I’m sitting in a cafe in Civitnova Marche, Italy, on the Adriatic coast checking my email. My wife, Sharon, and I are visiting our son, Reid, and his family. Reid is a pro volleyball player who plays here in the Italian Super League with a team called Volley Lube (Loo-Bay). Last night they earned their way into the European Champions League final four with a win over Halkbank in Ankara, Turkey.
In checking my email this morning I discovered a notice that someone had signed on to follow my blog and upon checking I further discovered that my last blog entry on this site was a year ago tomorrow. Wow! Time flies! So, it seemed an appropriate time to rekindle this blog site.
Part of my morning ritual is to read from the ESV one-year Bible. I just discovered this particular edition in early February so I’m reading two a day until I catch up sometime next week. This morning’s reading included Exodus 28. In this chapter, God spells out the requirements for the priestly garments that will be worn by Aaron and his sons. These garments are quite ornate and there is a phrase used a couple of times stating that these garments are for glory and beauty. Maybe it’s that I’m in Italy during Holy Week; maybe it’s that we toured the basilica in Loreto, known for the dome called the Black Madonna; but this phrase really struck me as I thought about how casually we worship God in our day.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not into religiosity and traditional church practices for the sake of tradition, but I do wonder sometimes if we have lost something of the holiness and majesty of God with the way we approach Him in a typical worship service these days. Have we become too casual, too complacent, too familiar – so much so that we almost treat God as if He is on our level? I don’t want to make too much of this, but I think many of our worship services these days could stand a bit more glory and beauty.
Happy Easter! He is alive!
