Updated Experience...
"Liturgy is a workout for the imagination, because we are invited to see the reality of the universe through a new lens. Liturgy offers us another way of seeing the world." - Shane Claiborne
I like that description, "a workout for the imagination." Several times over the past week that is exactly what it felt like...a workout. It all seemed annoying, stopping everything I was doing for a mid-day prayer, or rushing around the house trying to get out the door in the morning only to hear my alarm go off reminding me to stop for morning prayer. By far, this #IntentionalStep may have been the most inconvenient yet, but at the same time it began to allow me to see the world differently.
When the week began I was hesitant about the word "liturgy." Liturgy has a sense of rigidity and stuffiness to it. Generally my initial reactions toward liturgy were thoughts of pews and dust and oldness...so naturally I wasn't looking forward to it much. As I mentioned at the beginning of the week, prayer has always been difficult for me and have never had a consistent prayer life. Nevertheless I jumped in. At first it was clunky. Seemingly random interruptions in an already busy day.
But a subtle rhythm began to form. Instead of the urgent reigning supreme, there crept in a slow weaving time to pause and direct my attention toward God. About midway through the week, the inconvenience gave way to the refreshing realization that God is there, in the midst of the busyness, God is there. We tend to become slaves to our to-do lists and schedules, but liturgy has a way of warring against the tyranny of now. Slowly the focus of my tasks were placed into a better perspective, my tasks (although still important) began to take a place within a larger story. I was reminded that my life is a small part of a much larger story that God is unraveling all around us. Contrary to what I want to believe I am not what keeps the world turning. And liturgy had a way of humbling me, reminding me what is truly going on around me.
I want to end by quoting a part of the mid-pray that I read every day. Each day this piece brought my issues into a broader light, a light that brought clarity to what is important and what is menial...
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not
so much seek to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
To me one of the biggest mysteries of the Christian faith has always been prayer. I have always wished my prayer life was better than it is and often when reading the Psalms or ancient prayers I am amazed at the depth of their words and their honesty with their emotions. So for this week’s #IntentionalStep I am following the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer. The specific book of Common Prayer was written by Shane Claiborne and can be found here. It consists of a morning prayer, mid-day prayer, and evening prayer. I have alarms set for 8am, 1pm, and 9:45pm to remind me to stop what I am doing and engage in the liturgy. If you want to follow along the book actually has a website with all of the same content for any who wants to engage, the website can be found here.
At the core, Liturgy is about community worship and prayer, and although I may not be able to gather with others everyday it would be great to hear that you are joining me even if it’s miles apart. Let me know if you join me in the comments below. I’ll be back on Monday night to share about my experience.