The Whole Self in Prayer

The adult coloring book craze seems to be winding down a bit, but I jumped on that bandwagon when it first started a few years ago. I have about seven adult coloring books in my house, some of which I’ve started and others that are completely blank. Sitting down to color does bring a little relaxation and calmness to me when I’m feeling anxious. Using artwork for meditation wasn’t that big of a leap, but it was a unique experience to sit in a circle in the sanctuary and pray through scripture and artwork with other people. I actually really enjoyed it. For Lent this year, we used an art-based devotional resource from a group called A Sanctified Art (https://sanctifiedart.org/). Each week, we offered a meditative service. We spent half the time in Lecto Divina, reading and meditating on the Gospel story of the week, and the other half of the time in Visio Divina, using the weekly artwork for meditation, and always closed with the weekly poem. We also had coloring sheets so we could keep our hands busy if that helped us meditate.

            Using artwork as a form of worship seems to be making a comeback. It’s definitely not a new concept. Worship using images has been around since people started worshiping. Each religion has its own set of images that draw people to prayer. Christianity has its roots in icons. During the Reformation, the reformers thought images made prayer too complicated, but the tradition didn’t go away for everyone. I actually have friends who are very into icon painting, and they are amazingly good at it. I like what Saint John of Damascus (first century Syrian monk and priest) said in a treatise on divine images: “We use all our senses to produce worthy images of Him, and we sanctify our noblest of senses, which is that of sight. For just as words edify the ear, so also the image stimulates the eye.” I’m not sure that sight is really the “noblest of senses” (try telling that to a blind person), but using the artwork in a worship setting reminds me that worship really can be a full body experience.

            Think about this: we use all of our senses in worship. We use our hearing to listen to music and the word read and proclaimed. Our hearing also helps us hear with joy babies in worship and the words exchanged during passing of the peace. In our church, we have an electronic system to help people hear better because it’s frustrating when you’re in church and your hearing doesn’t work properly. Hearing problems can be isolating, so we do what we can to assist with that.

            And we use sight. We may not have icons in our sanctuary here, but we have plenty of visuals from the baptismal font to the communion table to the cross. The flowers help beautify the space and remind us of God’s awesome creation (even though our flowers are silk, they are so beautiful they really do remind us of God’s awesome creation).

            Taste: communion is made for all the senses, not the least of which is taste. We taste the bread and the juice and remember that Jesus tasted elements, too, when he sat down to share bread and wine with his disciples.

            Our hands do a lot of touching in worship. We touch the pews, the hymnals, shake hands with other. We touch the bread and the cup when we take communion. We feel the pews and the floor under us.

            Smell…I’ll admit this is hit or miss. I think all places have their own unique smell, like when you visit your parent’s house after you move out. When you go back for the visit, all those smells come rushing back to you. Churches have smells, whether it’s from the communion elements or from the potluck waiting for fellowship time after worship. We smell each other (again, I admit this is hit or miss…). During a children’s message on Epiphany I brought bottles of essential oils so the kids could smell frankincense and myrrh. Some churches are more purposeful with the smells they invite into their sanctuaries.

            Some senses will be more powerful for some than for others. You might connect more to the visual than the auditory, and some people will feel deeply connected to anything that tickles their olfactory nerves. The point is that worship is a full-body experience. Worship is our whole selves in worship. Using the art-based Lenten materials reminded me of that, and I’m thankful for that.

            What senses are you thankful for in worship? Which senses do you use or connect to more than others? How might worship connect to your senses better? I’d love to hear your responses!