In beauty and reverence

The organist and choirmaster of St. Paul’s commented the other day about how so few churches these days give consideration to the aesthetic – beauty and solemnity in the worship service, the mass. The comment and conversation prior to the comment dealt with the rumor that the next U.S. Book of Common Prayer might leave out all Rite I liturgies, gone would be their theological significance and particularly the older and more Elizabethan-style language.
This, frankly, would be a tragic mistake sense younger generations, generally, are attracted to and prefer the older, Elizabethan-style language (thee’s and thou’s, etc). I’ve experience this dynamic over and over again. To them, this is the language of the Church – that which is tried and true, ancient, not swayed by whim and trend. In like manner, so many young people are attracted to traditional Church architecture rather than the striped-down “seeker church” model. The tragedy would be that those in control would push through their agenda of change despite what demographic information is telling us about those who are making up the future of the Church.
It is about the esthetic present in worship. It is about creating a place and a space in time where the beautiful is presented and experienced. It is one of the primary emphases of The Oxford Movement. The beautiful can be experienced in high or low ritual, and both can be a distraction.
God is worthy of our best efforts. All that we do we shall do as if unto the Lord. The worship of God should be an experience of the beautiful in music, in vestments, in architecture, in language, in art, in manual acts, in our attention and devotion. When during the Eucharist all time is merged into one – the Church Victorious, the Church Militant, the Church Eminent – we are caught up into the experience of Heaven and present with the Great Cloud of Witness. We are in the presence of God Almighty.
How else can we respond? What else is there to do but to give up to God our best?