sunday morning at the mosque

or, better titled, the select few times i will write about my faith online (because words do no justice for what i pursue).
i wrote this yesterday, but as far as blogging goes, it belongs here more than it does anywhere else i guess.


I have this class I'm taking for one of my theology courses appropriately titled "Spiritual Traditions: East and West". Like almost all my other theology courses, I love it. when it comes to searching for G-d, I can't get enough. I'm completely consumed by all faith traditions, and I was thrilled when I found out we get to do a "site visit" as part of our curriculum. We have the opportunity to visit a number of different worship services, and since the opportunity is here, I'm going to as many as I can. Why not?
So tomorrow morning I'm planning on attending a Muslim worship service. I'm not really sure what to expect, but I know two things: 1) I'm going to have to cover my head, and 2) I'm going to have to sit in an entirely different section, not only because I'm female, but because I'll be a visitor. Cool. I started looking into why men and women are set to worship in different sections, and why this is still an extremely common practice, and the main reason is so one group won't distract the other.
Huh.
At first I didn't really get it, I mean, it's a group of people not unlike my own community, and we're all going to worship the same G-d, so why is anyone worried about distraction in the awesomeness of worship (and by "awesome" I don't mean like... the cheesy awesome you hear thrown around when you watch "Saved" with Mandy Moore, but awesome like.... the original definition of the word: awe-inspiring, you know?)? I mean, when I go to my own worship services, men and women and children and all of everyone sit together: no big deal. We still get caught up in the mass (if we know what's going on), it's still beautiful, and to be honest I'm always inspired in faith by my friend RJ whom I usually end up sitting next to. I wouldn't have the same inspiration if I sat by myself, not that I would have a bad experience by any means, it's just... some people inspire me in different ways. See? Boys and girls can sit together and still get it. Everything's ok.

But then I stared thinking about it more. I remember going through that long lecture-y process of getting confirmed. It was a sincere, conscious decision on my part, and also the beginning of what sparked my desire to study theology. I don't actually remember much of the confirmation process, save for the night we did adoration.
Now.
Unless you're Catholic, you probably don't understand the weight adoration holds, but let me tell you, it is the more.... sincere and amazing thing I have the opportunity to participate in.
Anyway, I remember doing adoration during the confirmation retreat, and I remember specifically kneeling next to this guy I used to go to grade school with. The session was long, and it was beautiful, but I was also a sixteen year old girl, and after about forty minutes of this process, I remember having the epiphany that this guy was totally hot.
I know. Totally the wrong thing to be thinking about.
And then he elbowed me. And basically it was all downhill from there.
Now.
I was an adult.
Technically.
In terms of faith.
But I was still a sixteen year old girl (keyword being "was").

And now I'm understanding why men and women worship in different sections. It's nothing oppressing or discriminatory or anything of that nature. It's just a recognition that people are people, and if you're going to worship, then go for that and not to bump elbows with the people sitting next to you. People are people, and distractions happen, so with the encouragement to sit separately, you have time to reflect internally.

I think it's lovely.

I'm absolutely excited for tomorrow morning, it's going to be entirely different from anything I've experienced thus far.


See, this is why I love studying theology: so much of your own faith begins to unfold upon the reflection of other traditions, whether they're great revelations or small ones.
Anyway, that's all for now.