top of page
Search

SIGNS, SYMBOLS AND SIGNIFICANCE:

ree

 I’ve been thinking about aspects of communal worship that involve our senses. Are our senses required in our worship experiences? If so, how? Are they required or encouraged? If so, in what aspect?

 

What does scripture say about using our senses to worship God? Like a feast with a beautifully set table and a centerpiece that reflects the season, food that arouses the senses of smell and taste, and is a delight to the eye, so our worship should be a feast that requires all our senses.

 

Touch

 

There are many definitions of the word ‘touch’ as used in scripture. The touch of God is defined: to bring reassurance and show acceptance.1

 

Then Yahweh stretched out his hand and he touched my mouth, and Yahweh said to me, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth. 2 Jeremiah 1:9

 

When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. Matthew 17:6-7

 

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them (touch) and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Mark 19:13

 

Most people would say that touching is important in relationships. Shaking hands is a Western form of greeting. Hugging is acceptable in many cultures and is a significant way of showing friendship, care, concern, love, etc. In worship, we are often encouraged to extend ‘the right hand of fellowship’ and greet one another. Many churches encourage the passing of the peace, which involves either hugging, grabbing hands/arms, or shaking hands while saying” the peace of Christ be with you”, and the rejoinder, “and also with you”.

 

Taste

 

“The act of tasting is used figuratively of experiencing the goodness of God and his word and of a variety of experiences: misery, sin, wisdom, love, death, and blessing.”3

 

Taste and see that the Lord is good; 

Blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8


How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103

 

Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. Ezekiel 3:3

 

And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” Mark 9:1

 

But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. Hebrews 2:9

 

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:2,3

 

We use our taste buds when we partake together of the Lord’s Supper. (Whether or not it tastes good is a different topic!) As the bread and wine are consumed we focus on the life-giving body and blood of Jesus when He died on the cross for our sin. Likewise, when we share a meal around a table with friends and family and speak of the things of God, we engage in worship.

 

Smell

 

“An aroma; God is pleased by the aroma of sacrifice, whether a literal sacrifice or the figurative offering of Christian service is a picture of its acceptability to him.”4

 

So imitate God. Follow Him like adored children and live in love as the Anointed One loved you—so much that He gave Himself as a fragrant sacrifice, pleasing God. Ephesians 5:1,2

 

For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 2:15

 

My musical mentor, Dr. Gary Bonner, would often use this scripture and ask, “What kind of fragrance are you giving off today?” In word or action, the ‘aroma’ we give off should be pleasing to God and others.

 

Hear

 

We hear God’s word in sermons, sometimes in prayers, sometimes in speaking to one another. We hear the gospel message in song as we listen to a choir. What we hear is just as important if not more so because it requires action on our part. What do we do with what we have heard? We are responsible to go and share the good news of Jesus Christ!

And then Moses summoned all of Israel and said to them, “Hear, Israel, the rules and the regulations that I am speaking in your ears ⌊today⌋, and you shall learn them, and ⌊you must observe them diligently.5 Deuteronomy 5:1

 

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God the LORD is one. Deuteronomy 6:4

 

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. James 1:22-25

 

See/Sight

 

To see is to view, recognize, perceive with the eyes mentally, to discern, and construct a mental image. Sight is the power of seeing; perception of objects by use of the eyes; vision. In worship, we use our powers of discernment to translate what we see into meaning that helps inform us spiritually. Through song, testimony, scripture, word, and communion, we see the power of God. Through visual aids like what is projected on screens, stained glass windows, accoutrements of seasonal colors aid us in visualizing the presence of God – seeing and being seen by Him.6

 

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13

 

But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. Psalm 10:14

 

As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. Psalm 17:15

 

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13

 

Taste and see that the Lord is good;

Blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8

 

For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Psalm 36:9

 

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. Psalm 40:3

 

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Psalm 63:2


The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all peoples see his glory. Psalm 96:7

 

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Psalm 119:18

 

Summer is almost over, and the Fall Feasts are on the horizon! They are always full of sensory delights that help us focus on the greatness of God! May the season be full of rich worship as we head into a new year!

 

Now I’m hungry…

 

Shalom!

 

Dawn S Gilmore, DWS

 

 


 

2                 W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Je 1:9.

 

 

(London: Martin Manser, 2009).

4 Ibid).


5 W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Dt 5:1.

 

6 Dictionary app.

Comments

bottom of page