January 29, 2010> 10:31 PM
re-thoughts on prayer and liturgy > 3
Here's some stuff I used in my recent retreat talks as well. This is a sort of fleshed-out outline of a homily I taught/preached at the Easter Vigil of 2007 - done in cooperation between the faith community I used to lead and our friends, St. Patrick's Anglican church here in Lexington. I both sung the Exultet and preached the homily - yes I did. :) I took a bit of a perhaps unusual tack by not talking particularly about Easter, but about the liturgy of the Church in general, how it forms us, living in the rhythm of it, etc. So, even though it's not even Lent yet, much less Easter, it fits. Have at it...
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Vigil Homily (from 04/14/2007)
I said a bit back that I might put up the outline (most of it actually) of the homily I gave at our Easter Vigil celebration. And so here I am doin' it..
This work we are doing is doing a work in us.
Whatever Teaching or Preaching I do tonight is only a very small part of a larger whole.
The liturgy itself does something in us. It forms us. It is a tool God uses to mold us into the image of Him Who's resurrection we celebrate tonight. (I then talked a bit about the analogy of the Potter working with clay - that there are a specific set of tools used in ceramics and the way they go about molding a piece of clay into a "pot" is a "liturgy" in itself - there is a repeated definite pattern to the process.)
When you, when we count on Teaching or Preaching to do too much work on their own, we throw our life as a Body out of balance. We put too heavy a burden on this pulpit. (I talked about how the small lectern I was behind wouldn't hold my weight, and pushed down on it - music stand). It was not designed to bear such a weight. (I spoke a little about how some parts of the Church have done this, put too much weight on one piece).
We must, rather, put ourselves into the whole life of the Church. We are now in Him, a part of his Household. And, so, we're a part of the "family business," as it were. (I talked about how it's as if we've been adopted into a family who has a farm - farm life is very rhythmic and seasonal - it is very much like a "liturgical lifestyle").
This spiritual life's work we're doing is not only the liturgy we're involved in from week to week, that of the Mass. It is this, tonight, that fire, that great candle, the light of God dispelling the darkness in all of us. It is the constant, joyful din of Alleluia through the whole Easter season - and then, and then, and then... It never ends. The cycle keeps on going - the great Rhythm of our life in God.
Not always exciting or spectacular (not like tonight's liturgy, not always a big deal). But always real and True and always forming us, whether we feel like it is or not - over a long period of time - day by day, week by week, month, years. (we don't like talking about the "years" part but this liturgical lifestyle lends itself to a long-haul perspective of the Christian life, of this life of transformation).
So, let us not give up even after Easter, on into Ordinary time. Let us keep breathing, keep doing our work, keep living. Amen.
January 29, 2010
> 10:31 PM
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