Years ago, I came close to buying into one of our culture’s prevailing myths. Following 9-11, with the country still gripped by fear, many were taking protective measures to try and insure the survival of themselves and their loved ones. Some stocked up on canned foods and bought water purification kits, while others purchased guns and gasmasks. Here we were—a country of independent persons, individuals with rights, floating singularities with allegiance to nothing but our own survival—pitted against everyone else; and one another too.
I had already been gardening for some time then, but I remember planting an extra large garden, thinking it might be handy to have some food in case times got tough. Others were doing the same and they were making preparations to guard their caches with force if need be. It was thought that one might need to fend off neighbors who hadn’t prepared responsibly. At the time, I remember being troubled by this logic, but I lacked any alternative vision.
While I intuitively sensed the wrongness of all this, I was skeptical of utopian ideas that everyone could just cooperate and thrive through collective efforts. My wrestling with these ideas, as well as a host of other existential questions, ultimately drew me back into the Church looking for answers. I found myself inspired by the generosity and compassion many Christians embodied. I saw them reaching out to people on the margins and serving the poor and something about this resonated with me in a way that the prevailing reactionary culture of fear couldn’t compete with.
In an article entitled, “Gathering: Worship, Imagination, and Formation,” Philip Kenneson describes these values which distinguish Christians from the prevailing culture and how he views them as inextricably linked to our worship. He argues that both worship and the act of gathering together should be seen as central to Christian formation. Considering these ideals, we can begin to see what it is about the Christian meta-narrative that sets it apart from today’s mythos of abstracted independence and how those differences can serve to bring humanity into greater harmony.
Kenneson traces the etymology of the word worship and defines it as “ascribing worth to.” This liberates it from solely religious usage. This is key because limiting worship to religious connotations detaches it from its economic, political, and social possibilities. Kenneson also reminds us that with every choice we make we are answering the question, “What do you value.” This truth forces us to recognize the ethical dimensions of how we live and the things we nurture with our time, energy and money.[1] The role of specifically Christian worship, then, in its liturgical or other religious forms, is to shape us as members of a group with a common telos, or shared vision for how things ought to be.[2] Scripture, hymns, prayer, sermons, and creeds are mediums of this shaping. Any outreach or service undertaken by Christians ought to flow naturally as an outgrowth of this worship.
Inherent to Christian worship is the gathering of God’s people. Kenneson avoids the word church, instead preferring its Greek transliteration ekklesia, to escape the modern institutionalized baggage the word has accrued.[3] He suggests that gathering teaches people about reality because, when gathered, we must rely upon one another to live and thrive.[4] Any successful further engagement of ethical substance hinges upon us understanding this point. By gathering, we can help one another realize the delusional nature of our claims to independence and become awakened to our interdependence. Only then can we see how our unique gifts can help others and receive likewise.
In laying out these differing mindsets, we can see how their central assumptions stand in opposition to one another. One falls prey to the myth of scarcity because it fails to understand how truly interconnected things are, while the other lifts up this connectedness as a sacred bond to be nurtured and cared for. The two visions are very different and one is definitively more hopeful. As Kenneson teaches us, worship takes place on many levels, thus we must be mindful of our decisions. Ultimately, the shape of our lives, be they curled over and defensive or outstretched and climbing, will conform to whichever vantage we choose.
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