Transcendent Space: Welcoming God's Mystery
Today I received two email articles about worship. One was by a leader in the Free Church and the other was by a leader in the Liturgical Church. Both argued for the need to be relational and hospitable. But the writer from the Free Church tradition derided those who pay attention to a carefully prepared worship space.
I agree with both authors that relationship is central to drawing people to Christ and the church. And if I had to choose between environment and relationship, I would choose relationship.
But the choice is not necessary.
Biblical thought is almost always both/and (whereas ethical issues are more inclined to be either/or). Space discloses both transcendence and immanence. So paying attention to how our space speaks is important.
For example, most of us have visited one or more great cathedrals. My cathedral experiences have almost always been the experience of the numinous, or what Rudolph Otto calls the Mysterium Trememdum. It is the sense of the Holy, the awe and the wonder that this otherness evokes. Space has the power to reveal the mystery and otherness of God—His transcendent presence.
But, does it really matter? Worship can occur anywhere, can't it? In a garage, a bank, a house, a field. So why bother paying attention to space that discloses God's otherness?
Ultimately, it's a matter of truth. If it is true that God dwells in unapproachable light, that God is above existence, above being, above all categories of creation, above all knowing in his very essence, shouldn't worship reveal this truth? But how?
Most of us don't worship in great cathedrals where we can enter into a contemplative experience of God's unknowability, God's inaccessibility, and God's holy perfections. Most of us worship in very plain churches, in homes, in warehouses, and other mundane settings. What can we do?
I've observed how many young evangelical churches and worship leaders are adopting simple signs that reveal otherness. Many favor centrally grouping candles, icons, and other religious symbols.
I attended one church where every gathering begins with the lighting of candles around religious objects and remarks of how they signify God's otherness and presence. These words and actions are performative. They create mystery, express the numinous, and reveal the presence of God's otherness.
I don't pastor a church, so I don't have a congregation. But I do regard my teaching as a pastoral ministry. And I believe the space in which the ministry of teaching takes place can reveal the presence of transcendence. So let me tell you what I am going to do this semester to disclose God's transcendent presence.
I will begin each class with a short ritual, placing an icon of the trinity and a candle in an observable place. In an atmosphere of quiet reverence and wonder I will light the candle and call the class to assemble in God's transcendent presence, praying:
Lord God, creator of heaven and earth.
Lord Jesus Christ, redeemer of all things visible and invisible.
Holy Spirit, who quickens the new life within.
May your transcendent presence dwell in this community this hour,
Guiding our thoughts and conversation.
To the glory of your Holy Name.
Amen.
At the end of class I will say, "Class has ended." Then, extinguishing the candle, I will declare, "Go forth into the world to be God's transcendent presence in all you are and do." The students will respond, "Thanks be to God."
I haven't done this before; it's new to me. I'll report in January of 2004 on the response.
In the meantime, why don't you do something similar in a setting of worship—a Bible study or with a decision-making body of your church.
Please write me and let me know what you have done and what the initial response has been. Perhaps you will have to do the ritual regularly over a period of time before you get a substantial response. Write me at rwebber@northern.seminary.edu.
Bob Webber
Myers Professor of Ministry
Director of M.A. in Worship and Spirituality
Northern Seminary—www.seminary.edu
(See Northern's M.A. in Worship and Spirituality and D.Min. in Worship by clicking on the website.)
