Evelyn Underhill's Worship was first published by James Nisbet & Co. in 1936. Second and third editions were published in 1937, and over the years a number of reprints appeared. Now James Clarke & Co. have given us a reprint with a short and helpful foreword by Christopher J. R. Armstrong.
As Underhill herself points out in her preface, her aim is ‘to explore those primary realities of man's relation to God which our devotional action is intended to express.’ The first part of the book deals with the fundamental characteristics of worship, in humanity at large, even in creation at large, and in Jewish and Christian worship. It has chapters on the nature of worship, sacrament and sacrifice, Christian worship, corporate worship, liturgical elements of worship, the nature and significance of the Eucharist, personal worship. The second part of the book shows how the characteristics of worship are embodied in different types of worship. Its chapters deal with Jewish worship, the beginnings of Christian worship, Catholic worship (‘the worship of the Church of the Creeds and the Councils’) both western and eastern, worship in the Reformed Churches, Free Church worship, the Anglican tradition.
While Underhill says she is not a liturgical expert, she has made good use of the work of the experts. Of course she sometimes accepts positions which are no longer regarded as safe, but her book shows us how much sound scholarship was available in those days. Among the authors she refers to are Karl Adam, F. E. Brightman, Y. Brilioth, F. Cabrol, L. Duchesne, W. H. Frere, H. Lietzmann, M. de la Taille, and R. Will. She refers to many other sources, including early Christian writings and the writings of the mystics. Baron von Hügel is never far from her thoughts. Underhill's good sense keeps her from attaching too much importance to doubtful hypotheses, and her book is imbued with great thoughtfulness, theological awarness, and spiritual depth. She is all the time drawing things together, making connections, seeing relationships. When she points out the weaknesses of a tradition, she also does her best to see what is good in it, striving to enter into the minds and hearts of its adherents.
One striking aspect of Worship is Underhill's recognition of the importance of sacrifice, which in no way means that she undervalues adoration, thanksgiving, and supplication. Nor does it mean she becomes involved in detailed discussions about immolation and oblation. What she emphasizes is the spirit of self‐oblation which we see in Jesus and which characterizes true worship and indeed the whole life of true worshippers. Convinced of the need to give external expression to self‐offering, she pays particular attention to the place occupied by offering and offerings in the various traditions. In her reflection on the Anglican tradition she includes some words about the devotional life of Anglicans through the ages, and is happy to remark that at all times there have been those ‘who kept alive the secret fire of sacrificial worship’.
Her view of the sacraments does not place them in isolation but against the background of a more general sacramentality. She speaks of sacramentals which are ‘more than symbols and less than sacraments’, and she does not hesitate to call them ‘efficacious signs’. In her treatment of Quaker worship we find her regarding the bareness of the meeting house as ‘in itself sacramental; a positive witness to the otherness of God, which may be more impressive, more suggestive of the unseen Holy, than the veil before the tabernacle or the sanctuary lamp.’ She thinks that religious orders are important for the life of the Church; they give ‘concrete, dramatic, and even sacramental form’ to the self‐oblation which is the vocation of every worshipper.
She is attentive to the way in which corporate and personal worship need each other. Corporate worship would be lacking in depth without the holiness of the individual worshippers. The individual needs corporate worship in order to avoid ‘self‐interested spirituality’. An example of her emphasis on the need for personal holiness is seen in what she says about Pusey. Expressing her admiration for ‘this scholar‐saint’ she observes that ‘[w]ithout the dangerous literary gifts of Newman, he gives the impression of a more self‐oblivious holiness, a greater spiritual power.’
Worship will appeal to different readers in different ways. Many will find themselves engaged in dialogue with the author, discovering points of agreement and disagreement, letting her support and challenge their own views, noting the way in which her use of words like ‘liturgy’, ‘symbol’, ‘memorial’ differ from present usage. Even though Worship was written over seventy years ago, it is easy to imagine the author joining intelligently and wisely in current dicussions about worship, ecumenism, Christian life in general, and, indeed, inter‐faith relationships. It is possible to try to look through the eyes of this great Anglo‐Catholic at the liturgical reforms of the different churches. What, for example, would she see in the Modern Roman Rite? In her own day she noted with approval Rome's move towards the active participation of the whole congregation. She would surely appreciate the present rite's insistence on the assembly and the richness of its Scripture readings. No doubt she would warn against losing what she calls the sacrificial aspect of worship, and would perhaps ask us to take seriously the revival of the offertory procession and the expressions of offering which run all through the rite. She would patiently remind us that corporate worship needs devout worshippers. Perhaps she would repeat that communion is ‘the proper completion and crown’ of the Eucharist, and encourage us to avoid anything which would give the impression that it is just part of a winding down process.
Underhill's Worship has the distinct advantage of being beautifully written in a style which is clear and strong. It is good to have this treasure back in print.
