his insight. He is currently the young Adult Director at Pacific Beach
Presbyterian Church in San Diego, CA. Grant has also led worship, and
he is a gifted musician and intelligent preacher of the Word. If you get
the chance, visit the website connected to his ministry at
www.rootspb.com. There you will find their current ministries and
the sermons Grant has shared with the college students.
In 1934, Evelyn Underhill started to develop and write her book on
"Worship", published in 1936 this book is considered a classic still used
in the classrooms today. Most books on the topic of worship are usually
written by those who lead worship, particularly in music, but Underhill
observing from the "pew" has brought together the common points of
worship among the many Christian traditions in one book. This was one
of her last written contributions for Christianity before passing away in
June of 1941.
Before I review Underhill’s Worship, let me give you a brief background so you know the biases and viewpoints with which I approach Underhill. I am a Presbyterian college pastor who grew up in the reformed tradition. I studied at PLNU, a Nazarene university which branches out from the Methodist tradition. I have dedicated quite a bit of time in my life to studying classic Christian theology and devotional writing. Before reading Worship I had never been exposed to Evelyn Underhill, and I had only a passing knowledge of the Mystical tradition in Christianity.
Now, to turn to the book itself. Worship is Underhill’s attempt to find the essential unity and the valuable differences within each of the major Christian worship traditions. She lays out her idea at the beginning of the book, when she compares the various churches to chapels in the grand cathedral of God. Each chapel serves a unique function, and worships in a different way, but all together they provide a comprehensive adoration of the living God. Throughout the book, particularly in the first part, Underhill returns to this central idea again and again. Her goal in sketching out the various worship traditions is ultimately to show the unity that underlies them.
The book is broken in to two halves. In the first, Underhill explores those things that define Christian worship, with chapters on the Eucharist, Corporate and Personal Worship, Sacrifice, Liturgy, and Ritual. In this first half Underhill explores these defining characteristics of Christian Worship, defining them broadly and looking at how they manifest themselves in various strands of Christianity. Here her focus is primarily on those unifying factors of worship; the ideas that are shared across all denominations or at least recognized by them. For example, in her discussion of the Eucharist she mentions the rich Catholic tradition of communion and veneration while also mentioning the Quaker rejection of the sacrament, but she does this while ultimately focusing on the Eucharist itself.
In contrast, the second half of the book is a study of the development of the various strands of Christian worship. She begins with Jewish worship, then early Christian worship, and then has chapters for various traditions: Catholic, Orthodox, Reformed, Free, and Anglican. Here we have the reverse of the first half: Underhill focuses on the differences between the various traditions, and brings in the unifying elements as they relate to the tradition in question. This second half is much more sociological in nature, and it is here where Underhill lets her opinions of the various traditions express themselves a bit more. In general she finds things good and bad to say about any tradition, but there are clearly some traditions she finds favorable (like the Anglican church of which she was a part) to others (like the reformed church, whose doctrinal mindset was unappealing to her).
The message that can be found in both halves of the book is that no matter what Christian faith tradition you are from, your worship is a response of adoration to the God of the universe who also became flesh. All Christian worship, from the serious to the lighthearted, the powerful and the intimate, derive their being and purpose in a loving response to God. Underhill writes,
The monk or nun rising to recite the Night Office that the Church's praise of God may never cease, and the Quaker
waiting in silent assurance on the Spirit given at Pentecost; the ritualist, ordering with care every detail of a
complicated ceremonial that God may be glorified thereby, and the old woman content to boil her potatoes in the
same sacred intention; the Catholic burning a candle before the symbolic image of the Sacred Heart or confidently
seeking the same divine presence in the tabernacle, and the Methodist or Lutheran pouring out his devotion in
hymns to the name of Jesus; the Orthodox bowed down in speechless adoration at the culminating moment of
the Divine Mysteries, and the Salvationist marching to drum and tambourine behind the banner of the Cross- all of
these are here at one. Their worship is conditioned by a concrete fact; the stooping down of the absolute to
disclose himself within the narrow human radius, the historical incarnation of the eternal logos within time.
Underhill makes it clear that she wishes to contrast polar opposites in Christian worship, such as the monk contrasted with the quaker, and still point them all back to their unity in worshipping God.
I heartily recommend this book to anyone looking to gain an understanding of various worship traditions and how they deal with the shared elements of Christianity, or anyone looking for a spirit of unity in an often-divided Christian world. Unfortunately Underhill does not spend much time on the various American denominations, perhaps because it was too depressing or perhaps because it was too great an undertaking, but that should not deter American readers since she covers the traditions that spawned most of our American denominations as well. There is a great deal to learn from Underhill’s study of Christian worship, and many reasons to hope for more unity in the future of Christianity if we can all think like Underhill and see the things that bind us together as worshippers of Almighty God.
Grant is the young Adult Director at Pacific Beach Presbyterian Church in San Diego, CA. For more on Grant Kay visit www.rootspb.com.
Please support the Evelyn Underhill Organization by purchasing the book "Worship" from this link: Buy Here. For every book bought from this direct link the Evelyn Underhill Organization receives a small amount of funds to further the ongoing work of Underhill and her contributions. Thank you.