The readings present for us a connection between Sacrament
and Worship. At the beginning of
the readings for the week, I quickly realized how rich in thought and faith the
liturgy is designed to be.
Sacramental theology ultimately points to the belief that Christ is
present. It is becoming clear to
me how Church, liturgy, and sacraments have this at their heart as evidenced
through the organizational structures, rituals, and ideology that serve to make
Christ present to people of faith. Attending Mass has been a regular way I seek to encounter
Christ through Eucharist each Sunday.
This routine is very important to me, but now I have a new perspective
to take with me next time I attend Mass. I was enlightened and empowered when I
read Chupungco’s insight on one of the ways Christ is present in those gathered
in the Church for worship. He emphasizes that Jesus, “in his risen body
Christ…dwells in the ‘space’ of the assembly, which he claims as his body”
(146). I was astonished at the joy
this thought brought to my heart and newly realized perception of how Christ is
present during Mass. I felt like I
must have known this to be true through in my experience, but to see it
actually written was very affirming. I have had moments in which I could detect Christ’s
presence in the congregation. This
occurs in reflecting how the church is full of people who are mostly strangers to
me, yet we share a deep bond through our baptism and our showing up to Mass to
participate in the Eucharist.
Other times it happens as I join the voices around me to lift up in song
and prayer praise and thanksgiving to God. It is a unique experience that is unmatched in other
gatherings where people who do not know each other are gathered for one purpose
such as a Saints game, Mardi Gras, or party. Indeed, those gathered as Church would have an opportunity
to know that through worship “unity is experienced at its deepest level,
because the assembly breaks the barriers of race, social status, and ideology”
(143). I find this to be true in
my experience at the Mass I attend here in New
Orleans. Our congregation is very
diverse in race, ethnicity, and status, yet we share one Spirit in Christ. When I have visitors in from out of
town, I make a point to have them join me for Mass. Each visitor so far has been impressed with the sense of
community and spirit they felt throughout the liturgy. Thus, even outsiders to the community
indicate that Christ’s presence can be found in the assembly of those gathered
for worship. I am grateful for my
parish community and the fact that all aspects of liturgy truly manifest Christ
presence sacramentally. I invite
you to think about the ways you experience Christ’s presence in the context of
worship and to consider if the readings offered any new insights to your
practice.
I want to end with something else that was a new thought for
me regarding the Eucharist.
Chupungco points out that
“mass as sacred meal copies the Last Supper and hence is held on a
table” and continues by saying because the Mass is an anamnesis of Christ’s
sacrifice on the cross, the table is also called altar” (135). This new connection gives rise to new
reflections on what it means for me to share in the Eucharist at Mass. As we approach
Easter, this is all the more relevant and I think will bring new meaning to my
prayer life at this time.
Moe, your blog really brought out some great points of reflection.Especially the point you made about how worship breaks down barriers and unites us at the deepest level of our being. That is a powerful reminder of how Jesus' suffering on the cross, what Chupungco refers to as "the original liturgy' (53) was Jesus humbling himself and showing us how to endure suffering and how to serve one another, which, as Chupungco points out, is what the liturgy is all about. The readings this week from Chupungco made me think a lot about some time I spent in Peru with a priest who was committed to living in solidarity with the poor. He was very adamant that the liturgy was one way of living out the key themes of social justice. Everyone was invited and it was not only an act of solidarity and worship with one another, but also an act of service, with Jesus' death on the cross as a reminder to us of how we are all called to serve one another. Chupungco reminded me of this. "The liturgy, even in the situation of poverty, should be a convincing sign to the community that while dignity in poverty and noble simplicity are exalted Christian values, all must work toward the eradication of human misery" (55). The liturgy calls us to action, to go out and be Church in the world. One way I have been reflecting on how I can do this is through what you pointed out Moe, that our worship together as Church breaks down barriers. How can I help to break down barriers in my work place, in my friendships, in my family life? This is one thing I will have to spend some time thinking about, so that the unifying worship I engage in during the mass, is echoed in my time with others as I try to live out the calls of the liturgy.
ReplyDeleteDear Class,
ReplyDeleteThank you Moe for such an illuminating presentation. I was really taken by your expressions of actual experience in mass and in the ways which you felt the presence of Christ in the “space” and in “unity” with the assembly. I was especially drawn to your enhanced perceptions of the mystical body––gathered for one purpose, indeed! These insights coupled with those spoken by Rose reveal a deep understanding of worship as an act of letting go into the mystery. These reflections lead to hear the Johnson text in a moving way as it revealed these sentiments in many different perspectives. My favorite was from Nathan Mitchell’s wondrously titled, “The Amen Corner: Being Good and Being Beautiful” (Love that!) wherein he states, “Liturgy is God’s work for us, not our work for God…Liturgy is not something beautiful we do for God, but something beautiful God does for us and among us” (97). This approach is cleary an extention of our Jewish inheritance, the archetype for all religious forms and can only happen in surrender, in releasing to the movement of Spirit in the collective heart of the congregation. Mitchell affirms this in sayin that, “Liturgical art is our public gratitude that God is doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves.” In this knowing he analogs that “Christian liturgy begins as a ritual practice but ends as ethical performance. Liturgy of the neighbor verifies liturgy of the Church, much as a composer’s score makes music only through the risk of performance” (98). Here I believe he is encouraging us individually and collectively to become so completely enraptured in the aesthetical “practice” of becoming that we are emptied and thus may be filled to overflowing. This transformation is best described by Don Saliers as “improvisations on the cantus firmus: the song of creation, incarnation, resurrection and consummation…as it carries us across the border of our own consciousness” (81). Here is where the music that is liturgy is a jam that flows so freely that it sounds prepared and the prepared music that is liturgy is so fresh that it sounds like a jam. This is where the gathering of the faithful takes place inside and outside the walls of separation, where “mutual presence creates communion without suffering confinement,” where ritual becomes reality. One never knows where the kingdom might break out…