- Jul 6, 2004
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Boredom in Church
If I were to ask you whether you ever found Liturgy boring, that is, ever found yourself bored during Liturgy, what would you answer? I think most people would be able to say that, at least some of the time, they do. The next question then, is why? I want to give three reasons why I think it is so.
The first is because we have become accustomed to, even dependent on constant, unceasing amusement and distraction. We have no silence, no quiet; we are surrounded by constant stimuli: cell phones, text messaging, Facebook, movies, television, video games, etc. We have so many option to distract ourselves, that we seldom seek the quiet needed to really think or pray. When we are not amusing ourselves, then we are bored. But quiet is necessary for any real spiritual life. If we let our lives be characterized with constant amusement and distraction, the Church cannot compete, for it does not offer these things.
Secondly, and related, is the fact that we are hedonists – we live for the sake of experiencing pleasure. Our culture tells us that this is normal. If we are not experiencing pleasure or ‘having fun’, then we feel somehow deprived. Such an attitude puts us at the center of our own world. Of course, as long as we remain self-centered, the Christian life – and the worship of the Church – will seem miserable, because these things are God-centered; and we will end up asking ourselves: “Can’t church be shorter? funner? more entertaining? easier?!” The paradox however, is that we are not happiest when we are at the center of our own world. Ultimately, happiness does not come from hedonism (living for fun). It may come as a surprise, but fun is NOT the key to happiness.
And this brings us to our third reason, namely, that the worship of the Church is a thing very foreign to us. For may of us, it has no connection to the rest of our life. If we do not pray regularly during the rest of the week, and if we do not make peace and stillness some part of our life during the week, then when we come to church on Sunday morning, we will be entering into something very different from the rest of our life, something that goes against the grain of how we normally live.
I am afraid that the above points describe most of us, teens and adults, to a greater or lesser degree. It is simply part of living in 21st century Western society. But I want to give three suggestions to help us work against this reality, and so enable us to draw greater treasures out of the Liturgy than we would otherwise: 1) Firstly, learn to cultivate a love for silence; learn to live at least a little bit each day without stimuli. Turn the TV and cell phone off. 2) Secondly, remember, as I have said, that fun is not the key to happiness. Strive always to put Christ at the center of your life, by avoiding sin and trying to live according to His will. And 3) thirdly, pray at home every day, even if only very briefly – a few short prayers. If you make prayer a part of your lifestyle, then what you do in church on Sunday morning will no longer be so foreign, but will rather become the natural fulfilment of your private prayer life, and as such, will become far more meaningful; you will even begin to look forward to it.
These things involve a change in lifestyle, and that is never easy, but it is necessary, if we want joy, peace, and fulfilment, in this life and in the next. The ancient Pythagoreans had a saying, and I will leave you with it: “Choose the best way of life, and habit will make it sweet.”
Forgive me...
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gets me every time.
