I read “Our common work”
(February) with interest. I appreciated the idea that liturgy provides
a framework for our worship and was interested in the biblical basis of
words we use. However, I believe the article virtually ignores the role
the Spirit plays in both liturgical and nonliturgical worship
experiences. Time and again reference was made to the power of the
texts and the words themselves to bring us into the presence of
God—rather than their power to invoke the Spirit, which is what truly
brings us into the holy space of worship. Finally I was incredibly
saddened by the illustration of the toddler who was trying to partake
in this holy experience. He was prompted by a deep need that reached
out to Christ. But he was denied. He seemed to be the only one in
worship that day who was completely prostrate to the moving of the
Spirit rather than bound by the all-too-human rules of propriety.
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