Beauty Along the Journey

GUEST REFLECTION

By Chris Bills, Youth Pastor
Christ Church Vero Beach

"Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: O come, let us adore Him. "

-2019 BCP, Daily Morning Prayer, Pg 14

During ordinary time, we say this antiphon daily in morning prayer. I am struck first by the antiphon’s inescapable emphasis on the importance of beauty. It speaks to the reality that when we behold beauty, we are driven to worship and adore God as the source of all goodness and beauty. The Venite, which follows this antiphon, further shows our response to the beauty of God when it says we “worship and fall down and kneel before the Lord our maker”. Indeed, our souls are built to worship God in this way, seeking to be partakers in His transcendent, divine glory. As C.S. Lewis says in The Weight of Glory;

“We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words – to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.”

We should also note that this antiphon is not said during “high” parts of the liturgical year like Advent, Easter, or Pentecost. Rather, we say it in the times in between, the times that are ordinary and common. This shows that worship of God through beauty is all-encompassing. It is something we can do throughout the year, in all times, and in all places. Sadly, in our fast-paced culture of distractions and disconnectedness, we often overlook the beauty all around us that draws us to God. However, Church, this does not have to be so. Let this antiphon ring in our ears as we go about our days. Let us look for the beauty all around us in the ordinary. Also too, let us strive for beauty in our worship and prayer life.

Chris Bills

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