Introduction
“Christopher Thomas, pay attention; get your head out of the clouds and focus.” How often I heard some variant of this from my mother. And perhaps you have too, but of course from your own mother and likely with your own first and middle name, and maybe about putting down your screen.
(The common lore among children is that we are given middle names to know when our moms are angry at us. And if we ever hear her utter all three of our names, well, odds are she’s not just waiting till your father gets home.)
But our mothers are right, we need to pay attention to what is around us. Nowhere is this more true than serving in the Liturgy, where we image the angels and facilitate the congregation’s worship and ascent into heaven.
As I so often do, let’s start with the text of the liturgy and see what it says about attentiveness. Then we’ll address some practical aspects of maintaining attention.
Let Us Attend: the Place of the Liturgy
We ascend into the heavens during the course of the liturgy. Think about it, even our architecture suggests as such, we ascend steps into the entrance of the church, and ascend more steps into the altar. If we attend the flow of the Divine Liturgy, we see we are lifted up to contemplate the things of heaven and lay aside the concerns of this earth.
What do we sing before and after the Great Entrance? I know sometimes it’s hard to hear because we’re preparing with the processional items, but that’s why we have you rotate weeks of service, so you may participate in the Divine Liturgy in the Nave and learn the service.
Let us, who mystically represent the cherubim and sing the thrice-holy hymn to the life-giving Trinity, now lay aside all earthly care, so that we may serve the King of All invisibly escorted by the angelic hosts. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Especially in the heavens, we must be attentive. And indeed the Liturgy calls us to attention at several points. At the Little Entrance, what does the deacon say just before he enters the Holy Doors?
Wisdom! Stand Upright!
And the people respond:
Come let us worship and fall down before Christ.
Now this juxtaposition is fascinating, but I do not have the time now to discuss it in full. However, I will say we make no progress in the faith without humility. We cannot stand in the presence of God by our own strength, but by bowing down and worshiping him, trusting he will give us the means to stand upright before him.
St Nicholas Cabasilas, commenting on this part of the Liturgy says:
The cry ‘Stand upright’ … warns us to be ready for battle when we converse with God and assist at the Holy Mysteries. There must be no inattention; we must act with fervor and all reverence, and in this manner look, listen, and pray throughout the service. The first sign of this fervor and devotion is the uprightness of our bodies; we do these things standing on our feet, not sitting down. This is the attitude of supplicants; this is the attitude of servants whose eyes are intent on the will of their master waiting to do him instant service and ready to perform at once any order which may be given. And are we not God’s supplicants in everything of importance, and his servants for every kind of duty?
— St Nicholas Cabasilas, Commentary on the Divine Liturgy
We hear “Let us attend” at key points during the Liturgy, for God knows our needs and knows how prone we are to have our attention drift. The first time we hear “Let us attend!” is before the reading of the Scriptures. As St John Chrysostom writes:
It is the kingdom of heaven we are entering, after all; we are going to places where lightning flashes. Inside, it is all silence and mysteries beyond telling. Pay precise attention, however: the reading out of the Scriptures is the opening of the heavens. It is a theology of the Word with implications, of course, also for our age’s liturgies: public reading of the lectionary is the congregation’s key to heaven.
— St John Chrysostom, Six Homilies on Isaiah 6
He writes this in the context of a homily on the sixth chapter of Isaiah. Who can tell me about this chapter?
Here the Prophet Isaiah is taken up into the throne room of heaven. There God is seated upon his throne, his robe fills the temple and the six-winged seraphim minister to him. His holiness is so magnificent that although the seraphim continually sing the thrice-holy hymn they cannot look upon God. Rather they cover their faces with a pair of their wings. Moreover, the voice of God shakes the foundations and the entire temple is filled with incense.
At this magnificent vision, the Prophet was stunned and recognized his own uncleanness. Yet God, who is served by the burning seraphim (and it is a fearful and great thing even to them) is pleased to send one of his seraphim to touch a coal from the incense altar to the Prophet’s lips, atoning for his sin and equipping him for service.
If we understood (and keep in our minds and hearts) that we enter into this same heavenly Holy of Holies each Divine Liturgy, how could we do anything besides attend? Listen to the words of the service, know where you are. Focus on the movement of the service, know how you may set yourself apart to serve our all-holy God.
The Practice of Attention
The prophet’s vision is a key to understanding the Divine Liturgy. But how may we apply it serving at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Tucson?
If someone in the congregation has his mind wander, it affects primarily himself, or perhaps he distracts his neighbors. However, for those of us who serve in the altar, who image the angels, if our minds wander, if we are not attentive to cues of the lead servers, our inattention can affect the whole congregation. As you know, certain activities have to take place at the right time during the Liturgy, and our inattention means they may be delayed, or we may distract the priest from his duties. The parishioners notice something is off and it can jar them out of reverence and a worshipful disposition.
In practical terms, that means first of all we need to know the service. Not only the words, but what happens when. Be alert to when assignments are made for which lights to turn on, which items to carry in the procession, and other things that may be required.
Learn the service not from the books but from the practice, and young altar servers, here I speak to my fellow adult servers especially: When I was first serving in the altar I attempted to follow along with the prayer book. Deacon Lawrence of thrice-blessed memory told me, “Christopher, put that prayer book away, follow along with the service by observing it.” And again when I missed a cue to prepare the censer, he told me, “Your service is your prayer.” So the time to study the Liturgy from the books, while devout, is not during the Divine Liturgy. Priests often admonish their congregations with words similar to, “Be participants in the Mysteries, not spectators.” (Some even use potatoes to drive home the point.)
If our attention wanders (and it will), be watchful: sign yourself with the cross and refocus on the service. Recall that the Liturgy itself anticipates our drifting thoughts and again and again calls us to attend.
Let us remember where we are, for in the Divine Liturgy, we participate in the Mystery in the heavens. What a wondrous assignment and privilege this is, to stand in the altar and witness the consecration of Bread and Wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. As St James, the Brother of God, depicted as the earliest liturgist on the walls of our apse, reminds us:
Let all mortal flesh keep silence and in fear and trembling stand, pondering nothing earthly minded. For the King of kings and Lord of lords cometh forth to be slain and given as food to the faithful. Before him go the ranks of angels, with all the principalities and powers. The many-eyed cherubim and the six-winged seraphim covering their faces and crying aloud the hymn. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Therefore, let us keep our focus on the tasks God has called us for, for Christ who became human is pleased to work through us humans, even though there stand beside him thousands of archangels and ten thousands of angels.
And, on a domestic scale, our mothers will be pleased with us also.