Sunday, February 28, 2010

Exsupress Your Self...

Back from walking in the park.
Jamie, our worship leader today, drew attention to the phenomenon of cicadas singing praise to God.

A very natural, unforced thing.
A thing of huge energy and purity.
An occasional/seasonal thing.

What's better?
Spontaneous, wild, out-of-control self expression?
Or disciplined, structured, routinised behaviour submitting to the collective?

Is there space for both within a service of worship/reverence?

I like to think there is.

Part of me wants to pogo/explode with the reckless abandon of the punks.

And part of me wants to walk down sun-dappled cloisters in sackcloth, chanting in Latin.

A balance between reverence/mindfulness and joy/exuberance.

Is there a continuum, or only these two states?

4 comments:

  1. Gerald.....I hope there's a happy medium...I hate ultimatums....

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  2. Be thinking of you tomorrow Gerald. Has Alexander got a license for that mallet? I thought you were into 'building up' not 'tearing down'!!

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  3. Think I like the spontaneous better myself. Just wish I wasn't so self-consciousness. Roll on heaven, I say - freedom from self, or is it wholly self? I'm looking forward to being able to really scream.
    Thinking of you today. Praying for relief from all that pain :)

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  4. ultimatums...hmmm...i agree...

    one must tear down in order to create...

    scream, a la Edvard Munch (ever felt like that poor woman? ever tried a primal scream?)

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