universe, who gave us life, who calls us to hope and love, who judges us with mercy and justice. In worship we also petition and question God - the psalms show the whole spectrum of human thought and emotion is engaged during faithful encounter with the living God. It would seem then that the questions is not whether we are truly seeking to encounter God. Which brings me to the next word.
Lord. Who is Lord? Put another way. whom do you serve? The Ten Commandments made clear to the Israelites (and to us) that there is a stark inescapable choice. You can serve the God revealed in Abraham and Moses, who brings freedon through obedience (my yoke is light, said Jesus), or you will serve other gods and idols. And what they bring is false promises - such as the false promise of happiness from material goods, or enduduring joy from transient thrills, or the chimera of an autonomous self. But what is the reward of service to the Lord?
Beauty. This is an intresting angle. Sure, we are promised eternal life - but the beauty of holiness is available now. Look around, the beauty of the fall foliage, of cloud play and child play, of art and mathematics. And then imagine everything "charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil" (Gerard Manley Hopkins). Though we tread it under our feet, and despoil and deface creation - though nature itself can be harsh and cruel - still beauty can be found in a vacant lot, as plants break through concrete. Beauty is a powerful grace.
Holiness. If we see that beauty points beyond itself to the one who made all things, then we can begin to see that holiness - participating in the nature of God - is beautiful. A human face in dignity or joy points beyond itself to a mystery - and is beautiful in ways beyond the beauty of good looks. Just so, I believe that our worship must point beyond itself to an encounter with the living God, with the face of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let us then try in every way - through liturgy, music, the preaching, and the personal prayers and devotions of each one of us attending the servicce (note the word) - to "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Then we will see lives transformed, feel joy in our hearts, and experience growth in spirit and community.
