Epiphany
"And again, to church" (p.33). For you personally, what is the significance of going to church? It is a holy discipline to be observed? A habit? A therapeutic exercise? An attempt to make God less of an abstraction?
Winner reads the story of Jesus' baptism and realizes that perhaps the true beauty of this story is that he is Emmanuel, God with us, standing alongside us in the line of sinners waiting to be baptized. What does Jesus' place in that line signify as we meditate on God's presence and absence? As Winner imagines herself in line with these "tawdry first-century sinners" and Jesus, she feels relief. How oes it make you feel to imagine yourself in line with those sinners?
For tomorrow: please read pages 37-46.
For tomorrow: read pages 37-46
4 comments:
Why do I come to church? It is where I want to be - a place of solace, a place of learning, of renewal, of refreshment, a place to practice how to live so that maybe when I leave I can carry over what I have done and felt and learned into the world. I need to come back quickly though for it is hard in the world, it feels foreign, it is dangerous. I need to come back to hear it again, to be safe for a while, to be renewed again, refreshed again. And then I go out again and try it in the world only to want to run back to church again and again and again.
And I love the music, and the people.
Church beats any other place I know of here on earth. Why, where else would I want to be?
I think I come to church to learn to live out the other days of the week, to practice for the real world.
And I love the music! And the prayers. Except for the Prayers of the People. I usually find those a bit tedious. But I like all the other ones.
For me attending church is the great convergence of the sacred and the profane into something really spectacular--truth and love.
Maybe we should renew the effort to have new Prayers of the People written. Some of the one's we have used on Wednesday nights have been effective.
And I really loved the Confession we used on Sunday!
I also have to ditto coming to hear the music, both congregational and choir. Wish we did more Anglican Chant in 4 parts - it soothes the soul (at least mine).
Post a Comment