In some ways the studies mentioned in the linked article remind me of some of the work of Catherine Bell in the field of ritual studies, as well as some of the other social scientists–for example Pierre Bourdieu and Michel de Certeau–who have led the way in arguing for more serious attention to our embodiedness when examining social structures and relationships. And there is some common ground–Catherine Bell refers to the work of linguist George Lakoff, who is also mentioned in the Globe article.

I’m interested to take a closer look at some of these studies sometime, and consider what practical lessons can be found for liturgical design, although at a gut level, I suspect many of these lessons already be embedded in good liturgical practice, discovered through trial and error and what works and what doesn’t. We wouldn’t care when people sit, stand, or kneel if we didn’t think that body positions and motions had an effect. We should already know that our liturgical actions and gestures should match the words we are using, because it just feels wrong to look down when you’re saying “lift up.”

But perhaps this new stream of information can serve as a reminder to us of just how important our embodiedness–and the incarnation–is. Our bodies matter. What we do with them matters–especially in worship. This matters not only because we experience God and each other through our bodies, but also because we *think* about God and each other through our bodies.