Saturday, May 23rd, 2020

 “All peoples clap your hands”. These are not usually the first thing we like to see in our churches or even necessarily anywhere. Associated with sometimes mistimed and misappropriate situations, news of this happening at a Christian meeting somewhere might trigger an immediate desire to get away as fast as possible. And yet they are the words of today’s psalm. Part of their importance is to demonstrate the very incarnate nature of Christianity. Christianity is not a merely cerebral or spiritual exercise. We are not angels. We have been gifted with bodies - for the very purpose, first of all, of the endless and public praise and worship of God. This is why churches will never remain closed - and why mass viewed on a screen in our lounge room is never ever sufficient. Embodied creatures, Christians are sacramental beings - like Christ, both body and spirit. Spending time in church, and adopting different positions in worship like standing, kneeling, sitting, the placement of our hands - and yes, when appropriate clapping too - are an essential part of our lived Christianity. For it is not just my heart which is Christian - I am Christian.