Beauty of Worship

Author and Harvard professor, Elaine Scarry explains in Of Beauty and Being Just the concept that beauty can somehow move us toward justice and generosity.

Beauty has the unique ability to stop us in our tracks and to distract us from ourselves. If you’ve ever been in the presence of true beauty you know what I’m talking about. You stop paying attention to what’s going on in your peripheral views, you lose track of time, and all your energy is used soaking up that moment and that beauty. 

This past week I had one of those hard-to-describe, overwhelmingly, beautiful moments.

It was Monday morning and I was led in worship by a team that came from eight different area churches, spanning geography, size, denominations, ethnicity, music styles, you name it. But during worship you couldn’t tell any of that.

It was one team being led by One Spirit. 

Throughout an important day where speakers spoke and teachers taught and leaders led…on a day where so much was said about a new unity among the followers of Jesus…at a time when my city and this country desperately needs such healing …amidst tearful prayers and glimpses of God’s decision for his children….it was ultimately the beauty of full-throated worship that captured my attention.

It is the sound of those voices that still echoes long after.

The day didn’t end with a to-do list and a schedule of follow-up meetings. Instead, we’re prayerfully considering what God is calling us to next. But one thing I do know…Whatever the next steps are for me, for others, for us, it will include the intentional and sometimes spontaneous acts of beauty found in the worship of our eternal God. And maybe, it will be in these moments of worship that God will collectively move our hearts towards justice and generosity.

All I know is that I am grateful that God stopped me in my tracks and reminded me once again of the power and beauty of worship.