Solemnity of the Dedication of Abbey Church
For the past two or three weeks we have been listening
to the prophet Jeremiah at morning prayer.
Jeremiah chides the temple priests,
who are thinking that all they have to do to protect Israel,
is to invoke the temple:
the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.
Another prophet, Isaiah, speaks these words:
"if your sacrifices are not accompanied
by deeds of justice and compassion,
cease and desist, you weigh me down, I weary of the load."
When Jesus encounters the woman at the well
he is not at all generous in his assessment of Samaritan worship.
"You people worship what you do not understand while we understand what we worship."
But then he turns the corner and makes the most remarkable statement.
"Yet an hour is coming, and is already here,
when authentic worshippers will worship in Spirit and truth."
The act of worshipping is described by the word proskynein.
It implies the act of bending or prostrating oneself in the direction of God.
In this context,
where holy mountains and their sanctuaries are being excluded,
Jesus is saying that true worship
is the orientation of oneself toward the Father in such a way
that God is the focus and goal of one's life.
God is not a mountain,
a place or a sanctuary.
God is spirit,
an all pervading energy that moves the universe,
an all pervading personal presence to each believer.
The hour has come,
and we know the importance of this phrase for John,
the hour has come
where the only acceptable worship is
the complete orientation of one's heart and life towards God.
We can come here today,
thinking that we are are re-dedicating a building.
And we are and that is a fitting thing to do.
But we are also re-dedicating ourselves to true worship,
to the deepest, most thoroughgoing integrity between our prayer and our lives.
Sometimes we may be struck dumb but the Spirit will speak on our behalf,
if we are able to give it some wiggle room.
And when our hearts and voices are out of sync
the angels will support and transform our hymn of praise.
Abbot John Klassen, OSB
October 24, 2003
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