How Do We Rate?

One of the questions we have to ask ourselves when talking about liturgy and worship is: who is the audience of our worship?. The "audience", perhaps surprisingly to some, is not the people sitting in the pews! The audience is primarily God. Our church is not filled with observers who have gathered to watch a small group in the sanctuary engage in "worship" - we are all engaged in the work of worship. This is a difficult concept to get across to Anglicans sometimes because I think the former is exactly what we have been sub-consciously indoctrinated to believe.
There is a secondary audience, however, and that is the outside world - those who don't belong to the church. Paradoxically they are (usually) not present, but they may be there in the form of newcomers or visitors and our worship is intended to witness to them our faith in Jesus Christ and our following of the gospel. We have to constantly ask ourselves what would the unchurched think of our worship? And what does it say about us? And...if we dare... we have to ask ourselves the really interesting question - what does God think of our worship??!!
How do you think God would rate our worship during Lent - lets say on a scale of 1 to 10?

Lent Liturgy

Well I think we've done enough on personal discipline during Lent! What about corporate discipline - our worship. During Lent we have simplified our church and liturgy - no flowers, no Paschal candle, no Gloria, fewer hymns, silent procession, no music during communion. This "stripping down" of the liturgy is often described using words like "austere". To me this sounds severe, almost as if we are punishing or depriving ourselves so we can enjoy Easter more! There is probably a valid sense in this but I prefer to think of it differently. When you are with someone who is suffering, perhaps dying, there is not a whole lot you can say. Often the best way to minister to that person is to be present, sit with them, in silence. When we consider the great mystery of Jesus' incarnation, suffering, and death what can we say that makes any sense? An awe-struck silence seems to me a highly appropriate response. That's the "feeling" I like to take into our Lent liturgy - what do you think?

The Rubber Hits The Road

Thanks to all of you who have added comments on last week's post. Its great to hear other people's experiences, they are always encouraging. The halfway mark of Lent is approaching (Sunday 7th March is the 19th day out of 40)and the rubber is really starting to hit the road, especially if you have taken on a discipline that is proving hard. You might also be feeling a little restless if you're tired of the "stripped down" liturgy and can't wait to launch into some guts-and-glory-type hymns.

I've taken on my usual Lent discipline which is giving up tea and coffee. This year I have found it harder than before - for some reason the foggy head feeling that persists for at least a week during detox has been more pronounced. Now that I've come out of that I'm feeling good! I always feel empowered by giving up something that I am, lets face it, addicted to. I get a sense of taking control of my life again.

I've also added a twist to the discipline this year and given up not just tea and coffee but all hot drinks. I did this because I've been doing further reading on global warming and I'm even more convinced of the need for all of us to take leadership in our personal lifestyles to tackle carbon emissions. I thought the carbon saved by not boiling the kettle would mean others benefit, in a small way, by my abstinence. Some quick online research revealed that boiling the kettle 5 times a day (conservative for me)would produce 3kg of carbon dioxide during Lent. And, yes, this translates to over 27kg a year! And that is tiny compared to when the rubber literally hits the road through motor transportation. I'm making progress here with my bike and public transport but there's still a long way to go. Ultimately (as I think Gabi was getting at in her comment on my last post) all discipline must lead us to prayer. Prayer is the ultimate discipline and takes care of all the others. Even a quest to reduce carbon emissions is perfected in prayer because when I take time out to pray I'm carbon neutral!