(Psalm 122:1)
Well, it's that vacation time of year again, and as I'm sure that many of you have been either taking breaks or planning to take breaks, rest assured, I'm no different. As has been my established habit even before coming to Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit, I take two summer breaks: one as a family vacation, and the other as a continuing education retreat. In years past it's been my pleasure to spend time at various Christian college campuses for a week's worth of self-directed study. This year, however, I decided to revisit a wonderful haven of rest--the Lutheran monastery, St. Augustine's House, in Oxford Michigan.
Right away some may think the above sentence either has a typo, or that their glasses have failed them. **LUTHERAN** monastery? Yes, you read correctly. They're not completely unheard of, but are quite rare. To my knowledge St. Augustine's House is the only fulltime residential community of monks of the Lutheran faith in the USA. As monastic communities go, it's both young (established in the 1950's) and small in terms of membership. It's located on 42 acres of wooded land, and includes a wonderful retreat house and gorgeous chapel. Those interested can learn much more about St. Augustine's House by visiting their website at: http://www.staugustineshouse.org/.
As I eluded earlier, I've been there before. I did a spiritual retreat shortly before my ordination, but this time the focus was more on study. Even so, it would be impossible to ignore the many opportunities for prayer, quiet contemplation and daily Eucharist--in short, the many opportunities to be in the house of the Lord.
At times such as this my mind often wanders to the opening words of that great psalm of 'ascent,' Psalm 122: I was glad when they said unto me, let us go unto the house of the LORD. Scholars debate the probable origin of the term 'psalm of ascent' (applied to Psalms 120-134). It may well be that these were psalms that came to be sung by the people on their ascent, or "going up" to Jerusalem to attend the three pilgrim festivals (Deuteronomy 16:16). Another explanation is that they were sung by the priests as they ascended the fifteen steps to minister in the Jerusalem Temple. Regardless, I thought of the psalm as I ascended the steps to the monastery's chapel several times per day.
And here I just have to relate a fascinating occurance. One of the monastery's fulltime residents is "Ben," a large black dog. Ben's official role is 'greeter,' and he quickly sets any visitor's mind at ease regarding BIG dogs. In addition, it doesn't take long to realize that the daily cycle of prayer/worship effects more than just 2-legged worshipers. EVERY time I began my ascent up those steps, I noticed that Ben was already there; quietly waiting at the top. No, they don't let him into the chapel. What actually happens--daily....routinely--is that Ben patiently waits until one of the monks begins ringing the chapel bell. At that point, he begins barking and carrying on in a manner so as to be heard all over the grounds--and no doubt, beyond! He keeps this up until the last chime of the bell, at which point he falls silent again.
At first, of course I just quietly chuckled at what I was hearing. But then I began to muse. I couldn't help but think that he was calling out that it was time to come to worship; that he TOO was 'glad' that it was time to go into the house of the Lord. The whole thing brought to mind other passages of scripture: Out of the mouths of infants and children your majesty is praised above the heavens (Ps 8:2). Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out (Lk 19:39-40). Infants declaring God's praises? Stones shouting out? Why not big dogs also?
There's a certain irony in all of this. Sometimes **we--the very ones for whom worship is intended; the very ones for whom worship is the most meaningful; the very ones whose souls are most lifted heavenward by worship--are also the ones who have the most cavalier attitudes toward worship. We speak of being able to "take it or leave it;" we speak of being "dragged to church;" even those among us who are good traditionalists speak of performing our "Sunday duty." In my time at St. Augustine's House, I never got the impression from Ben that he considered church optional--and this is at a place where there are multiple services per day. I never got the impression that anyone had dragged him there against his will, or that he was merely doing his 'duty.' Granted, he's just a dog...but as dogs go, he truly seemed pretty GLAD that the chapel bell was ringing and that people were coming into the Lord's house.
Just think of the powerful witness we as the Body of Christ would be to our community and world if worshiping together in the house of the Lord made us even half as excited as Ben the monastery dog. In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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