The Forgotten Excitement of Sunday Mornings
It is a seldom occurrence these days to get an invitation in the mail. I’m talking about an honest-to-goodness, stamp-on-envelope, invitation in the mailbox. Usually, they are on card stock with fancy embossed stationary to make it clear the invitation is for a special event.
Invitations like that are rare and are supposed to elicit excitement.
Believe it or not, that is exactly how Jesus speaks of Heavenly Worship – which is what our Divine Liturgy is every Sunday – an invitation. See Luke 14 (The Parable of the Great Supper).
Somehow… getting out of bed for Sunday morning Liturgy elicits “less” excitement in the average household, amiright? What is interesting is the opposite is true too- there are many out there who cannot get enough of Church, who are even willing to die for their faith. It begs the question what are they getting out of Church that we may be missing? Perhaps their invitation had fancier card stock?
Our unit on the Liturgy dives into not only understanding the specialness of the Liturgy and all its parts, but the proper way to prepare for it all week long, the proper mindset to have about this precious invitation, and above all remembering the sacrificial gift to be united to Christ every Sunday.
I listened to a sermon once who put it this way.
Attending Liturgy is like the “dessert” of our spiritual life. It should be the “best” part, but if all we ever eat is dessert then sure – after a while, it becomes less satisfying. If the first time we ever speak to God is on Sunday morning, then, similarly, the Liturgy will not feel satisfying. It is not meant for that purpose.
So, what is the Liturgy meant for? That is what our unit, “Liturgy: The Invitation” seeks to answer in this informative look at the Eucharistic Liturgy and practical and loving instruction on how to approach it each Sunday with the right mind, heart, and soul.
We hope our teens come to see that, YES, the Liturgy will be boring when it is about an obligation. It will be boring when it is about “Me.” It will be boring when it is not about Christ.
Check out our Liturgy Unit: The Invitation, HERE.