Liturgy and Life

I have been preparing to teach a class on the Christian Liturgy.  One of my main concerns as I work out how to present what I'm learning is how to break the liturgy down, to take it apart, without killing the mystery and life which it holds, such as what happens when one dissects a frog, leaving an understanding of systems but losing on understanding of its "frogginess", or as Bitzer from Hard Times, by Dickens, would understand a horse.

'Bitzer,' said Thomas Gradgrind. 'Your definition of a horse.'

'Quadruped. Graminivorous. Forty teeth, namely twenty-four grinders, four eye-teeth, and twelve incisive. Sheds coat in the spring; in marshy countries, sheds hoofs, too. Hoofs hard, but requiring to be shod with iron. Age known by marks in mouth.' Thus (and much more) Bitzer.

'Now girl number twenty,' said Mr. Gradgrind. 'You know what a horse is.'

Perhaps the only way to prevent such a thing from happening is to participate.  Just as we would greatly increase our understanding of "frogginess" by observing frogs in their natural habitat  or of horses by living around them as did Sally Jupe, a.k.a., girl number twenty, and even more so by becoming a frog or a horse if that were possible, Christ invites us to participate in the divine, looking forward to the Heavenly banquet, we may partake of it in the here and now in the bread and the wine, because Christ himself is present.  Christ lives in us and we in him.  That is what prevents the liturgy from becoming a just a system or ritual or set of theories.

Worship And Relevance

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.
The folks at North Point Media are really good sports to produce this video. What a hoot! In other ways, though, it is pretty disturbing.  The desire to be relevant actually results in being faddish and temporary. 

If one would consider the historical liturgy, it is incredibly scriptural, ties us in a real, concrete way to the ancient church and to the church catholic, and builds to the important act and gift of receiving Christ in the bread and the wine. There is real beauty and holiness in that. How much more relevant can one get?!   It also removes the need or desire to always come up with something new. The newness comes not in the liturgy, but how God works on us and forms us through the liturgy. In Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, Lewis writes:

Every service is a structure of acts and words through which we receive a sacrament, or repent, or supplicate, or adore. And it enables us to do these things best – if you like, it “works” best – when, through long familiarity, we don’t have to think about it. As long as you notice, and have to count the steps, you are not yet dancing but only learning to dance…Thus my whole liturgiological position really boils down to an entreaty for permanence and uniformity.

Some more good helpful thoughts on the liturgy can be found at I Monk.

Hat tip to Scot McKnight over at Jesus Creed for the video.

Fragmented Evangelicalism

Alan Jacobs in First Things illustrates how fragmented Evangelicalism is in his article, Do-It-Yourself Tradition. He focuses on how one branch finds doctrine not to be enough, (Remember Thomas Howard's, Evangelicalism Is Not Enough?), and refers mainly to four authors, Halter, Smay, McLaren and Wilson-Hartgrove. What he finds is a desire to pick and choose traditions and disciplines. He even has a little fun with McLaren and Wilson-Hartgrove in their affinity for a sort of monastic life with out the authority of the Catholic Church. These authors are very different from others who have embraced tradition while embracing Catholic authority, such as Kreeft, Howard, Hahn, and more recently, Francis Beckwith, in this way.

I find it interesting that there are other traditional churches, Anglo-Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran, yet these are not embraced by the authors Jacob points out. Perhaps it is part of our post-modern world that we want to pick and choose. I would think this would make it more difficult to live in community, which these authors desire, rather than easier.

Back to Jacobs, he ends by agreeing that we must change and proposing two models. The first is Kierkegaard's Knight of Faith, whose life is so devoted to Christ that what those around him can detect is that he becomes more solid. He adds that this is much harder than it appears because of having to live it out in the world and then points to the monastic life for those who are too weak to be devoted to Christ in the world. Finally, he calls us to truly look to the ancients to give us guidance for the times we are facing.

All this is interesting to me for a number of reasons. Mainly because I find tradition almost irresistible. There have been times when I so wished I could honestly embrace the doctrines of the Roman Catholic or the Orthodox Church. Alas, I'd have to set aside my true beliefs and understanding which I could not do with integrity. So, I understand the appeal of picking and choosing that McLaren and others advocate, but I see a real danger in this, and that is wanting to have everything ones own way.

Ash Wednesday

I was not raised in a liturgical tradition, so the idea of church seasons was new to me as an adult. While those raised in such a tradition may take it for granted or even tire of it, I find it refreshing and helpful in keeping the whole of Christian life in proper perspective and balance. As the season of Lent is upon us, I look forward to this time of discipline and intentionality. It is sort of like recalibrating and becoming resensitised to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Below is a video with a short explanation of Ash Wednesday and Lent. I particularly like the inclusion of the Orthodox tradition of Forgiveness Sunday.

Pax.