IN KEEPING WITH A PROMISE, #3

When we come to church on Sundays (or any day), what are our goals (conscious or otherwise)? For some of us, we come first, last, always and only to adore and glorify our Triune God. For others of us, we do this along with the desire to satisfy our needs for communion (with the Lord and with others). Some also long to feel ‘connectedness,’ a sense of being accepted and of belonging. All these are valid in noble sentiments, when held in a creative tension. They speak of adoration, contrition/forgiveness, reconciliation and membership in the Body of Christ.

Worship is especially tricky for us, in many ways. God is God, after all: not a buddy you play golf or cards with. Yet God is Love; God is “Our Father”: not a demon to be terrified of. Where is the “middle ground” where we can stand (and kneel) with integrity?

Sometimes we are so aware of God’s majesty we cannot do anything but fall on our knees in silence. Sometimes God’s love is so overwhelming we cannot do anything but sing for joy and gratitude. Sometimes our sense of being incorporated into the Body of Christ is so great we cannot do anything but celebrate our common calling as members of that Body. The difficulty comes, for some of us, when all three “types” are present at the same liturgy; there sometimes seems to be a conflict.

For myself, I tend much more to be attuned to ##2-3 during liturgy, and #1 in my private prayer. But that’s just me.

Whatever else is true, the root of the Greek word that gives us “liturgy” translated service. It is service offered, first and foremost, to God in Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit. But it is also done as a thanksgiving offering, and it is done by the Body together, not by individuals in isolation. So again: how do we strike the proper balance?

The changes that will be introduced in the language of the prayers of our Eucharistic liturgy (not until Advent of 2011 at the earliest) are intended to make the “service” and “adoration” dimension of our worship more easily entered into. We pray, at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer, “Lift up your hearts./We lift them up to the Lord.” We want to lift our minds “up to the Lord” as well, and even our bodies (for worship intends to engage the whole person). The goal is a joyful, communal reverence, or perhaps a reverent, joyful community, or even a reverent, communal joy. No matter how one chooses to emphasize it, this is a desire that is noble in its heart.

This ultimately leads to (and perhaps expands our understanding of) the notion of “full, conscious and active participation” in the liturgy, insisted on in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy from Vatican II (paragraph 14). We are able to participate actively in many ways (even, at times, in silence—more on that in another essay). The key is our focus: where are our hearts and minds when we enter into worship? The use of our bodies (for example, in posture, and in spoken or sung responses) helps our hearts and minds to attend to the reason why we are gathered. But the focus is the bottom line. It is, in other words, our loving response to One who has first loved us, who longs to empower us to bring that love to others. Here is the first, last and only reason why we gather. And it speaks of our responsibility when we depart.

We gather, then, because we believe in the Eucharist; therefore we celebrate the Eucharist, and as a result we are commissioned and enabled to live the Eucharist.