Creation as a House of Worship
“Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him all the earth.” Psalm 96:9
Where do you worship? Most Christians, when asked this question, would likely answer “At church.” That response makes sense since we often call churches “houses of worship.” It’s where we go on Sundays or some other day of the week to worship God. I have been going to church my entire life and have spent the last thirty-six years serving in churches. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time “at church.” Still, I would be the first to admit that church is not the only place where one can or should worship. Worship ought to be a part of our everyday lives and by no means should it be limited to one set place.
As I have continued my studies of Celtic Spirituality I have been reminded over and over again that Creation itself is a “house of worship.” In his excellent work, The Book of Creation, Philip Newell says “The Celtic tradition has a strong sense of the wildness of God. Like nature it is unrestrainable. A true worship of God, therefore, can neither be contained within the four walls of a sacred building nor restricted to the boundaries of religious tradition.”
Newell points out how the early Celtic Church “was characterized by patterns of worship and prayer under the open skies.” He adds, “Earth, sea and sky, rather than enclosed sanctuaries, were the temple of God.” Eventually the Celtic Christians would, indeed, build actual structures to worship in but they always held on to their conviction that “the holy mystery of God is unbounded.” Because God is everywhere we may worship Him anywhere. That certainly does not mean that joining with other Christians in a church to worship is not necessary. There will always be a need for corporate worship. But hopefully we can learn to see Creation as a house of worship too.
In his first letter to Timothy Paul says he wants people “everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer.” (1 Timothy 2:8) Perhaps this is just his way of saying everybody should worship God but it would seem it might also mean, “wherever you are, worship God.” Since God deserves far more worship and praise than we can give Him in the limited time we are at church any given week, it would help us to realize that we are always in a house of worship and that wherever we are it is an appropriate place to give God our praise.
–Chuck
(I photographed the three “houses of worship” shown above at Garden of the Gods in Colorado, Bryce Canyon in Utah, and Portage Glacier in Alaska.)