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3. Why can't I worship God on my own? I pray and read the Bible. Christian worship is always a "corporate" experience because we believe our faith cannot exist apart from the community. Christian faith is not a private thing. The Christian understanding of God is formed within the community of faith; that is, that God reveals Himself fully only in relationships with people, especially in the relationship we have with Jesus Christ and with our sisters and brothers who are in need. Thus our "fullest" expressions of thanksgiving, of praise, of confession, of joy and even of our needs (petition) derive from our relationships with others. We cannot worship alone because we cannot be human alone. This is a concept that is missing in much of modern culture with its extreme emphasis on individualism. Modern culture teaches us that we should take care of ourselves, pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, do whatever we need to get ahead so long as we don't get caught, that our security results from careful planning, and that we should be self-made persons. A self-made person doesn't need God. But, in fact, these are false teachings. Ultimately, there is no such thing as self-sufficiency. Human life depends on others and, ultimately, on God. |
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