The Jones Files
David Jones compares worship to music
If the hunger of others is not my own, If the anguish of my neighbour in all its forms touches me not, If the nakedness of my brother and sister does not torment me, then I have no reason to go to church and to live.
(excerpt from a prayer from Nicaragua, published by CAFOD)
Ok, I confess, I’m disappointed. After my very first column was published (Christis edition 94) I expected a deluge of letters in protest and, at the very least, invitations to the Anarchists’ Society or the Socialist movement. I’m writing now, with three hours before the final deadline, my second in a series on a theme of society and I’d appreciate some feedback please! Inspiration comes courtesy of an REM concert, a sermon on glow-worms and the desire to be the 4th Saint David.
To be a saint, one must first live a venerable life that is a model of Catholic virtues. The second and third criteria, namely performing two posthumous miracles, are out of my hands, so I’ve decided to concentrate on the first; but this has led to a problem. Is it possible to live a venerable life without being, in the words of a friend, “boring and pious”? I was recently privileged to attend a retreat at the Mirfield monastery, and spend 48 hours in silence. Worship there is a simple affair consisting of plainchants and Bible readings, boring yet overwhelming, it is standing so close to God that makes it more than just the words.
The REM concert I reference not for their fabulous track Losing my religion, but because of my witness there to a breath-taking sight. Dancing, clapping, hands in the air and the neon lights found the white wristband I wear, with the message ‘Make Poverty History’. And not just mine, but those of my friends who were also wearing them, and, I dare say many more in the crowd (Michael Stipe is very keen on the campaign — visit www.maketradefair.org for photos), we had been found by the light and we radiated light (like glow-worms).
Social action. Love. Worship. Three sides of the same coin.
It’s the music that’s important, not the musicians. Worship God and you transcend yourself. While the music plays you are the music, an ecstasy high of phantasmagorical proportions; a living, breathing example of God’s love on earth. Where it belongs. How it should be. In this light worship becomes synonymous with social action, the suffering of those in need of a saviour becomes our own. The hunger, the anguish, the nakedness of those afflicted is embraced and the sacrifice of the cross becomes ours; and we have a reason to go to church, and to live as Jesus did.