The question that is the title may seem silly, but I've been asked it many times in 10 years of ministry.
This assumption, that happiness or fun can replace worship, was the one fear I had about yesterday's sermon. Would people hear 'Remember, You are Alive, so savor and take delight in the beauty of life around you,' and think that walks on the beach, or in the woods, or sleeping in, or going dancing on Saturday night, would be a perfectly reasonable replacement for worship?
So two follow up ideas.
One comes from Thomas Merton who writes, 'A Tree gives glory to God first of all by being a tree. For in being what God means it to be, it is imitating an idea which is in God and which is not distinct from the essence of God, and therefore a tree imitates God by being a tree.' You can find this is Merton's 'Seeds of Contemplation' and if my theology memory is correct, Merton is riffing on some things that Aquinas once wrote about Nature. The point is... the created world around us in all its natural beauty hold great potential to point us to deeper reflection about God and experience of God. So taking time to attend to the natural world can be a form of prayer, a way of being present and aware of the presence of God.
Just the other day as I went walking in the woods the sound of the shuffling leaves under my feet caught my attention. Were they dead leaves? No, not really, I thought. Although they were no longer green, they were in the process of enriching the soil. Their nutrients would one day nurture a flower or a tree. so they were not really dead to my thinking, but part of life, by enabling life. Which reminds me of the words of Jesus in John, 'Unless a grain of wheat falls.' Of course Jesus is referring to his own death and resurrection. But it seems that it also refers to the life of a disciple. We grow in faith not only for our own 'salvation' but also so that our words and deeds, our example and life, can become the nutrient for others to follow in faith. and I found peace and joy in that moment. Savoring life, watching and listening to nature, not working, but simply being, allowed the Spirit to speak to me.
so the beach is a great place to rest, relax, and enjoy the beauty of God's creation.
But it must remain in balance. This is point 2. In John 20 it is the presence of the risen Christ that bring joy and life. so created things, like the beach, music, movies, vacations, can be conduits for God's grace. A time of rest and happiness are wonderful things... but only if they, even in some simple way, cause us to ponder and experience God's love for us, God's grace. They cannot replace worship, but they are vital supplements, because they can be a time of reflection and rest for us.
Worship is the key really. THe point isn't to replace traditional sunday morning singing, praying and experiencing of the Word with something else, BUT to expand our own idea of worship, so that from the sunday morning prayers and sermons, we learn to seek and find times for prayer and reflection all around us in the world. And this is the key to being alive and savoring life.
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