the knee of my heart

I think I have commented before on the physical actions which we use in Church. Sometimes we might bow, kneel or cross ourselves. Sometimes we might raise our hands in praise or clasp them in prayer. We have many stances and movements which we associate with worship.

Reading the letter to the Galatians this morning might make us cautious, as might all of Paul's passages about the law, that we are not simply replacing one set of rules with another. After all he is very clear that the "works of the law" are not just discouraged but actually cursed - so what about our rules and regulations for Church and how we behave there?

The Prayer of Manasseh has a wonderful verse in it:

And now I bend the knee of my heart before you, imploring your kindness upon me.
(Manasseh v11)

This image of bending the knee of our hearts gives a picture of the stance of the whole person before God. The stubborn heart, the heart a metaphor for all that gives life and makes us who we are in this world, bends.

So here is the key to all our worship actions and rules - are they just rules or are they a bending of the heart. I know when I bow or genuflect in Church I am not (usually) just going through the motions - I am not doing it because I have to or because I was taught to - I am doing it because that is where I need to be when I come into a holy place - humble before God and that action reflects (hopefully) my inner mind, represents my whole self, inside and outside.

Actions can help to frame us and they have an almost restorative action when in those times when our mind is not focused an action - which we only do in the context of worship - can pull us into that place - remind us of who we are and what we are. So although we may make rules for ourselves the rules are not an end in themselves - they are a reflection of who we believe ourselves to be and the relationship we have with God and they hold us true, hold us to account.

Mindless adherence to regulations and rules which diminish rather than build up are certainly not something which we should support. Religion which relies solely on formulations and strict sets of behavior is not what we are promoting - but living without any form, living in a place where we have no rules to call us to order, where we have no sacred acts to offer and remind, that is a very hard journey - a journey of constant reinvention. Some folks are cut our for this - I find that I do better with the structure of action. I tend to like to have thing I do routinely - but not blindly. Sometimes things need to change and adapt - so that my heart and body, somehow, can stay in the same place.