Sunday, March 8

"But now....."

This brief little phrase recurs often in Scripture and it is the focus of this week's readings in Smells and Bells. Well, at least one of several.

A new sense of time - Chapter 7: We are invited to consider that the liturgy "is an experience of the kingdom in which the past and future coincide in joyous present...We are remembering a blessed past, anticipating a glorious future, looking expectantly now in the face of our Master." (p. 66)

A new sense of place - Chapter 8: We are invited to "conceive of the liturgy as a journey into the kingdom ...It is as if the places we call heaven and earth have merged, for as we approach the Eucharistic table, we have ascended into heaven. Or maybe it's that heaven has descended to earth. Or both...." (pp. 74-75).

A new sense of waiting - Chapter 9: Nothing to achieve; simply to receive. We are invited to consider that the liturgy "is the place where we wait for Jesus to show up. We don't have to do much. The liturgy is not an act of the will. It is not a series of activities designed to attain a spiritual mental state." He shows up in the reading of Scripture; he shows up in the preaching; he shows up in the Eucharist. "This is not something we can achieve as much as simply abide in." (p. 79)

In various ways, during our conversation, I think it was clear to all of us that we can easily slip into rote participation in the liturgy and miss the sense of the blessings described above. But we also noted that we are learning much by talking about what is happening as we worship, and as we enter into the service with intentional focus on such dimensions of the liturgy and with mindfulness of the present moment, we do indeed experience more fully those very things.

"But now....."

Chapters 10, 11 and 12 for next Sunday, March 15.