Why worship?

If we are as loved as Jesus says, what’s the point of all the folderol?

Wouldn’t a simple "Thank you" suffice?

Why all the bowing and benedicting, the singing and sermonizing?

Why not act like the vast majority of reasonable folk and offer an occasional quick nod before dinner and to hell with all of this extravagant, time-consuming, Sunday-ruining stuff?

May I suggest the metaphor of the lover?

Ask the person in love why he spends his day mooning over the object of his affections.

Inquire of another why she finds a dozen roses so wondrously beautiful.

Question the reasoning of the poor infatuated soul who desperately desires to spend every available minute with the source of their joy.

Do that and quickly discover that love never makes sense. Not in the matter of fact, terribly practical world that we live in.

Love is extravagant and wild, impractical and foolish.

In short, love is not only patient and kind as St. Paul tells us.

It’s downright crazy.

I worship for much the same reasons that I do the dishes at home.

It renews my relationship with the ones I love and who love me.

Reaching out for my lover’s hand or for the vacuum cleaner are both expressions of how much I cherish our affair.

There are times when I am called to work and other times to simply revel.

Often it is these little rituals that serve to not only express my love but to make it stronger.