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By Mark Bozzuti-Jones

One of my favorite miracles is the one in John chapter five: Jesus was in Jerusalem at a feast, he saw a man who had been sick for 38 years, so Jesus asked him, "Do you want to be made whole?" The man does not say yes, but complains about why he had not been healed. Jesus went ahead and healed him, telling him to take up his bed and walk. Well, this angered the religious folks, because it was the Sabbath. A huge debate ensued and Jesus puts an end to it by declaring: My Father still works, and I work (John 5:17).

It is often said that Liturgy is the work of the people, the people of God. By that definition, we regard any form of worship as humanity's sharing in the ongoing work of God. One aspect of worship or liturgy that is often missed is the subtle understanding that to live is to work. Liturgy, therefore, could best be defined as living fully. Liturgy is life — life lived at its best, life lived in such a way that we share in the will of God on earth, as it is in heaven.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy Eucharist is called the Mass, the Latin word for dismissal. This word serves as a reminder that, as much as worship is about gathering as community, it is just as much about going into the world to love and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God.

So whenever we pray, whenever we worship, we should view ourselves as participating in the life, work, mission, and love of God. Our liturgies should call us into a work for justice, freedom, peace, and righteousness. Liturgies remind us of that profound call to love God and neighbor with our whole mind, heart, and strength.

Years ago, while serving as a missionary in the Amazon jungles of Brazil, I was made very aware of the power of liturgy to transform human lives. Throughout much of Latin America during the fifties, sixties, and early seventies, many of these countries' poorest people did not have the means of getting their voices heard through the regular political channels. They turned to the churches, primarily the Roman Catholic churches, and this led to the development of the base communities and the Liberation Theology Movement.

At the time I was a missionary, the base communi- ties — gatherings of eight to twelve people to discuss and live the liberating values of the gospel in light of all the political and social realities in the community — were thriving. The base community members would use the Sunday's gospel reading to examine their day-to-day realities. As they read the gospel, they were asked to do three things: ver, julgar, and agir. To see (look), to judge,and to act. For the base communities, they saw their mission as looking at the world, judging the world, and acting in the world with God's eyes and heart. In this sense, the base communities were doing the work of the people, the work of God. Some of the issues that would be commonly discussed were health care, running water, deforestation, police brutality, schools, electricity, and violence. There were many political and reli- gious critics who felt that the base community members had lost their way, like Jesus in John chapter five, and were breaking the religious and politi- cal law of the land. For many in the base communities and the Church, the answer was like that of Jesus: My Father still works, and I work (John 5:17).

One of the ways the base commu- nities sought to spread their message was to dramatize the political and religious concerns facing the community. On one Sunday, they dramatized the woman and Jesus at the well from John 4.

After the gospel was read, the dramatization of the gospel began. A group of three women enter on stage carrying buckets for water; two of them faint along the way, and only the Samaritan woman gets to the well. On the other end of the stage the disciples are complaining that they are hungry. Jesus sends all of them to go and buy food. He walks towards the center of the stage. The narrator shouts the following: "Lack of water and food increasingly divide our families and get in the way of the family staying together in love. We need easier access to water and we need more basic food supplies. We are thirsty, we are starving."

The dramatization showed the Samaritan woman highlighting all her needs: lack of water, losing her husband to the city life, struggling to make ends meet, and then telling her whole life to Jesus. Jesus listened and promised to help her and to help her village. They ended the dramatiza- tion with Jesus and the disciples meeting the woman and all the villagers. They get together and plant corn and dig a well. The closing scene showed the disciples baptizing the villagers and the whole church standing to sing, "Amazing Grace."

I remember thinking, "Wow. Now this is what you call liturgy!"

Liturgy is at its best when it addresses the issues of importance in the lives of those who participate. We sometimes forget that liturgical prac- tices or the order of worship is one of the oldest "dramatic" events in the world. When done well, liturgy is always about freeing us to be and do things to make the world a better place. Liturgy then becomes a participation in the work and life of God.

What is true worship if it fails to point out the disparity in what we believe about the Prince of Peace and all the wars in the world? What is true worship if we do not point out that God wants us to have an abundant life for all in the here and now? What is true worship if we cannot demonstrate that God wants us to be good stewards of the earth? What is true worship if it does not lead to freedom, care for the poor, protection of the environment, and compassion- ate concern for those in need?

Liturgy is indeed the work of the people of God. Liturgy is the unfolding drama of the people of God. Liturgy is the theatre of the oppressed, because when one human being is oppressed we are all oppressed.

I cannot help but think we need more drama in our liturgies. What kind of drama? A liturgical drama that reminds us that we are all about a share in the life of Christ: sustaining each other, sustaining our world, and doing the work of God in, with, and through every human being. Amen.

The Rev. Mark Francisco Bozzuti-Jones is an author and priest for pastoral care and nurture at Trinity Wall Street.