October 14, 2015

All of us, then, should reflect seriously on how to appear before the majesty of God in the presence of his angels.  That will lead us to make sure that, when we sing in the choir, there is complete harmony between the thoughts in our mind and the meaning of the words we sing.
St. Benedict's Rule, Chapter 19

You may recall that I have been asked by The Living Church to be part of a daily reflection project for their website.  The project has several writers who have been assigned to write for four weeks, one week at a time, over the next six months.  Our guidelines are to offer reflections on the Daily Office.

My first assignment is due November 1, and is set to run the week of November 15.  As it happens, the series of readings on that Monday begin with the story of the Transfiguration.  I am just now putting my thoughts down, but I find myself beginning to write about the difference between worship and ministry.

We need both.

While it would be easy to focus on worship, it is our ministry that ultimately gets God's word and presence out into the world.  On the other hand, if we only focus on ministry, we may lose sight of the need for worship.

It's not original when I've said, “The one thing the Church does that no other social agency does is worship.”  Worship is what we do.  Our day should begin and end with worship.  Our ministry should begin and end with worship.  Worship should not only bookend everything we do, but it should infuse everything we do as well.

St. Benedict recognized the importance of worship when he included those words in his Rule.  It remains so for us today.

When we worship, we are in the presence of angels and archangels.  When we participate in worship, we need to reflect seriously on how we appear before the majesty of God so that there is complete harmony between our thoughts and the words we read and sing.

Do we joyfully praise God for his glory?  Are we truly sorry, and do we honestly and humbly repent of our sins?  Do we joyfully give God our thanks and praise?  Do we go forth in the name of Christ, striving to live as his real presence in the world?

Worship and ministry are not two separate aspects of the Church; they are the warp and woof of our lives as Christians.  Worship is ministry.  Ministry is worship.  But as intertwined and interdependent as they are, let us always remember that it begins and ends with worship.

The Lord be with you.