Letter from Florida (3): Flannery and Worship
Speaking of worship—as I did yesterday—I am always struck by the worship practices of Flannery O’Connor. I was reminded of them as I read the new biography of O’Connor by Brad Gooch. While she was at the University of Iowa Writers Workshop, she attended a small Catholic church around the corner from her apartment. Almost every morning! “I went there three years and never knew a soul in that congregation or any of the priests, but it was not necessary. As soon as I went in the door I was at home.”
She is famous for a remark some years later at a literary gathering at the apartment of Mary McCarthy in New York City. Painfully shy, she has said virtually nothing the whole evening but when a woman remarked that she considered the host (in Holy Communion) to be just a symbol, O’Connor remarked: “Well, if it’s a symbol, to hell with it.” For O’Connor the host was absolutely life-giving and was at the very center of her worship.
My concern here is worship and it is clear to me that what O’Connor experienced in that church in Iowa City and for most of the rest of her life in Milledgeville was worship. And while I am not ready to have my protestant church make the Holy Communion central to worship, I do question making the sermon the center of our worship—especially when the sermon is overly argumentative or informative. The worship service must draw us into the presence of God so that we sense something of his love, his holiness and his majesty. Music can to that; the sacraments can to that; and the sermon can do it, but not if the preacher turns it into a stridently rhetorical exercise.
She is famous for a remark some years later at a literary gathering at the apartment of Mary McCarthy in New York City. Painfully shy, she has said virtually nothing the whole evening but when a woman remarked that she considered the host (in Holy Communion) to be just a symbol, O’Connor remarked: “Well, if it’s a symbol, to hell with it.” For O’Connor the host was absolutely life-giving and was at the very center of her worship.
My concern here is worship and it is clear to me that what O’Connor experienced in that church in Iowa City and for most of the rest of her life in Milledgeville was worship. And while I am not ready to have my protestant church make the Holy Communion central to worship, I do question making the sermon the center of our worship—especially when the sermon is overly argumentative or informative. The worship service must draw us into the presence of God so that we sense something of his love, his holiness and his majesty. Music can to that; the sacraments can to that; and the sermon can do it, but not if the preacher turns it into a stridently rhetorical exercise.
Well said Dad. In fact, it reminds me of something I was struck by in one of the many spiritual memoir books that you have bought me at Christmastime...all of which have helped me grow. This book was called "Leaving Church" by Barbara Brown Taylor (who was ordained by the Episcopal Church). She is talking about finding a church where true worship took place...she said "When I entered that sacred cave, I not only lost track of time, I also lost track of my self. From the moment the thurifer passed down the central aisle, swinging the censer in a cloud of sweet smoke, to the moment the organist lifted his fingers from the last chord, I became part of a body far larger than my self. As this body stood to sing, kneeled to pray, and stood again to declare its faith, I did my part without feeling apart....Before, Christ Church, I thought that worship was something people cooked up by themselves. At Christ Church, I discovered worship that took place inside God's own heart." Now that sounds like the kind of worship I want to be a part of.
ReplyDeleteI guess what I would ask is this: isn't a "worship service" more than just worship? Isn't it also "hearing the word" and "fellowship"? Are the sacraments (or the sermon for that matter) principally about worshipping God? Or are they somehow about catching a glimpse of God's character and experiencing his love and grace? It seems to me that a worship service is kind of like a conversation: we worship God; he responds in his word; he offers the bread and wine; we accept.
ReplyDeleteFood for thought.
Well said from a Protestant point of view but from a Catholic point of view you missed Flannery's Point totally. The Eucharist is the center of Catholic Worship because The Eucharist is Christ. Truly so - It is HE. That is exactly why her words below make total sense. This is one Church where doughnuts aren't needed.
ReplyDeleteAlmost every morning! “I went there three years and never knew a soul in that congregation or any of the priests, but it was not necessary. As soon as I went in the door I was at home.”
I'm with Flannery on this one!