Hey everybody, this is Steve and sometimes Church can feel a bit like a show.
With all the sights and sounds and movement that goes on during Liturgy and all the effort that
goes in to creating beauty all around us, it's easy to feel like we're spectators in
a spectacular theatrical performance. Especially if we're not the ones serving in the Altar
or chanting in the choir, it be really easy to feel like we're watching from the outside.
That the Bishops and Presviters and Deacons and chanters are really the ones doing Liturgy
while we're simply there watching Liturgy. And if Liturgy is just another show, just
another form of entertainment like a movie or a play, then it's no wonder that so many
people feel checked out. I mean, can't the show just go on without us? Well, let's take
a closer look at what Liturgy is. Liturgy or λειτουργία in Greek, comes from
two root words. Λειτος, which means public, and εργος which means work. So
Liturgy is literally a public work. A community effort, the work of the people. Which means
what goes on in Church is much more than some passive entertainment. Work implies effort,
that our minds and bodies are active and engaged. It requires our attention and focus. Work also
implies a struggle, toil, labor, and exertion. Liturgy isn't an easy job. It can be really
hard to keep our minds from wandering, to keep our focus on Christ. And it's not always
easy to remember that we, the people in the pews, are needed for the Liturgy to be offered.
We may not realize it, but this important fact about our life as the Church is expressed
so beautifully in one short, yet powerful word, one we say all the time without really
thinking about too much. Amen. Did you know that the word amen is Hebrew for let it be so?
The "amen" of the people completes the prayers of the Bishops and the Presviters
and the Deacons. It's our way of saying "yes, we agree and we too have come to worship God".
Father Tom Hopko puts it this way "So in other words, if there's nobody there to say "amen"
to the Bishops' or Priest's prayer or they refuse to say "amen", then the Liturgy stops.
It's over. You can't go on. It has to be the "amen" of all the gathering people who are
faithful." The Eucharist just can't be celebrated if we, the people, are not actively participating
in the labor, the work of prayer and worship. Which is why it's a good thing there are so
many ways for us to be engaged and actively involved in the Liturgy. We stand at attention
to remind ourselves that we are in the presence of God. We focus our eyes on the icons, to
calm and still our inner turmoil. We open our ears to the melodious chanting that praises
God with the words of the Angels and teaches us to live like the Saints had lived. We may
even sing along. We smell the sweet smell of incense, which draws our thoughts to the
sweetness of God's mercy. We make the sign of the Cross to show that we willingly unite
ourselves to the Cross of Christ. We bow or kneel before the Almighty God who sends His
Spirit upon us. We recite the Creed and Lord's Prayer together to confess the faith
that we share. We lift up within our hearts prayers for our loved ones, those who are suffering,
those who have died. And most of all, we offer our "amen". Our affirmation
that God is our God and we worship no other. And this is the work that we are called to do.
The sometimes difficult work of preparing ourselves to be transformed by God's love.
Just as the bread and the wine on the Altar are transformed into Christ's Body and Blood,
so are we in the Liturgy, transformed into Christ's very Body. It's a work we as Christians
can't avoid. Nor should we. Because worship isn't passive. We can't simply sit back and
let it happen all around us. If we want to truly live Orthodoxy, we have to strive to
unite ourselves to Christ. To offer thanksgiving to all the blessings the God has granted us.
To not simply say, but to live. That little word "amen". We have to actively seek the Kingdom of God.
So let's Be the Bee and offer ourselves to God in the Liturgy.
Be the Bee and Live Orthodoxy. Remember to like and subscribe and share. I'll see you all next week.