Last Sunday, during our newcomers’ class, we discussed several faith beliefs and practices in the Episcopal tradition, including the following:
“We believe that God is present and active in the whole of creation and that we are called to participate with God through appreciation and care for creation, through the arts, through our daily work, through our relationships with other people, and in our own inner lives.”
One participant was particularly struck by the phrase, “through the arts.” I was too. Like many of you, I find the music and artwork at Incarnation to be a source of transcendence, deepening my experience of the holy. I grew up dancing at a Christian ballet school, where I learned to dance as a form of worship. And who hasn’t choked up or felt their heart swell while singing a hymn to glorify God?
And yet, the statement of belief that we read in class is not quite the same as our worship of God, or God blessing us with a visceral experience of divine love. It’s more mutual than that. It’s about participating with God, partnering with God, teaming up with God – through the arts and various other means of daily living.
If we are made in God’s image, we are creators too, and if God is still active in the world, we are in on the action. Have you ever thought of yourself as co-creating with God? It happens when you cook a meal with love, form a solution to a problem, write a poem or a thank-you note, and for us dancers, take an arabesque. The list goes on and on.
When it comes to parish ministry, I know that my best creation is not a killer sermon or well-crafted prayer. It is participating with you to create our community. Our community is the work of art.
And, yes, it can get messy because art is messy. And, no, not everyone will love everything about it because art is subjective. But who cares about the beauty in the rest of the world if we can’t celebrate it in each other as Christ’s body?
You are the handiwork of our Creator, and together we are engaging in the art of relationship, with a healthy dose of God’s grace. Let’s make Incarnation our greatest masterpiece yet.
Adrian+