And so We Worship

Tonight at a gathering of string musicians who gather informally to play music simply because they enjoy doing it, the banjo player laid aside his instrument and started singing "Peace in the Valley."  In a moment the guitars and fiddle started playing and those of us who were spectators joined in singing.  In the midst of all those "she done me wrong songs," mournful tunes about mountain memories, and ballads we suddenly found ourselves in a moment which felt like a community worship experience befit any church gathering.   I am always amazed how every moment is filled with what can turn into an experience of worship.  

It happened tonight in that music filled room, it happened the other morning at the farm when I stepped out on the front porch and had the freshness of a new day rush over me, and it happened in the afternoon as I became aware of holy presence when I sat with a friend to share some of the struggles of our journeys.   I should not have been surprised as early in the day I had read in "Echo of the Soul,"  J. Philip Newell saying, "The challenge is to practice presence in everything that we do, to bring an inner attentiveness into the busy as well as the quiet times of our lives."  

The mystery is that God is present in our hearts through the power of the abiding Holy Spirit and is also out there in every part of the Creation which surrounds us.  It is no wonder that we find ourselves suddenly overwhelmed with a need to worship.  If we are alive and have eyes to see, we can do naught else.