Friends, Christ is Risen! Christ is risen, indeed!
I don't know when I've ever needed Easter so much as I have needed it this year. It seems we are inundated with dire news, as much from the collateral damage due to coronavirus as from the disease the virus inflicts.
It felt like a particularly low blow not to be able to gather for worship on Easter Day. I mean, if we were to boil the entire Christian faith down to one event, I'd have to say that Easter is IT. There is no statement of faith, no proclamation of the Gospel, no prayer of thanksgiving, no promise of God's goodness that is more compelling than the words at the beginning this post: Christ is Risen! Christ is risen, indeed!
And this year, we weren't able to gather in our sanctuary to proclaim that good news.
Yet, coronavirus (et al.) did not stop our proclamation! We had a virtual sunrise service and a virtual Easter worship service. Even though we were not worshiping in the same space, we were still worshiping together by way of our digital worship service. I don't know about you, but I had tears in my eyes when I worshiped with you by way of those videos - and I was there when both of them were made, so I knew what was coming!
>Pause and consider: What is it that makes worship worship?
I don't know when I've ever needed Easter so much as I have needed it this year. It seems we are inundated with dire news, as much from the collateral damage due to coronavirus as from the disease the virus inflicts.
It felt like a particularly low blow not to be able to gather for worship on Easter Day. I mean, if we were to boil the entire Christian faith down to one event, I'd have to say that Easter is IT. There is no statement of faith, no proclamation of the Gospel, no prayer of thanksgiving, no promise of God's goodness that is more compelling than the words at the beginning this post: Christ is Risen! Christ is risen, indeed!
And this year, we weren't able to gather in our sanctuary to proclaim that good news.
Yet, coronavirus (et al.) did not stop our proclamation! We had a virtual sunrise service and a virtual Easter worship service. Even though we were not worshiping in the same space, we were still worshiping together by way of our digital worship service. I don't know about you, but I had tears in my eyes when I worshiped with you by way of those videos - and I was there when both of them were made, so I knew what was coming!
>Pause and consider: What is it that makes worship worship?
White is the color for Eastertide! Clockwise from upper left: Dogwood (from NRPC); Roof Iris; Grandpa Greybeard; Lily of the Valley
Ironic, isn't it, that the Worship chapter from Marjorie Thompson's Soul Feast would fall in this week after our having had to gather virtually for Easter Day worship?
Thompson’s first observation about worship is that we too often have a backwards understanding of what it is. She uses Søren Kierkegaard’s theater analogy to make this point. Imagine walking into the sanctuary at NRPC. Straight ahead you’ll see a raised platform. The front part of the platform has various pieces of furniture; the back part of the platform has musical instruments and a few rows of chairs. Between you and the platform are rows and rows of seats, all facing the platform.
It would appear that all the action is going to happen on the platform while the seats are filled with consumers of whatever is presented by the platform actors, right? Actually, wrong! Everyone gathered (actually or virtually!) in the sanctuary is a part of the action, while the ‘audience’ is none other than the Triune God! Worship leaders – pastors, liturgists, musicians – might lead and direct, but the entire congregation works together to offer worship to God. In short, worship happens for God’s sake and not for ours.
This re-arrangement doesn’t preclude our coming away with our own needs met during worship, however. Have you ever helped a friend, but found yourself uplifted in the process? You put your friend’s need first, but you benefited, too, right? Worship works in a similar way – offering ourselves first to God, we find our own needs met, too.
>Pause and consider: Why do you worship?
One of the most intriguing sections of Thompson’s chapter is a paragraph about including members of a congregation who are unable to gather in the sanctuary. (p. 57) Throughout the chapter Thompson speaks to the need for shared worship – we support one another, correct one another, need one another! – and here she asks us to consider those who can’t gather with the congregation. It’s a particularly interesting concern when we are all in the situation of being unable to gather.
>This ‘Pause and consider’ comes right out of Thompson’s chapter: Do you think forced isolation makes a person more conscious of the gift and importance of common worship? What might we learn from persons in such circumstances?
All of this makes me wonder what our worship will be like when we are finally able to gather in one place again. Ju, Terri, Brandon and I have enjoyed the challenge of figuring out our virtual worship pattern. For instance, we have opted for recordings rather than streaming precisely because we hope you will participate with us to make worship happen (light a candle, grab a bible, say the prayers – please!). At the same time, we know that worship at a distance means more distractions, so we’ve tightened timeframes and streamlined the order of our service. I wonder when we'll be in our sanctuary again and I wonder what our pattern of worship will be when we re-start in-person worship.
>Pause and consider: How to you think our worship will be different when we gather at NRPC again?
“Worship is the most fundamental of all Christian practices,” writes Thompson. (p. 56) Offering ourselves to God begins a cascade of results for us as individuals and as a congregation, until the cascade overflows into our community and world in a Worship * Grow * Serve way!
I look forward when we next gather - however we gather – for worship.
Thompson’s first observation about worship is that we too often have a backwards understanding of what it is. She uses Søren Kierkegaard’s theater analogy to make this point. Imagine walking into the sanctuary at NRPC. Straight ahead you’ll see a raised platform. The front part of the platform has various pieces of furniture; the back part of the platform has musical instruments and a few rows of chairs. Between you and the platform are rows and rows of seats, all facing the platform.
It would appear that all the action is going to happen on the platform while the seats are filled with consumers of whatever is presented by the platform actors, right? Actually, wrong! Everyone gathered (actually or virtually!) in the sanctuary is a part of the action, while the ‘audience’ is none other than the Triune God! Worship leaders – pastors, liturgists, musicians – might lead and direct, but the entire congregation works together to offer worship to God. In short, worship happens for God’s sake and not for ours.
This re-arrangement doesn’t preclude our coming away with our own needs met during worship, however. Have you ever helped a friend, but found yourself uplifted in the process? You put your friend’s need first, but you benefited, too, right? Worship works in a similar way – offering ourselves first to God, we find our own needs met, too.
>Pause and consider: Why do you worship?
One of the most intriguing sections of Thompson’s chapter is a paragraph about including members of a congregation who are unable to gather in the sanctuary. (p. 57) Throughout the chapter Thompson speaks to the need for shared worship – we support one another, correct one another, need one another! – and here she asks us to consider those who can’t gather with the congregation. It’s a particularly interesting concern when we are all in the situation of being unable to gather.
>This ‘Pause and consider’ comes right out of Thompson’s chapter: Do you think forced isolation makes a person more conscious of the gift and importance of common worship? What might we learn from persons in such circumstances?
All of this makes me wonder what our worship will be like when we are finally able to gather in one place again. Ju, Terri, Brandon and I have enjoyed the challenge of figuring out our virtual worship pattern. For instance, we have opted for recordings rather than streaming precisely because we hope you will participate with us to make worship happen (light a candle, grab a bible, say the prayers – please!). At the same time, we know that worship at a distance means more distractions, so we’ve tightened timeframes and streamlined the order of our service. I wonder when we'll be in our sanctuary again and I wonder what our pattern of worship will be when we re-start in-person worship.
>Pause and consider: How to you think our worship will be different when we gather at NRPC again?
“Worship is the most fundamental of all Christian practices,” writes Thompson. (p. 56) Offering ourselves to God begins a cascade of results for us as individuals and as a congregation, until the cascade overflows into our community and world in a Worship * Grow * Serve way!
I look forward when we next gather - however we gather – for worship.
Until next time,
Peace!
Lisa
Thompson, Marjorie, Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life (New Rev edition). Westminster John Knox Press, 2014
Peace!
Lisa
Thompson, Marjorie, Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life (New Rev edition). Westminster John Knox Press, 2014
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