SERMONS
AND REFLECTIONS
Reflections
on Worship
Barbara
Brown Zikmund
October 5,
1998
A week ago Sunday
I went to a conference held at Wellesley College which brought
together religious chaplains, directors of religious life, deans of
students, presidents from over 200 colleges, universities and
seminaries to explore the impact of religious pluralism on American
higher education. It was a fascinating mix of people.
On the one hand
there were those from church related colleges founded and still by run
by specific religious groups--Roman Catholic sisters, evangelical
Christians, or even certain mainstream denominations. Representatives
from these schools did not question the importance of religious life
on campus; in fact the educational mission of their schools openly
link a religious agenda with quality education. They recognized,
however, that the students they serve today are no longer connected to
their specific Christian communities, and that some of their students
are not even Christian. For very practical reasons they want to serve
these students--because the tuitions they pay literally keep their
schools solvent. The leaders of these schools are perplexed about how
to keep their unique faith traditions alive AND at the same time serve
the diverse religious needs of their students--who come from an
increasingly religiously pluralistic environment.
On the other hand
there were also many conference participants from state supported
secular universities and community colleges. Representatives from
these schools had no history of religious life on their campuses and
because of legal issues around church and state and tax supported
higher education, they remained uneasy about the growing pressures for
religious life on their campuses. For very practical reasons they came
to the conference because they find it impossible to ignore the
importance of religion on their "so-called" secular
campuses. They are perplexed about how to keep their educational
excellence and objectivity AND at the same time acknowledge the
legitimacy of religion and spiritual realities in an increasingly
religiously pluralistic environment.
Both of these
groups take spirituality and religion seriously. Cynics may say that
this conference drew 800 people from all over the country because
these educational leaders know that spirituality "sells" in
today’s highly competitive educational marketplace. Some of them
were there to learn more about the market (that is true), but it was
more than that. Among the people I talked with, there was an
excitement about the importance of religion and things of the spirit.
As one speaker put it, "we have learned that educating the
intellect is not enough." Quality education invites teachers and
learners to wrestle with things of the soul and spirit, with ethics
and values. The conference participants were there because they really
wanted to know how to do that more effectively.
The central event
of the conference was a large interfaith worship or ritual
celebration. It was an extraordinary experience--an eclectic mix of
music, dance, words, chants, drums from Christian, Jewish, Muslim,
Buddhist, Hindu, Shikh, Bahai, Taoist, and native traditions. It was
exciting, it was beautiful, it was inclusive--but I found myself
wondering, was it worship? Out of that experience this morning I want
to invite you to think with me about worship. We struggle with the
challenge of interfaith worship at Hartford Seminary regularly.
In my Christian
tradition there are several biblical texts which set the stage:
From the Psalms--
(Psalm 95)
O
come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into God’s presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to God with songs of praise!
From
the prophets--(Micah)
With
what shall I come before the Lord,
and
bow myself before God on high?
Shall
I come before God with burnt offerings,
with
calves a year old?
From
the gospel of Matthew--(chapter 7)
Not
everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the
kingdom of heaven,
but
only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
These
scripture passages highlight three things that I believe are part of
worship. First there is a sense of awe and adoration. Worshipers
gather to praise, to make a joyful noise to God. We need to remember
that God, not the worshiper, is the center of worship. Second,
everything we do in worship is limited and in some sense inadequate.
In one sense there is nothing that we can do to praise God that will
be sufficient. We are human, we are not divine. And third, worship
should connect with the rest of life. Words and ceremonies are
worthless unless they support lives and communities of justice and
service.
Several
months ago there was an article in the Christian Century [March
4-11, 1998] on worship. The author lamented the fact that when people
talk about Christian worship these days they often judge its value by
the number of people in attendance. Worship is good worship if the
sanctuary is full, if people like the preacher, or the music, or the
style. People come to worship "to be confirmed in what they think
they know they need." As a consequence, according to Peter Marty,
the author of the article, the adoration of God is getting lost in the
"bog of subjective tastes." When the worshipers are
preoccupied with who is there and what they are doing, they knock God
out of the center of worship. The goal of worship is to keep God and
the glory of God’s presence central--not us and our attendance.
Furthermore,
the article makes the case that good worship ought to have an element
of surprise. All religious traditions have predictable rituals and
ceremonies, that is true. But if the wonder of God is what worship
seeks to engage, we dare not "impoverish God with
predictability." Vital worship is open to change, recognizing
that mystery and wonder cannot be created on call. Vital worship ought
to surprise us from time to time. Just as artists (when asked about
the meaning of their painting or sculpture) will remind us, "If
you know what you are looking for, you will never see what you do not
expect to find." Unfortunately in many religious settings,
efforts to attract and please worshipers have replaced efforts to
offer praise to God.
After
attending the conference on religious pluralism I have thought a lot
about Hartford Seminary, and especially about our worship on Monday
mornings and our yearly convocations.. Are we trying to please each
other, or are we offering praise to God? How can we sustain authentic
worship in our multi-faith and pluralistic world?
In
reading about interfaith worship or celebrations I have been helped by
Patrice Brodeur [Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Fall 1997]. He
notes that it is sometimes easier to say what interfaith worship IS
NOT, than it is to know what IT SHOULD BE. He writes that gatherings
for interfaith worship are not replacements for the unique forms of
worship practiced by each religious tradition. It is important that we
are all continually nourished by our own worship practices.
Furthermore, interfaith celebrations are not simply super rituals, or
mosaics of unrelated religious pieces, or shows of religious diversity
punctuated with applause. Rather, interfaith celebrations bring people
of various religious communities together in order to share with one
another parts of their respective sacred traditions. They invite
participants to have a meaningful experience based on the mutual
recognition that worshipers from all religious traditions share the
religious journey-- "even though there may be profound
disagreement as to the degree of usefulness or even the validity of
each other’s chosen path for self-expression."[p.555]
To
worship with people who are not in one’s own particular faith
community is a challenge. It invites us to be open to the idea that
people who believe and practice their religion differently have
something in common with us. It prods us to make our common concerns
known to larger communities and beyond. Brodeur suggests that this may
include the audience in attendance at an interfaith celebration. It
may be the broader public reached through the media. It may be
specific individuals or groups of people on whose behalf prayers may
be directed. And finally, it may be that people gather because they
want to offer praise or adoration to a divinity or all-encompassing
source of meaning or reality. They want to do this, even though they
may define worship in radically different ways. In summary,
participating in interfaith worship is not a neutral activity, because
at its core it implies an openness to see religious diversity as
something positive.
This
is an important point. At the conference on religious pluralism which
I attended, I was particularly appreciative of a professor who asked
all to think about the worship experience that we had shared together.
It was a nice experience, but according to our own religious
traditions, was it worship? Why? Why not? In earlier eras probably
most of our religions would have condemned what we experienced as
wrong, pagan, heresy, or syncretism. The challenge now, for all of us,
is to do the intellectual and theological work which will enable us to
articulate the legitimacy of interfaith worship. This will not be
easy, but it is important.
So
why do we want to justify interfaith worship? There are many
reasons--and our reasons will differ from day to day, from person to
person, and from group to group. There are times when we gather to
express a shared public concern (for example at the end of this month
there will be an interfaith celebration around the International
Declaration for Human Rights). At other times we want to share
treasures from our own religious traditions in order to educate
others. There are circumstances when we want to participate in
interfaith celebrations in order to gain more knowledge about other
religions, or to gain appreciation for different forms of worship.
There are situations when we come together in worship to nurture
friendships with people across religious differences. And finally,
there are times when we share worship to discover overlapping moral
commitments.
Preparing
and sharing in truly interfaith worship experiences is difficult. Such
experiences thrive only where there are protective environments which
honor individual rights and responsibilities, and where everyone is
respected and follows a trustworthy process for planning and
participation. There can be no proselytizing. Appreciation and
understanding must be cultivated, even when there is disagreement.
Time and resources must be balanced.
I
am humbled and energized by the challenge of interfaith worship. It is
not easy. We cannot simply put together a bit of this and a bit of
that. We must take care that we do not encourage new forms of
spiritual imperialism in our enthusiasm to be inclusive.
In
this chapel at Hartford Seminary, there will be times when we will
share worship grounded in our particular convictions, texts and
traditions. Let us not be embarrassed to be who we are in this place.
We learn more about ourselves as we share with others. It is important
to invite friends from other religious traditions to observe and share
with us as they are comfortable. In this chapel at Hartford Seminary,
there will also be times when we will be challenged to stretch our
perspectives to encounter things that are really different. When that
happens we need to balance our universalistic hopes (which stress
unity and similarity) with our particular realities (which remind us
of the things that separate us and the differences between us). All of
this is part of interfaith engagement.
Finally,
above all, I hope that when we gather in this place, we will come
seeking a deeper awareness of Divine reality. We should not come to
show off our stuff, to impress others, or to prove anything. Rather I
trust that we can come with humility and wonder that the human spirit
is able to honor the Holy. I trust that we can come with a genuine
desire to worship God. And in that spirit I also trust that God, the
faithful One, will accept our offerings. Amen.
