From 7-25-07; Taize
http://peacebuilding.wordpress.com/2007/07/25/taize/
I arrived at Taize a few hours ago.
I should have just spent two weeks here. There is no way I can put into words what this place is. It’s like using mathematics to describe poetry or physics to explain why a Mozart piece sounds nice. I’ve never been anywhere that so clearly represented the life of Jesus. It’s 11:15 and I’m in the chapel with maybe a couple hundred others. The brothers and choir are singing, as are those that have remained since the end of the service. The music is strikingly beautiful and very simple. This is the mood most emergent worship groups are trying to recreate. The setting is very simple and very conducive to prayer, silence, and worship. There are framed icons everywhere and the stage is covered in long red drapes from the ceiling to the floor. On the stage are dozens of little boxes erratically arranged and containing candles. It’s really something…
Outside however, it is an altogether different mood. There are hordes of teens, young adults and adults all huddled around several large tents. You can buy food and drinks there and everyone is meeting and hanging out. There are circles of people grouped up and you can walk from one to another listening to the songs of one nation to the next. It’s basically a big cosmopolitan party and a celebration of cultural and national identity that is actually healthy, with people sharing their language and traditions with those who are unfamiliar with them.
These two poles, the spiritual and the sensual, the worshipper and the partier…they are the poles Jesus embodied.
There are some amazing people who have volunteered to staff the monastery during the year. As soon as I walked into the welcome center, they asked “Where are you from? Are you hungry? It is time for prayer.” They gave me a “picnic” bag that they give to people who leave the monastery for the day while they are staying there. It included juice, fruit, bread, pate, cheese and sweet bread. It was pretty much perfect, I was very hungry.
There is something special going on here.
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