The Divine Liturgy and Our Senses

Introduction
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God
wells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him.
For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are (1 Corinthians 3:1617).
These words from Saint Pauls first epistle to the Corinthians demonstrate
the high standard to which we hold our bodies. God created everything
good, including our bodies, but sometimes the unlawful desires of the flesh
rule over our spirits. Therefore, we have to discipline our bodies against
these unlawful desires in order to present them as pure and living sacrifices
before God (see Romans 12:1).
On the day of our baptism, we shared in the death and resurrection of our
Lord Jesus Christ. We put off the old man, corrupted by sin and death, and
put on Christ, Who gives life. Immediately, we received the seal of the gift
of the Holy Spirit through the mystery of Holy Chrism. Our members were
anointed with oil in order to set them apart, or consecrate them, as Gods.
Therefore, our whole lives and the members of our body should behave in
such a way as to give glory to God in all things.
We often hear instructions such as, Dont listen to, Dont look at,
Do not say We are instructed to put away negative things, but we need
to replace the things we have put away with positive things. Here is where
the Church gives us weapons, tools, and means that touch all of our senses,
particularly in the Divine Liturgy and her Mysteries. Let us explore each of
our senses one by one.

The Sense of Vision (Sight)

One of the things that we notice as soon as we enter any Orthodox Church is
that the Church is decorated with icons.
The word icon comes from the Greek word eikon, which simply means
image. When we refer to icons we dont simply refer to them as pictures.
For instance, a photograph records the features as they are. A portrait
reproduces a persons features that is true to life and recognizable, but at the
same time brings out character and expression of the persons inner nature.
An icon is closer to a portrait in the sense that it brings out much more than
just the natural image of a person.
Icons are not intended to capture the natural/physical features of a saint like
a camera, but are intended to capture the spirituality of the saint and the
glory of God in the saint. Icons serve three purposes: 1) to create an
atmosphere of worship, 2) to serve as a link between us and heaven, and 3)
to instruct us in the teachings of the church and to teach those who are
unable to read.
First, we do not use icons as mere decorations in our churches in our home.
They are an important part of our worship. The simple placement of an icon
in a room, for instance, invites a heavenly atmosphere. When we stand
before an icon, it ought to fill us with the spirit of prayer, and we should
watch how we ought to behave in front of the icon, not because it is mere
wood and paint, but because of what it represents. It is difficult to lie, to
cheat, or be brutal in front of an icon. The icon ought to awake our
consciences. Pray in front of icons; kiss the icons, just as you would kiss a
picture of your loved one. You know that your loved one is not the actual
photography, but you are kissing what the image represents.
Second, we see icons as windows into heaven. These icons show the saints
in all their glory, and these saints are part of our church. We say that we are
members of the church militant (the struggling church on earth), and the
saints are members of the church triumphant (the victorious church in
heaven), but the body of Christ, the Church, remains undivided, and so we
are all members of the One Church in Christ. The Church reminds us of this
every time we come to worship in the services. The first hymn that we chant
in the Vespers and Matins is the Verses of Cymbals. This hymn hails or
greets all the saints. Essentially, we are saying hi to all the Saints who
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participate with us in our worship. Just as we greet our loved ones in the
Church and we worship together, we do the same to the saints.
Third, icons convey to us the teachings of the church. We call those who
draw icons, Iconographers and their study Iconography, which is
comprised of two Greek words, that literally means writing images. So,
we say that the iconographer writes the icon, rather than paints it. We will
see how the icons of Saint Mary give us the teachings about her and the
incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The icon does not convey to us the natural and realistic picture of the
subject. What was the first icon that was written? It was man. God created
man in His image and likeness. Man is an icon of God. God is spirit, so of
course, when we say that God created us in His image, His image is not
comprised of the facial features, hands, legs, etc. No, God created Man with
wisdom, knowledge, understanding, authority and dominion over nature,
free will, etc. These are all things that God has in full.
After Adam and Eve sinned, the image in which God created mankind
became corrupt. We lost the image of God in us, but we see through the
lives of saints in the Old Testament that there was still hope for us. For
instance, Elijah and Enoch were so close to God that God did not allow them
to see death but took them from the earth alive. Daniel, because of his
purity, displayed his authority over the lions, in the same way that Adam had
authority over the animals before the fall. Each individual living and
abiding in God gets closer and closer to His image: the image of holiness
and purity.

The Sense of Taste

We taste the Bread and Wine in the Eucharist, which has become the Body
and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Partaking of the Eucharist is the Promise of Eternal Life. Our Lord Jesus
Christ said, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son
of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh
and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day
(John 6:53-54). We are, in a sense, tasting heaven in our mouths. We are
receiving a pledge of what we will receive in full in the life to come.
Partaking of the Eucharist not only unites with Christ, but with one another.
We take in Christ in a most intimate way. When we gather around one altar,
one loaf, and one cup, we are also becoming one.
We must approach the Eucharist trusting that this is the body and blood of
our Lord Jesus Christ. We must approach this Mystery with faith, baptism,
and repentance. We must realize that all the prayers of the Liturgy are
sanctifying our bodies, souls, and spirits, to make us worthy of partaking the
Eucharist.
Imagine if we just went up and took communion without attending any of
the prayers to go along with it. It seems that we would be partaking of mere,
bread and wine. But when I attend the readings and the prayers, and witness
that the bread and wine are consecrated and set apart for the purpose of
becoming the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is then that I
realize the importance of the Sacrament. Not only are the gifts being made
holy, but through prayer and through listening to the readings, I am being
made holy as well.
The priest prays inaudibly during the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the
gifts of bread and wine (the Epiclesis), And we ask You, O Lord our God
we your sinful and unworthy servants, we worship You by the pleasure of
Your goodness that Your Holy Spirit descend upon us and upon these gifts
set forth, and purify them, change them, manifest them as a sanctification of
Your saints.

The Sense of Hearing

When we enter the church, our sense of hearing is touched by the hymns and
chants of our church, as well as the instructions we receive through the
readings from the Holy Scriptures. We have to remember that in the early
days of Christianity, there were no printing presses, so Christian instruction
was absorbed through the chanting of hymns and through the readings.
The hymns do not only touch us by the way they sound, but through their
words. If we stop to pay attention to what we are hearing, we will find
awesome words that are rich with the teachings of our church. For example,
in the Midnight Praise, we find a rich theology of how our Lord Jesus Christ
was incarnate of the Virgin Saint Mary for our sakes. In the Divine Liturgy
of Saint Basil, we find the whole history of salvation.
It is important for us to not merely hear the words, but to really listen and to
absorb them.

The Sense of Smell

The sense of smell is touched through the raising of incense.
What does incense symbolize? First, it is a symbol of our Lord Jesus Christ
and His priesthood. For this reason, the Wise Men offered Him
frankincense at His birth. Its sweet odor is like the fragrance of the Lord
Jesus Christ during His life on earth. Because of the fragrance of your
good ointments, your name is ointment poured forth; therefore the virgins
love you (Song 1:3).
The rites and hymns of the Coptic Church also refer to the incense as a
type of Christ. In the Hymn of the Censer (]sour/), we chant, The golden
censer is the Virgin; her aroma is our Savior. Also, during the Divine
Liturgy, the priest adds incense to the censer and says, was incarnate and
became man, symbolizing the coming down of the Lord Jesus Christ (the
incense) into the Virgins womb (the censer).
Second, the fragrance of incense represents the Church. Saint Paul wrote,
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and
through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we
are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and
among those who are perishing (2 Cor. 2:14-15).
Why Do We Raise Incense? As the aroma and smoke of the incense rises,
our prayers, offerings, and confessions are carried up to the throne of God.
Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar.
He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the
saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of
the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the
angels hand (Rev. 8:3-4).
The rising up of the smoke and the aroma of sweet-smelling incense always
reminds us of heaven and that our lives should be directed toward eternal
life.
The smoke of the incense forms clouds as it rises. The cloud is a sign of the
presence of God. The LORD said He would dwell in the dark cloud (1
Kin. 8:12). Clouds also remind us of our Lords second coming. They will
see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory (Matt. 24:30).
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Incense is also offered before the icons of the saints as well as before a
bishop when he is present. This is not only a sign of honor and reverence,
but also a plea for their intercessions, as incense represents the prayers of the
saints.
Incense is offered toward the altar, toward the Holy Scriptures, and toward
the icons, and finally toward us! So, this means that our bodies, souls, and
spirits must be a living altar (temple), a living gospel, and a living image of
Christ in us.

The Sense of Touch

We kiss icons, the Holy Scriptures; we hold candles and books. We use our
body in worship.
However, we also greet one another during the Liturgy. We are social
beings in need of the human touch. This human touch can either be defiled
leading to lust or jealousy, or it can be holy and lead to purity and unity. We
ought to strive for holy interactions with each other. This will keep our
bodies pure as the temple of God.