In a recent article in Time magazine on using Twitter at Sunday worship, the writer said, “If worship is about creating community, Twitter is an undeniably useful tool.”

Twitter may be a useful tool, but worship is not about creating community. Worship is about praising and thanking God. The creation of community is the result of our worship of God. We have become so preoccupied with ourselves in our culture that we are turned inward in a blinding prison. If we cannot see beyond ourselves, we cannot worship God. If we do not appreciate that our true home is in heaven, we will expect this life to be all there is, and we will be disappointed. One of the most critical obstacles to faith today is our preoccupation with ourselves and our lack of appreciation and anticipation of life with God forever.

The irreverent and all too prevalent talking in Church is a further symptom of this, as is the complaint that I don’t get anything out of going to Church. To get something out of going to Church, I need to first put myself there in heart and spirit, with yearnings and questions, faith and fear. I need to get beyond myself and caught up in God.

The proper focus of worship is not community or feeling good. Worship is not entertainment. It cannot be accomplished in a sound bite or a twitter. The proper focus of worship for us as Christians is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the center of our community, and Jesus is the center of our worship. When we lose sight of this, we lose sight of what it means to be Church.

St. Paul, the fervent apostle of Jesus Christ, originally persecuted those who followed the way of Christ. He found Christ a threat to his religious understanding. But, when he experienced the presence of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, his whole life changed. He knew from personal experience that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who is our Savior. He counted everything as loss in light of knowing Christ and the power of His Resurrection. For Paul the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ made all the difference in how he saw life and how he lived his life.

It is this kind of personal appreciation of Jesus Christ that is at the heart of faith. Thus St. Paul is a good example for us to imitate. In this year of St. Paul, I heartily recommend that you read his epistles and allow his witness to deepen your faith.

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is at the heart of our Sunday worship. This has implications for the assembly as well as for the presider. If celebrating the death and resurrection of Christ is why we gather for Mass, we should make every effort to be there a few minutes early and to spend that time preparing to hear the Word of God and to receive the Body and Blood of Christ. If we accept that Jesus is so specially present in the Mass, Jesus should be given our full attention. This is why talking in Church is a distraction for us and for those around us. Again, Sunday worship is not about building community. It is aboutpraise and thanksgiving centered in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Community comes as a result of our worship and our having been nourished in Word and Sacrament. We gather in the name of Jesus Christ. Therefore, our gathering for worship is very different from any other time we come together.

The centrality of Christ also has implications for the priest at Mass. He is not saying Mass. He is praying the Mass. When he preaches, he is the first hearer of God’s Word. He is not there to entertain his congregation but to proclaim Jesus Christ to them. In a very real sense, he is John the Baptist. He prepares the way for Christ, but he should not get in the way of Christ. If he inserts his personality too much into the Mass, he becomes a distraction. This is also true when telling jokes and bantering about baseball scores is a regular shtick. Granted, this is a delicate balance, but it is a balance that is much needed in liturgy. He is there to lead us in prayer and to lead us to Christ. The priest must decrease so that Christ can increase. But, then again, that is true of all of us.

May Christ reign in our minds and our hearts.