Wow, that all looks sooo good. Ya know what--I have actually noticed that ice cream seems to rank second in priority only to clothing in a lot of countries. In Europe in particular it seemed like every ten feet there was an ice cream stand. I remember in Australia--when I went to the opera there was even an ice cream stand. It was so weird. Everyone was standing around in their opera best--eatting good humor-like drumsticks.
Yeah, I know. I never understood that though, cause that's like, the whole point! Liturgy of the Word, to get us in the right frame of mind, and then Liturgy of the Eucharist. Otherwise it's just Bible study. That I can do on my own, or with a bunch of friends. I need a church to get God actually handed to me.
Well there's also music and prayer. There's the value of being part of a community of believers (which, okay, group Bible study offers too) and just of having structured worship time/space (which obviously individuals can create for themselves, but it's nice to have someone else create it for you, plus the aforementioned value of community). And because Protestants don't believe the bread and cup are literally Christ embodied, it's more of a symbolic thing, so while it's important (CWM does Communion every week, in large part because it's specifically missioned to persons who have so often been excluded from the table, so it feels an important part of its mission is to open up the table every. single. week.; and the local UCC's Wednesday night service is "Rest & Bread" -- a meditative service that also includes Communion) it's not so much the core of the service as it is in Catholic churches (I grew up thinking of the sermon as the "point" of the service, which dovetails with what a text-oriented person I am ... though recently I've
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Yes, all that is very lovely, and I definitely get more out of church with the music and prayer and the readings, but the actual EXPERIENCE of God is in the bread itself. There comes a point when you have to stop talking about God and just experience God, you know?
God is real, God is tangible, God is in the bread you eat and you become God, because you are what you eat. And only THEN can you go out and do good works. If you have no bread, all you have of God is in your mind, the memories of the sermon and the music. And that feeds the spirit, surely, truly, but God is in the union of body and spirit! We are not just wisps of spirit, we are real, we breathe and work and love one another in a very physical way, and we need to be nourished in a very physical way, with real bread.
Chuseok is Korean Thanksgiving, but I think technically it is the last full moon of summer, too. You eat a bunch of food and you wish on the full moon. It is GOOD TIMES. You're also supposed to give food to your ancestors but we didn't do that.
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fwiw, most Protestant churches in America at least only do Communion the first Sunday of the month.
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God is real, God is tangible, God is in the bread you eat and you become God, because you are what you eat. And only THEN can you go out and do good works. If you have no bread, all you have of God is in your mind, the memories of the sermon and the music. And that feeds the spirit, surely, truly, but God is in the union of body and spirit! We are not just wisps of spirit, we are real, we breathe and work and love one another in a very physical way, and we need to be nourished in a very physical way, with real bread.
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What is Chuseok a celebration of? I gather it has something to do with the moon? Last full moon of summer?
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Chuseok is Korean Thanksgiving, but I think technically it is the last full moon of summer, too. You eat a bunch of food and you wish on the full moon. It is GOOD TIMES. You're also supposed to give food to your ancestors but we didn't do that.
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