Worship as (performance) art

A useful looking online book whose subtitle says what it’s about: a theology of liturgical expression.

When Christians gather for worship, they engage in a dialogue that runs in several directions. God speaks to the people; people speak to God; people speak to one another. … Because much of what yearns for expression in these dialogical movements is too deep for words, we rely on the use of presentational forms to communicate that which would be otherwise inexpressible.  … if worship is indeed successful at engendering the divine encounter, then worship as it consists of various forms of expression, is a complex of symbols that works at the level of human feeling. … symbols that work in this way are known as art. In other words worship is art.   (p.19f)

The directions of that dialogue are explored. A helpful thing is said in respect of the communal or corporate nature of the enterprise of liturgy addressing God, p.22

When two people choose to pray together, some agreement as to form and style must be made: in which order will each speak? Will they fold or hold each others’ hands? Where will the prayer take place?  … when the number of those joining the prayer increases, more care must be given to matters of form, order, and style. … who will lead in the prayer and how others will respond. When there are personal petitions, they take on a form that allows for others to participate in the appeal. … the acceptability of spontaneously crying out …. to respond in unison … to sing …  When public prayer is a part of worship, the language, form, and style of prayer become items of concern for worship leaders. They have the responsibility to create worship settings that involve all who gather,  draw them together in unified activity, address them and their concerns at the level of soul-deep experience, and lead them to encounter the One who is present, yet unseen. If this is to be accomplished, the human-divine dialogue needs to assume, as we have seen, aesthetic form.

And there is the dimension of addressing each other.

… people have diverse experiences with the faith and a variety of ways of understanding the scriptures, worship is a medium that enables these various patterns of spiritual experience to be shared and incorporated by those present. (p.23)

This too is seen as an aesthetic matter to enable diverse people to meet and share in the moment and, in a sense, across time too.

See Too deep for words.

2 thoughts on “Worship as (performance) art

  1. Indeed, I thought it useful because it put into words -and briefly- things I find I keep saying or trying to say. Most of all (and not so evident in the quotes above) is the relationship between the personal interiorities and the ‘external’ corporate expression. That’s a formational space, at least potentially. It’s why it is important that Christian liturgies remain “Christian” ie they express Christian doctrine and hope…

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