We Share One Life, We Are One Life
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*Worship, Celestial Meeker, Flickr
This morning, again, sitting among others, to worship. Again, I cannot seem to avoid, for a time, how much of what is said does not seem to connect with my heart. But, what after the for a time?
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I have referred before to Meister Eckhart's teaching not to think about the Holy Communion during the rite, but simply to engage with it. He taught, thinking about it could better occur prior to or after.
For myself, I have come to the same conclusion about all pubic worship. So much of it makes no sense to me. I have come to conclude that I do not see how a thinking person can engage in any public worship and not have serious questions about it.
So, what do we do about the mixed blessing of community worship - traditions blessed with truth, and consistently showing they have no interest in closely examining their claims to truth or the oft outmoded forms they cling to? We worship there.
How do we worship with others - many of whom are not prayerful and have no intent to come close to being persons of prayer? The same way we live: prayerfully.
Prayerful worship is an exercise in loving through presence. We do not help anyone, or ourselves, by picking apart intellectually the words and rites of public worship, when in worship. We give ourselves. We allow Grace to manifest meaning through the limited forms of language and act, and others, and self.
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In worship, we do not grasp for any meaning. We do not intellectually examine it. We do not silently argue with it. This is all a form of resistance, and often of pride. If we do these things, we are negating the blessing of worship: to transcend ourselves.
At times, we may leave such a gathering feeling we never felt connected, never felt any meaning - only moving through the time-frazzled words and acts of ritual and rite. At other times, we may be surprised by Meaning confronting us or comforting us, all because we were reverently open and receptive to be surprised.
For me, at least, I have decided worship is not about my getting anything for myself. Or, I could say, simply worship with others, in which I do not seek an intellectual escape, is all I deeply need from worship.
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Prayerful persons need community worship. Otherwise, our worship apart too easily becomes a narcissistic escape from accountability in community-with-others - others who are often apparently very unlike us. In this community-with-others, we find we are much more like the others than we thought, and that there is more precious truth in those words, rituals, and rites than we thought. We find this in dropping thought, and keeping open the heart, in faith in Grace.
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*Worship, Udaipur, Marji Lang, Flickr
* * * CLOSING BLESSING * * *
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Grace and Peace to All
The Sacred in Me bows to the Sacred in You
*You are welcome to contact Brian at briankwilcox@yahoo.com .
