Sunday, August 13, 2006
(12:08 PM) | Adam Kotsko:
The Work of the People: A Sunday Meditation
If we trace its meaning to the original root words, "liturgy" literally means "work of the people." We normally understand this "work" to be prayer and worship, but I sometimes wonder if that is the full story. Is there another type of "work" that the "people" out in the pews should be doing, a "work" that will help to bring about the type of inner peace and joy that all Christians desire?The other day, I was talking with my good friend Ben Wolfson, and he shared with me a fascinating German word. The native tongue of Martin Luther, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Karl Barth, and countless other great expounders of the Christian faith, the German language has a special claim to our attention due to its long use as a supple instrument for the expression of the deepest truths of our religion. The word in question was verrichten, and it has three primary meanings (as you can see by following the link): to work or perform a task, to pray, and to defecate. When we put this word together with the root meaning of "liturgy," it opens up broad new horizons for us in our spiritual walk. Simply put, we must ask ourselves: Are we shitting as the Lord intended?
The idea may sound absurd at first. After all, what does the Lord of heaven and earth care about something as mundane as defecation? But we know that our heavenly Father knows the number of the very hairs on our head -- is it inconceivable that such a caring God would not similarly number our bowel movements?
Think back. Remember some of your very best craps -- those precious times when high volume was coupled with that ever-elusive solidity. Did you not experience peace, even joy? Didn't you want to share what had happened to you, what the Lord had done in your life? Those of us who do not have the privilege of being married often miss out on testifying to God's goodness to us in this area of life, but what can parallel the experience of finding a friend with whom to discuss this great blessing of the Lord? What a rare intimacy and mutual understanding comes from the open discussion of our bowel movements! What an untapped resource this is for building up the unity and sense of purpose in our churches!
When we meditate on our experiences on the toilet, the Lord has not left us without guidance. There are many passages in Scripture that speak of this fundamental human experience, both explicitly and implicitly. Take, for instance, the opening lines of Psalm 22:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?Here the Psalmist is clearly talking about an experience we have all faced: the agony of constipation. By day and by night we sit groaning on the toilet, feeling as though God has abandoned us. In this situation, what encourages the Psalmist?
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.
yet you are holy,God here is pictured on a "throne," thus in solidarity with those fruitlessly sitting on the toilet. Here the connection we have discerned between prayer and defecation as the "work of the people" is made very explicit. The Lord hears those crying out, unable to bring forth anything by their own effort, and saves them from the shame of an abortive trip to the bathroom.
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried, and were saved;
in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.
Lest we think that God only cares for the constipated, this very same psalm speaks to the opposite problem:
I am poured out like water,Clearly, if we take into account the differences of Hebrew idiom, we are dealing with the phenomenon of diarrhea, or "crapping one's guts out." God attends to the full range of digestive problems, if only we will trust in him. When we reflect that this was the psalm that our Savior quoted during his agony on the cross, its meaning is only deepened.
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted in my breast...
And so I challenge you today: ask your brother or sister in Christ if all is right with their bowels this day. Ask if they are experiencing the joy and contentment that can only come from a healthy crap. Watch them as they leave the bathroom -- do they slink out, embarrassed and defeated, or do they have the glow about them of those who have truly relieved themselves? We can only attain to the full unity of the Body of Christ if we share each other's joy and sorrow in this bodily function.
