Monday, December 08, 2008

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Religious silence is silence that is undertaken as an act of worship. Whether I hear God or not makes no difference.
- Thomas Merton


Merton’s a pretty wise dude.

For the last few years, thanks largely to my Anglican friends as well as my Pastor, I have been offered many opportunities to engage God through more traditional forms of worship. These include fasting, lectio divina, meditation, liturgy, and many different forms that I was never exposed to in my evangelical upbringing.

I have found much meaning in these times of worship, and credit much of my spiritual development to thoughtfully engaging in and pursuing more traditional types of sacred ritual. I have been able to experience God in new and real ways, and for that I am thankful. And during those times where God is silent – when I seem to be unable to encounter Her – these rituals allow me to remember that much of that meaning lies in the act of worship – in my choice to offer God that moment and that sacrifice. Whether I feel Christ’s presence in that moment is not necessarily the point. Christ and I are connected regardless of my feelings.

6 comments:

Chris H said...

Her?

bre said...

Yes.

Chris H said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chris H said...

I see.

I'd love to hear that fleshed out in another post, if you're so inclined

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this. I never thought I'd end up in more and more orthodox worship settings, but for me I find Christ in the repetition.

It's not up to me to make worship meaningful or emotional or thoughtful. Nor is it up to the preacher or the music team.

All I need to do is be present fully to God's stirrings and choose to follow the altar call up to the communion rail.

And even if I'm not fully present, there's dozens of others who are to support me through corporate prayer. And there's billions around the world. And there's more through history, which isn't separate from us.

All is connected.

And why do people react when God is feminized but not when God is He. God is beyond gender and present in all genders... God's image.

(I tried to de-gender God while reading Isaiah in church but it just screwed it up and I got confused)

Chris H said...

David,
Reacting suggesting it's involuntary. I have simply asked for Bre to flesh out her choice of pronoun. It is not found anywhere in the Bible, so I'm curious as to why she chose to use it.