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Practices From the Inside Out: What Do We Worship?

Practices From the Inside Out: What Do We Worship?

Last updated on: July 25, 2017 at 9:56 am by Greg Richardson

Practices From the Inside Out: What Do We Worship? 2017-07-25T09:56:40-08:00 Greg Richardson

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What Do We Worship?

Some people believe there are special places we must go to worship. If we do not go there, we are not worshipping. People think worship only takes place at particular, set times on specific days.

I know people who think unless we do certain things in the right order we are not worshipping. Some people are convinced worship requires the right kind of music or even the right songs. We may think we need to dress or talk or act in special ways to worship.

Other people I know worship differently. They may need to get away from other people and be by themselves to worship. Some people become more worshipful when they go to an ancient site or historic church. There are people who spend time worshipping in monasteries. I have heard people describe stepping into the stream of prayer they find in older places. They may talk about the Celtic idea of “thin places” which are closer to the Sacred.

There are other people who seem to act more worshipful of work or money or even a sports team. I know people who appear to worship their homes or vacations or family traditions. Some people have difficulty separating patriotism and love of their country from worship.

I even know people who appear to worship their phones and electronic devices.

There are other people who believe they never worship anything at all.

For many people, worshipping comes down to how they feel when they experience it. It may be a challenge to describe exactly what worship is, but they know it when it happens.

It is almost as if who or what they worship is not as significant as feeling worshipful. The object of their worship can be confusing for them.

Honoring the Sacred

What is real worship? When and where and who or what do we worship?

The definition which rings truest for me is that worship is honoring the Sacred. Worship is when we demonstrate with our actions what we value and believe within ourselves.

For me, sitting in a church while someone lectures does little to honor the Sacred. All the trappings just distract me from real worship, from honoring the Sacred.

How do you honor what you find Sacred? In my experience, paying attention is essential to honoring the Sacred. Finding the stillness I need to pay attention, free from distractions, is where worship begins.

It often seems what other people assume is worship makes it more challenging for me. The music and special words, the traditions and announcements make it hard to pay attention. For me, stillness and taking time to reflect are the first steps of worship.

The next step is appreciating how to apply what the Sacred has to say to everyday life. When I am paying attention, listening for the Sacred truth, insights and questions emerge. Some are practical ideas of work which needs doing or areas in which I need to change. There may be suggestions for me to write about or people to whom I need to talk.

Some of the most powerful insights have need to be applied without much effort. I often remember experiences I have had and see them in new ways. While I was not aware I had been struggling with them, insights lead to healing for me.

Taking the time to worship, to honor the Sacred, can guide our reflection and actions.

Recognizing What We Worship

Not everything we approach in a worshipful manner is Sacred.

I love my phone as well as my tablet and computer and other devices made by the same company. Some people think I approach them with a little too much worship.

There are quite a few things about these devices which can appear to be sacred. Their surfaces are covered with icons. They convert documents and save them. I spend a great deal of time gazing into them trying to sort out and articulate truths. It can appear I am bowing my head and praying, though my fingers and thumbs keep moving.

I understand they are not Sacred, though they do help me do sacred work. There are other people who approach them more worshipfully than I do.

Anything which fills our lives can become an object of our worship. Our possessions, our relationships, our expectations can become our focus and exclude sacredness. It is not that we need to guard against certain kinds of things, but to be aware of our attitudes.

When the things we desire become more important to us than deeper Sacred truths, we lose focus. We are not paying attention and honoring what is Sacred to us.

When we treat everything like it is sacred we may not be worshipping anything at all.

Taking Time for the Sacred

It can be difficult to know, difficult to remember what we worship. We live in a society which tries to distract us and turn worshipping into a commercial activity.

Our practices need to be effective reminders of what we believe is Sacred. Like the icons on my phone, and icons in churches, we need to hold the Sacred before us. Those icons are portals we can open into deeper sacred truths.

Our icons do not need to be electronic or painted or stained glass. Any object can do the work of reminding us to recognize and honor the Sacred in our lives. It may help us to visit nature or a monastery, but everyday reminders help us, too.

Worshipping is important for us, a source of questions and insights for us to reflect on and apply. We need to remind ourselves not to allow distractions to keep us from paying attention. As we take time to listen to the Sacred truths around us and within us, we recognize them more clearly.

We honor the Sacred and the Sacred returns our honor to us.

What do we worship this week?

How will you remember to honor the Sacred today?

[Image by Sole Treadmill]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and leadership coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and university professor, and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, and his email address is [email protected].

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