This past year has been one of the more monumental years in the life of our parish community. I also don’t think it is too bold of me to say that it has also been one of the biggest in the more recent memory of the Orthodox Church in America, with a spike in growth within so many parish communities…many of whom are seeing a record number of inquirers and catechumens come to their doorsteps.
There are so many different reasons why people have been flocking to the Holy Orthodox Faith, but today, I thought I would offer a short reflection on one of the reasons we have seen such growth.
I recently heard a visitor to our newly expanded temple say that when they first came in to the Church, they felt that they were walking into a place that is truly not of this world. The large dome which reflects the beams of the sun, bears images and reminders of the Heavenly Liturgy through its iconography. The stain glass windows glow with the images of the Saints, providing some clarity as to why we call icons “windows into heaven”. Eventually, when the iconography is complete (God willing within our lifetimes), we will feel like we are literally walking into the Gospel itself when we enter the Church.
One might ask, why was it necessary to build such an elaborate Church Temple? The answer lies in the way the Ancient Christian Church worships God. When we come into the Church, we literally enter a sanctified space that becomes the Kingdom of Heaven. When we come to the Liturgy, we come into the presence of the King…God Himself Who sits on the Throne in the Altar. We prepare beforehand to receive His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. The choir practices and prepares to take the place of the angels as all of us stand before His Throne and bow down to His Glory!
When visitors come into an Orthodox Church for the first time, one of the first things they might notice is that in Orthodox Worship is that there is a lot of movement! No one seems to be standing still…and everything seems to be in constant motion. At every mention of the Trinity, members are making the sign of the cross over themselves. Children are moving and venerating icons. The congregation sings and sometimes sways with the hymnography. All of this movement is evidence to the fact that our Worship of God is not something that is passive…we don’t come to be an audience waiting to be entertained, informed, or amused. We rather come to be active participants in a Divine Dance!
What a truly beautiful way to describe our worship of God! We hear references to this all over scripture and in the worship hymns of the Church. In the Canon for the Holy Forefathers we heard the church describe the reaction to God’s coming into the world at Christmas: “Dance O Creation! Magnify with thankful voices His most holy condescension which He has shown forth in His loving kindness!”
When the Virgin Mary was brought into the temple at her dedication, it is said that as soon as she was placed on the third step of the Holy of Holies, and it was there in the temple of God before the Altar that she burst forth in a joyful dance!
Dear ones, the Liturgy is truly a Divine Dance with God. All of our members have things to accomplish in the Liturgy, and everyone has an active role to play in this Divine Ballet. There are some that are serving close to the altar, helping the Priest to lead the faithful in offering praise. There are some who are called to chant and proclaim the word of God to the masses. Others are called to sing the words of our common prayer in heavenly and beautiful melodies. Mothers and Fathers are called to teach the babies and children how this Divine Dance with God goes…so that it becomes a part of who they become! The rest of us add volume and power to the dance, by taking our individual prayers and adding them to the common prayer of the entire body of Christ, crossing ourselves and asking our Lord to confirm all of the prayers that are being offered around us!
I bring this image particularly to the attention of our own parish family at St. Mary Magdalene, because I wanted everyone to understand why there is such a large change to the way our Church has been set up now that the first phase of iconography is complete. A few weeks ago, I asked the parish council to go towards a more traditional setup of the Church by “clearing the dance floor” for our faithful. We moved the chairs to the exterior of the Church for those that occasionally need to sit during the Divine Services.
While there are many advantages to this more traditional set up, I understand the feeling of some who have expressed the concern that they are being pushed away from the altar, which is why I am asking everyone in our congregation to “take the dance floor”! There is this natural temptation, especially in America, to come into our Lord’s House and tie ourselves to a chair. It is sometimes like playing a game of musical chairs…where some of the first people who come into the Church immediately hover around a chair to stake out (as Sheldon Cooper often says) “my spot”.
Rather than tying oneself to a chair, I ask our faithful to instead tie themselves to the Holy Altar. Come and see! Walk up and stand close! If someone feels the need to sit, please do! If there is not a chair available, feel free to ask someone from our parish council who will gladly get you one! But let all of us remember why we come to this Holy Church. We don’t come to be entertained or to hear a good homily…but rather we come to God’s House to worship and to work in the way we as human being were meant to do.
May our Lord continue to strengthen us in our example on what the Divine Dance with God is meant to be!