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Richard John Neuhaus:

Were one to indulge in paradox, it is not too much to say that the most relevant thing about worship is its irrelevance. True worship is an act of liberation because it defies every criterion of utility by which our lives are too much bound.

I’m reminded of Marva Dawn’s A Royal Waste of Time. To justify Christian worship on the grounds of its usefulness is to evacuate it of any integrity or meaning. Which is easy for me to point out, but it is astounding how deeply embedded are such notions of utility, even for ministers of the gospel.