On Materiality in Worship

     If you had asked me, oh, even ten years ago if I could adore a rug or a piece of wood, I'd probably given you one of my looks through squinty eyes conveying suspicion. So, tonight, when I kissed a tapestry, bearing the likeness of a deposed Jesus, I wondered--Wow! Have I come a long way from where I was.
     I'm on the verge of preparing for entrance in the ancient church, and while there are some things I'll miss from Protestant worship, there are some things I'd never dreamt of. Incense, like prayers; icons and the iconostasis, a reminder of worship in Heaven, of the great cloud of witnesses, of the human form, of stories, of something to look at and focus, of something to handle with hands, to kiss, to reverence; of water splashing at Theophany/Epiphany, of the burial procession of Holy Friday and Saturday Matins; the bowing, the signing, the whole body and senses involved. Not yet, but now. Not the whole, but only in part. Glimpses, nothing clear.
   Photographs from Heaven, calisthenics of the saints, elements of Earth--all pointing to the King and Creator. This is worship. Maybe you disagree, but you haven't seen what I've seen, I'll wager.

If you worship Him, why wouldn't you want to kiss his head, his hands, his feet?

Comments

lgumina said…

I think I do understand, Scot. And could I please accompany you to one of these places of worship one day? May not seem appropriate for me to ask, but I want to involve all my senses.

May 13, 2011 at 7:17 PM

Worth Quoting

There are but three social arrangements which can replace Capitalism: Slavery, Socialism, and Property. --Hilaire Belloc ...

Independent Women?

During breakfast today I was reading an excerpt from a play in The New York Times Magazine (I know, I was a day behind and read Saturday's edition yesterday) entitled Rust . The play, written by a professor at Grand Valley State University, here in Michigan, is a nonfiction drama about the closing of a GM plant in Wyoming, MI. The play itself sounds interesting and I enjoyed the excerpt, but what caught my eye was something a character said. The character is "Academic" and plays a historian and guide to the playwright, also a character. He is explaining the rise of the automobile factories and the effect of the car on American culture. He says, "Women became independent, they go from producers of food and clothing to consumers of food and clothing." This was meant as an earnest, praiseworthy point. I would counter with "How far we've fallen." To say that a woman (or a man) is independent because she has m...

Mystery Meat indeed!

During my grocery shopping today I was asked to pick up some hot dogs for some meal or other. Now I am not an aficianado of the 'ot dog, but will usually have a corn dog or BBQed version of one or two during the summer. If my children like them, so be it. The trouble came when trying to find a package that didn't arrive from a chemistry lab. Nitrates and nitrites, sugars (including HFCS), the preservative sodium benzoate, and other fun substances littered every package I picked up. Even Hebrew National which "Answers to a Higher Standard" was doped. Apparently Kosher doesn't mean it can't be injected with a chemical cocktail. So-called "Natural Casings" were prominently displayed to catch my eye. As if sheep or pig intestine somehow offsets Agricorps tinkering. I ended up buying the brand "sold at Tiger Stadium" not because it was chemical-free, Hell no! It was merely the brand with the least additives. Why does a hot dog need su...

I Am Not Hamlet

Search This Blog