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Reflections

Reflection for the Anniversary of the Dedication of Our Consecrated Chapel

Choir Chapel

by Sister Micaela
October 24, 2024

In this evening Gospel from John 4, we find the greatest concentration of the word “worship” in the entire New Testament! It is sited 7 times in these 6 verses, and so it seems important that we examine this passage where Jesus teaches us about how God desires our worship.

Prior to the section of John that you just heard, we find Jesus and his disciples traveling to Galilee, and they pass through the region of Samaria and stop at Sychar.  Jesus sends the disciples into town to buy food, and he sits down at the well to rest. A woman from Samaria comes to the well at the hour of noon to draw water. Being ostracized by the other women because of her marital history, she comes all alone.

As she begins to draw water from the well, Jesus asks her for a drink. As the conversation progresses, he asks her to go and bring back her husband. She says that she does not have a husband.  Jesus then tells her that she is correct for the man she is now living with is not her husband. 

It is here that our gospel for tonight begins.  After Jesus’ words to her about her husband, she is amazed and says to Jesus, “Sir, you must be a prophet!” Then in not wanting to discuss her personal history, the woman changes the subject and says to Jesus,

“Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain but you people say the place to worship is in Jerusalem! We were told to sacrifice our burnt offerings only at the place the Lord would choose for us. “ 

From this conversation, we realize that worship in the Old Testament was tied very much to certain places. In Exodus 40, we read a detailed description of how, when, and where Moses and the Israelites are to worship. 

This morning at prayer, we prayed Psalm 27.  There are several beautiful references to a place where God will meet his people.  Verse 1 states “God is my fortress;” verse 4 says, “One thing I ask of the Lord, one thing I seek; To live in the house of God every day of my life, caught up in God’s beauty, at prayer in the temple.” Verse 5 says,  “The Lord will hide me there, a sheltering tent above me;” and verse 6 states, “In the temple I will offer a joyful sacrifice…” The faith of our ancestors was powerful!  They believed that they would meet God in all God’s beauty and care in certain places.

 But the coming of Jesus changed all that.   Jesus tells us that worship is no longer concerned with where we worship, but how.  Jesus said to the woman,

“Believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  The hour is coming and is here now when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and Truth. God is Spirit and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and Truth.” 

Jesus tells us that worship is no longer concerned with where we worship but how! Jesus, the Messiah has come and that changed everything.

We, who have been baptized into Christ and who carry within us the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, come together with all we are and wherever we are as a powerful community joined together by the Spirit.  As Benedictines following the Rule of Benedict, we have been given what we need to become that community of love, a worshipping community who longs for God above all other longings.

Each day is a new day in which to grow in this awareness. Each day is a day of participating in the ways of the Spirit. We pray that our faith can be and will be strong as it was for the people of the Old Testament who longed for the coming Messiah but in the meantime were faithful to the God of the Temple!

In this new time of Christ with us everywhere and always, let us take time to be worthy of our call, becoming more faithful as people of the Spirit. May we strive to live lives of mindfulness and gratitude, awareness and thanksgiving. 

Let us take time to admire the wonders of Nature, the beauty of this season, and take time to be silent, attentive, aware and gentle. Take time during lectio to read the Scriptures out loud, to meditate on God’s word. Memorize a verse or a psalm and acknowledge the power of God’s word. Raise your voice in song and move with the rhythm.  Love one another and reach out to those around you. Listen and hear and respond to the call of those who need you!

May we of the New Testament filled with God’s Holy Spirit worship God in spirit and truth and may we be as faithful as the people of the Old Testament who longed for the Messiah!

And yes, the celebration of the dedication of this consecrated chapel does indeed focus us on this lovely dwelling place. How special it is to just stand in this place, but how immeasurably more it is when we stand together as the beloved community of God, filled with God’s Holy Spirit praising our God in Spirit and Truth!

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