We’ve been all ears (and questions!) the past two weeks with our guests, Holly and David. Each joined our WorshipArts group on successive Sundays to share a bit about their respective faiths, Catholicism and Judaism. Of course we can barely scratch the surface, and our questions center more around practice than theology.
In a Jewish church do you have a kneeling bench?
We are perhaps most intrigued by the physical aspects of worshipping – the use of a kneeling bench and making the sign of the cross; wearing a yarmulke for prayer and a rabbi’s seated posture when teaching to indicate that all are on the same level. We learned to genuflect; and tasted challah bread. We asked questions, pantomiming a news conference – and took notes as if we were reporters.
We wondered about prayer, about leadership, about communion, about worship days and places, about holy books, …about God. So many differences, yet so much the same. As David reminded us, all three of these religions worship the same one God. And as I perused the notes left by the children, it was clear that this aspect resonated with them, appearing in nearly every individual’s list of things to remember. But for one young listener, it seemed to have spurred an entirely new realm of questions as seen and translated below:
Where did God live?
Is there one God?
Is God a person?
Where did God live?
What did God do?
Ruth, you’re up!
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