“One of the priests came and taught them how they should worship the Lord” 2 Kings 17:28
“They worshiped the Lord but also served their own gods” 2 Kings 17:13

The defining role of a priest is that she/he portrays the divine in all glory so that worship is almost inevitable, immediate, spontaneous. But also to provide the people with tools to use, structures in which to be secure, traditions to occupy so that the innate inclination to worship grows stronger, more innate and constant.

There will always be a struggle between creative and harmful worship; the human soul is constructed in such a way that it will find a way to worship… something, somehow, somewhere. But when the worship becomes addictive and obsessive it reeks of damage; when it is intentional, deliberate and “subject to the individual” then its sweet aroma brings “comfort and joy” (oh, forgive the Christmas reference).

Partners teach partners, parents children, clergy parishes and on it goes…