I've just discovered a pop sensation that I suspect many others already know about: Susan Boyle singing "I Dreamed a Dream" in the Britains Got Talent Contest 2009 (here).
Worth a thousand Easter liturgies, in my view . . . . And I say that with some sadness, since I cherish liturgy and would love to take part in meaningful, welcoming liturgical experiences in my own religious tradition.
What does Susan Boyle do that our liturgies so often fail to do? Connects to the hope we all seek in and through our own lives, not by escape from our lives to some fantasy land. Lifts up her heart and our hearts along with hers. Overturns our expectations and prejudices and enables us to see life with new eyes.
Everything that liturgy (and Easter) ought to be all about. But something the men who rule us seem incapable of delivering these days, unfortunately.
Worth a thousand Easter liturgies, in my view . . . . And I say that with some sadness, since I cherish liturgy and would love to take part in meaningful, welcoming liturgical experiences in my own religious tradition.
What does Susan Boyle do that our liturgies so often fail to do? Connects to the hope we all seek in and through our own lives, not by escape from our lives to some fantasy land. Lifts up her heart and our hearts along with hers. Overturns our expectations and prejudices and enables us to see life with new eyes.
Everything that liturgy (and Easter) ought to be all about. But something the men who rule us seem incapable of delivering these days, unfortunately.