Not Without a Tie, Mister.

In view of the responses to my post below, we here at Reverend Mike's House of Homiletic Hash will be instituting a dress code. Henceforth, a dinner jacket and a tie will be required for all male diners, and pant suits will no longer acceptable attire for female guests. I, on the other hand, will continue to blog in my underwear, providing I'm not at work. Lest they lose their appetites, our patrons are encouraged not to linger very long on this image.

I appear to have struck a nerve with many folks, none nasty, which is good. I may have overstated part of the post, leading some to think that I was advocating a dress code for church. That is the way it reads, so guilty as charged, but I wish I hadn't conveyed that. My concern is attitude in worship, not appearance. I believe that worship is not primarily about us, but about God. To the extent that the worship we bring before God's presence is pleasing to God, I will condescend for it to be OK by me as well. This is, after all, all about me and my likes and dislikes, right?

Worship is, first and foremost, a matter of the heart, and then not entirely about the heart of the individual worshipper. It is a communal concern as well, lest we come to see it as a place where we have our individual needs met, and if I don't "get anything out of it," then it must not be real worship.

Furthermore, it's a matter that extends beyond the walls of whatever physical structure we utilize as worship space. Worship is but a part of our response to God's grace, and the person or the Christian community of worship that disconnects its worship from its relationship to the world outside that community misses the point. Ortho-ontology (right being) gives rise to ortho-doxy (right thinking), which gives rise to ortho-praxis (right doing):

I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

- Amos 5:21-24 (NRSV)

To that end, let me share with you an interesting article I found at Christianity Today this morning about the need to connect our faith to real concern for issues of social justice. Posted by Mike at March 22, 2004 04:41 PM | TrackBack