rethinking liturgy

HistoricalDoctrinalSpiritualMissionalEcclesialLiturgical

rethinkingthe whole

system

HistoricalDoctrinalSpiritualMissionalEcclesialLiturgical

rethinkingthe whole

system

4

public worship: a gathering for liturgy

• liturgy: an orderly succession of public rituals

• rituals: actions involving the body by which people bond to meaning

• ritualism: repeating the actions without meaning

4

Liturgy:

the “workout” of the people -

rituals and practices for formation

Question:

How do we induct or initiate people into our public worship - so they know the meaning we want them to bond to?

Are there unintended “malformations” happening?-Revelation sermon

-“Give us the lost” & “the nations” songs-Warfare language, cliches-Emotional manipulation/hype-Emotional strangulation-Racial/Cultural/age exclusion-Body acknowledgement-Intellectual or political messages

Six marks (Bryan Sirchio):-Vertical and horizontal

-Individual and community

-Progressive theology

-Inclusive language

-Emotional authenticity

-Fresh images, ideas, language

Six dynamic tensions:-Charismatic and contemplative

-Regularity and intensity

-Familiarity and surprise

-Ancient and Future

-Planned and spontaneous

-Word and image

there are liturgies that foment hostility and reinforce hostility...

can we imagine liturgies that inspire kindness?

From Follow the Sacredness, by Jonathan Haidt http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/forget-the-money-follow-the-sacredness/

Despite what you might have learned in Economics 101, people aren’t always selfish. In politics, they’re more often groupish. When people feel that a group they value — be it racial, religious, regional or ideological — is under attack, they rally to its defense, even at some cost to themselves. We evolved to be tribal, and politics is a competition among coalitions of tribes.

... The key to understanding tribal behavior is not money, it’s sacredness. The great trick that humans developed at some point in the last few hundred thousand years is the ability to circle around a tree, rock, ancestor, flag, book or god, and then treat that thing as sacred.

People who worship the same idol can trust one another, work as a team and prevail over less cohesive groups. So if you want to understand politics, and especially our divisive culture wars, you must follow the sacredness.

The very act of gathering for worshipcan be “groupish” ritual

of affirming “us-ness”

versus “them-ness.”

The Songs We Sing

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful:

The Lord God made them all.

- Ms. Cecil Alexander (1848)

Each little flower that opens,/ Each little bird that sings,/ He made their glowing colors./ He made their tiny wings.

The purple headed mountains,/ The river running by,/ The sunset and the morning/ That brightens up the sky.

The cold wind in the winter,/ The pleasant summer sun,/ The ripe fruits in the garden,/ He made them every one.

The tall trees in the greenwood,/The meadows where we play,/ The rushes by the water,/ To gather every day.

He gave us eyes to see them,/ And lips that we might tell/ How great is God Almighty,/ Who has made all things well.All things bright and beautiful,/ All creatures great and small,/ All things wise and wonderful:/ The Lord God made them all.

The rich man in his castle,

The poor man at his gate,

He made them, high or lowly,

And ordered their estate.

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful:

The Lord God made them all.

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ, the royal master, leads against the foe; Forward into battle see his banners go!

-Sabine Baring-Gould

France, 1847

Placide Clappeau, a French wine merchant, mayor of the French town Roquemaure, writes a poem.

Adolphe Adam sets it to music.

Later the song is translated into English by John S. Dwight –

It is said to have been the first music ever broadcast over radio.

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;

It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born!

O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His Gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother

And in His Name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy Name!

Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!

His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

1847

1. Onward, all disciples, in the path of peace,Just as Jesus taught us, love your enemiesWalk on in the Spirit, seek God’s kingdom first,Let God’s peace and justice be your hunger and your thirst!

Onward, all disciples, in humilityWalk with God, do justice, love wholeheartedly

2. We now face our failures in remorse and tears.We must now build plowshares from our swords and spears, Turn from the broad highway of prejudice and warTo follow Jesus to a place we’ve never been before Onward, all disciples, in humility

Walk with God, do justice, love wholeheartedly

3. Like a mighty river, justice, flowing free,Makes our deserts blossom in peace, joy, and beauty,Peace is life’s great treasure, harmony our dream.May justice flow like rivers and an ever flowing stream! Onward, all disciples, in humility

Walk with God, do justice, love wholeheartedly

4. Onward then, all people, reach out open hands, Walk together now, so each child understandsThat the greatest power here or up aboveIs the strength of service and the gentle might of love. Onward, all disciples, in humility

Walk with God, do justice, love wholeheartedly

The Sermons We Preach

The Sermons We Preach

- Who is scapegoated/condemned? - What virtues are aspired to?- What vices are condemned?

- What Scriptures are emphasized?- What subjects are avoided?

And vice versa?

The Rituals We Practice

Baptism: A ritual of cleansing

Clean - uncleanAcceptance - revulsion

Us - themClean, still water

Certified Gatekeepers

Meanwhile in the wilderness:

The Essenes- Hyper-clearn-Hyper-puritan

- Isolated communes- Multiple daily

baptisms

What would it mean for John ...- to leave his father’s priestly work

- to leave the Temple- to leave Jerusalem

- to avoid the Essenes- and to baptize ...

in the Jordan River?- in public

- in running water- in an “undeveloped”

setting- with a message, not of

cleanliness, but ...

rethinking, reformulation, repentance?

What does it mean for Jesus to accept

John’s baptism?

What would it mean for the

Spirit in the form of a dove

to descend upon Jesus?

And what would it mean for Jesus’

disciples to expand John’s “guerrilla

theatre” around the world?

Baptism - not into a new “hyper-clean” religion - but into Christ, a new humanity, a new kingdom, a new way of life?

Peter, Acts 10:

“God has shown me I should never

call anyone impure or unclean.”

“I now realize ... God does not show favoritism.”

Baptism into this new way of being human ...

Born again ...

Given a new identity ...

In the flowing river ...

In solidarity with everyone everywhere.

In Christ ...

neither Jew nor Greek ...

male nor female ...

slave nor free ...

In Christ ...

neither Jew nor Greek ...

male nor female ...

slave nor free ...

Christian nor nonChristian?Us or them?

The Eucharist

Altar of Sacrifice ... to appease a hostile God?

or

Table of Fellowship ... to celebrate a reconciling

God?

A table of elitism and exclusion ...

or a feast of grace and reconciliation?

In John’s gospel:

Bread as manna ... God’s self-giving

Food, not sacrifice

For Paul ...

Eucharist as passover ... not day of atonement.

Meal of liberation ...

Meal of anticipation ...

We don’t need to offer a sacred gift to appease a hostile God ...

Rather, a gracious God offers a sacred gift of love to us ...

so that we will be reconciled to God and to one another.

Meal of unity ...

Meal of solidarity ...

Meal of one-anotherness

how will our liturgies of hostility be

transformed ...

into liturgies of harmony?

new identity?peace-making?

HistoricalDoctrinalSpiritualMissionalEcclesialLiturgical

rethinkingthe whole

system

55

A

Are

you

ready

to

cross

the

road?

2 conversations...

free stuff ...

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Christ has no body here but ours.

No hands, no feet here on earth but ours.

Ours are the eyes through which he looks

On this world with kindness.

Ours are the hands through which he works.

Ours are the feet on which he moves.

Ours are the voices through which he speaks

To this world with kindness.

Through our smile, our touch, our listening ear,

Embodied in us,

Jesus is living here.

So let us go now

Filled with the Spirit

Into this world

With kindness.

Christ has no body here but ours.

No hands, no feet here on earth but ours.

Ours are the eyes through which he looks

On this world with kindness.

Ours are the hands through which he works.

Ours are the feet on which he moves.

Ours are the voices through which he speaks

To this world with kindness.

Through our smile, our touch, our listening ear,

Embodied in us,

Jesus is living here.

So let us go now

Filled with the Spirit

Into this world

With kindness.