Thoughts for the Day

I call upon you, O Lord; come quickly to me;
give ear to my voice when I call to you.
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as
an evening sacrifice.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

We Christians attend many different kinds of churches - some sing Gregorian chant; others never sing; some drink wine from a chalice and others from small glasses; some start a service by singing choruses for twenty minutes; others have a regular children's talk as well as a sermon; some will kiss sacred icons; and yet others burn incense during worship. The worldwide Church includes Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Mennonites, Baptists, Methodists, United Reformed, Pentecostal, and Orthodox Christians to name just a few. We have different worship styles, yet so much to unite us.

My background was 'Matins each Sunday', but I became accustomed to the use of incense in Greek-Cypriot churches when we lived in Cyprus for a few years, and then later joined an anglo-catholic church in Burgess Hill where the use of incense was normal for festivals. If your church doesn't use incense, don't write this off, for it's one of our most ancient rituals. Grains of resins, including frankincense and other spices are usually sprinkled on lighted charcoal contained in a censer or thurible. Incense was in use by the people of Israel in the 9th-10th century BCE when David composed Psalm 141. The Christian Church began to use it from about the 4th century CE, to symbolise our prayers ascending to heaven.

The image of our prayer ascending to heaven like incense is a beautiful symbol, together with the the second image in our psalm of the 'lifting up of hands', and we should not discount these visual and practical symbols. Worship of God should involve all parts of us - our thoughts, our eyes, our ears, our sense of smell, our speech and song, and our arms and our legs - not all in one service probably but as appropriate. We know how different people communicate differently with one another and which medium they prefer, so today visualise your prayer rising like incense to God, or perhaps light a candle and watch its flame rising!

Heavenly Father,
may our daily prayers
ascend to You
like the sweet smell of incense
filling a church,
and may they be pleasing to You,
this day and for ever.
Amen.