Why do people in church seem like cheerful, brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute? … Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us to where we can never return.”
Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters pp. 40-41.
We'll head to church soon and we know that worship will be thoughtfully, faithfully, creatively prepared by our son, who is the pastor. He often includes rather...unconventional...aspects to the worship experience and to the credit of the gathered they participate and seem to enjoy colouring outside the lines. At no time has he handed out crash helmets at the door, and probably never will -- there are limits to what we can do, to be sure.
I saw that crash helmets, or at least hardhats were on the heads of those who participated in the first service at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris since the catastrophic fire. It was held just a few days ago and was by invitation only because of safety issues -- the vaulted ceiling is unstable in some places. There were clergy and some workers and that was about it. This was a symbolic worship service to quietly proclaim that the centuries old place of worship will literally rise from the ashes, and the congregation will figuratively.
There has been plenty of controversy about the rebuild. Some are outraged that more than a billion dollars was pledged within days when it is almost impossible to procure funds for humanitarian projects such as the famine in Yemen. Some of the donors offering huge amounts were accused of doing so for the fame and in competition with one another. This may be true.
Personally, I'm grateful that such a beautiful and historic place of worship will be restored. It is far more than a tourist attraction as a sanctuary for the glory of God in the heart of the city. Just the same, we must be prepared for the reality that all that we build of wood and stone and glass comes to an end. We need to invite "the waking god" of Annie Dillard's observation to "draw us where we can never return" if we have any hope for Christian renewal in our culture.
Perhaps I should wear my bicycle helmet in the sanctuary some Sunday morning, or my kayaking PFD and just let folk speculate about the crazy guy.
I saw that crash helmets, or at least hardhats were on the heads of those who participated in the first service at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris since the catastrophic fire. It was held just a few days ago and was by invitation only because of safety issues -- the vaulted ceiling is unstable in some places. There were clergy and some workers and that was about it. This was a symbolic worship service to quietly proclaim that the centuries old place of worship will literally rise from the ashes, and the congregation will figuratively.
There has been plenty of controversy about the rebuild. Some are outraged that more than a billion dollars was pledged within days when it is almost impossible to procure funds for humanitarian projects such as the famine in Yemen. Some of the donors offering huge amounts were accused of doing so for the fame and in competition with one another. This may be true.
Personally, I'm grateful that such a beautiful and historic place of worship will be restored. It is far more than a tourist attraction as a sanctuary for the glory of God in the heart of the city. Just the same, we must be prepared for the reality that all that we build of wood and stone and glass comes to an end. We need to invite "the waking god" of Annie Dillard's observation to "draw us where we can never return" if we have any hope for Christian renewal in our culture.
Perhaps I should wear my bicycle helmet in the sanctuary some Sunday morning, or my kayaking PFD and just let folk speculate about the crazy guy.
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