I agree with the gist of most of the posts here--any day (every day) is a good day to worship God in ways both individual or corporate. I also agree with the idea that the Sabbath, while not binding on non-Jews, was practiced by Jesus (because he was a Jew). Interesting that His example of Sabbath for us was not an example of avoidance of any work, but more of withdrawing from the world and into God, aligning oneself as fully as possible with His will. And I like Q's lawnmowing Sabbath as well.
Not that God wills grass to be mowed, but that any work done "in the Spirit" is good work.
I would like to say something about what earl brought up:
earl said:
Frankly, the place of corporate worship has long been a curiosity for me, perhaps because I can't relate to the form & content of the traditional Chrisitan church service. Obviously, corporate worship exists for the furtherance of the spiritual growth of its membership-Jesus did say the day would come that people would worship Spirit in truth not in temples-not for the benefit of either Jesus or "God." So, darn interesting question. Like all things, I suppose, it truly is different strokes for different folks and an individual would probably answer differently what they get out of it in part based perhaps on differing forms of worhsip. So, perhaps I'm answering this question with my own sub-question: what about collective Christian worship experiences do you think benefits your spiritual journey or the journey of others?
Thanks for your thoughts, Earl
I think belonging to a Church is about the most important part of my being a Christian, and it's not about having friends, socializing or a support community. For me Christianity is a Body religion and what makes it live for me is being part of something greater than and outside of myself. It is plugging into the tradition and the Wisdom and the sacraments that brings Christinaity to life for me. Of course the nurturing and practice I do on my own through prayer, listening to God, reading the Word, loving my neighbor is very important for my spiritual development. It really is like working on a relationship, in this case with God.
But community worship is not really about the individual's spiritual journey. Corporate worship is, in a way, for the rest of the world. Q can tell you better than I, in the old latin mass the priest did not face the congregation. He faced outward, the direction toward which we project our worship. It is a
response of the created to the love of the Creator, and it is a way for Christ's Kingdom to break through into our world. We thank God for the gifts He has given us, we offer ourselves back to Him, and then we take those gifts out into the world. In a way, corporate worship is more about mission than about individual spiritual growth. ' course having said all of that, I do feel that I am personally nurtured by the church I attend, both during worship while feeding on the Word and on the Spiritual food of bread and wine, Body and Blood, and also when I work, study and socialize with the other members of the church.
Here's a nice paragraph from Marcus Borg (from where else, The Heart of Christianity):
In worship we internalize the tradition through liturgy, hymns, scripture readings, and preaching. We join in praise of God. Praise is doxology, and it not only draws us out of ourselves, but is also profoundly subversive: doxology affirms that God alone is the source of all blessing, that God is Lord and the lords of this world are not. In worship, we enter a potential thin place. In worship, we are nourished.
As usual, more than I meant to say when I started out.
lunamoth
