Worship as Rebellion

Last night, I went to the Cathedral to celebrate the Easter Vigil with my Episcopalian sisters and brothers. I appreciate the mystery of liturgy even more when it is unfamiliar. I feel like a fumbling idiot trying to navigate the Book of Common Prayer. I was trying so hard to remain focused to let the words of these prayers break into my Easter celebration. I had never been in worship where there were alleluia bells. I loved this. I especially loved the older member of the congregation behind me who just couldn't stop ringing that bell.

It was not the Dean who delivered the sermon last night -- but the young woman priest. I don't know her title and I suspect she is a little older than my sisters in Young Clergy Women. However, I was grateful that it was her voice that coached me toward Easter. Her sermon illustration was from the film Into the Wild. It brought tears to my eyes. It was a good image (even if I did want even more to be said). However, it was not this illustration that lingers with me. Instead, the image that I can't stop thinking about is the idea that we came to gather in this holy sanctuary when so many other things were going on in the world. I don't think it was her question -- but she made me wonder if worship is an act of rebellion. In the same way that we claim Jesus as Lord rather than the powers of this realm, worship is a rebellious act against the empire. This works for me as I travel toward Easter celebration.