Lucky for me, the sun sets just before 5:00 pm mass - thank you daylight savings time - and the drive to Prince of Peace is right on the side of a mountain. As I drove to mass I noticed that the sky looked especially beautiful, so I decided to pull over at the next parking lot or driveway to take a picture for a friend of mine who loves pictures of the sky. When I rounded the curve and found my parking lot I snapped a shot that didn't only capture the beauty of the sunset, but caught what I thought was even more beautiful... (This isn't to show off photography skills. Don't judge the grainy camera-phone image).
The only thing that I find more beautiful than this sunset was the community that gathered together in awe of this outpouring of love from our creative god.
Aside from the poetic connotations of the sunset, the new beginnings that come the next morning, and the song lyrics associated with this most ordinary and daily occurrence (for some reason, the first lyrics I think of are "Tomorrow's freedom is today's surrender") this sunset held great meaning.
As I finished out the drive to mass I was thinking about the conversations I had just heard among the folks that shared this sunset experience with me. Dads explaining the concept of day and night to younger kids. Couples standing in the comfort of silence. Other kids just chattering away, overwhelmed by this first sight of true beauty. Diversity and unity all in one. This community of strangers came together to worship the sun, and that's what I found most beautiful.
When we come together in worship it isn't the songs we sing, the images we create, the words we preach, or the raising of our hands that makes for a beautiful moment. Beauty is already present in the love of our God and the gathering community of His people.
