Modern American Christians know so little about worship, and I include myself as chief of sinners. I find it a difficult concept because we have few practical referents. Being in Japan has opened my eyes just a little to what we are missing.
Experiencing, albeit briefly, a culture where it is natural to show respect and give honor by bowing gives much more meaning to worship practices like kneeling, bowing, and genuflecting. If we Americans knew more about physical acts of respect in everyday life, we might know more about worship.
And if we lived with Mt. Fuji dominating the landscape, we might know more about awe and reverence. Seeing her suddenly appear, as the haze lifted, was an experience that made me understand a bit why she is seen as a goddess. Fujisan towers with indescribable splendor over the other, much closer, and otherwise quite impressive mountains that ring Janet's Kofu Valley. Seeing her first thing in the morning, from Janet's balcony window, makes my knees weak and causes involunatary exclamations of amazement. I feel like greeting her personally.And yet we (I) claim to worship, not a spectacular mountain, but the Creator of that mountain, of all moutains, of all that is, was, and ever will be. How often is that evident in our church services, let alone our lives? Truly our understanding is minuscule and our faith paltry!
Comments
Christianity Today:
I didn't read the article, though I think the Kuhns now get CT, so
I might see in when we are over there. You guys get it, don't you?
Here is a response to an article by Chuck Colson, and I wondered if this
post was partly in response to that article.
Posted by
Jon Daley
on Friday, April 07, 2006 at 11:53 am
I did read that article, but not until after we returned from Japan. While I have to admit that I understand Chuck Colson and disagree strongly with Sam Storms, I wasn't criticising any particular form of worship. In fact, I wasn't thinking about music at all when I wrote this, but about how far short ALL our worship falls. Whether one pebble is slightly taller than another is not particularly relevant when considering the height of the mountain.
Posted by
SursumCorda
on Friday, April 07, 2006 at 4:37 pm
On the subject of "praise songs," however, I did notice that I found them easier to sing in Japanese, perhaps because I could concentrate more on God and less on how annoying I found the words to be. :) And for other reasons I'll post about later.
Posted by
SursumCorda
on Friday, April 07, 2006 at 4:46 pm
Add comment
