"Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them." (Ezek. 33:32)

A circus parade was moving gaily through the streets of Milan, Italy. Suddenly one of the elephants veered from the line and marched into a church. [In Milan, church doors are large, and in the summer are often wide open.] This visitor wandered up the center aisle, trumpeted a bit, swung her trunk around and headed back to the parade.

Unfortunately, many humans seem to imitate this pious pachyderm. On a Sunday morning we lurch into church, make a few noises, observe the congregation, then step out to resume our place in the parade. The great drama of worship is played out, but it is lost on us. We are elephants in church! (By David R. Randolph, quoted by Donald P. Hustad in Jubilate II. Christianity Today, Vol. 37, no. 14)