Welcome to the Set4e.com blog!


"You perceive my thoughts from afar."
Psalm 139:2b


Obviously I don't need to blog for God to know what's on my mind! But I thought this format might be a good way to share my thoughts with you, for what they're worth. Which probably isn't much in the scheme of things, but perhaps you can glean something from these ramblings that will encouraging you or get you thinking about our God and our relationship with Him as worshipers.

I will warn you: no one has ever accused me of being concise, so don't expect Twitter or even Facebook-friendly updates here!


As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments at lee.mayhew@yahoo.com.


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Keep the faith,


Lee

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Lent & Liturgy: Ritual as Response

Lent & Liturgy: Ritual as Response

What is Lent??

Lent begins with  Ash Wednesday, which occured this year (2013) on February 13th.  Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of a season in the Church Calendar, or “Liturgical” Calendar, called "Lent."

The word "Lent" derives from Germanic and Saxon root words meaning "a lengthening of days," or "springtime."  Lent is roughly 40 days (40 days of temptation) or six weeks, stretching from Ash Wednesday through Maundy Thursday (trad.) or Easter Eve (Modern).

The word “Liturgy” comes from the Greek word, “leitourgia,” which is most often translated in English as “service.”  This would make the phrase “liturgical service” somewhat redundant.  In ancient Greece, the leitourgia pertained to acts of civic or public service, which became in Christian tradition “public services” or formal public worship events such as Catholic Mass or other worship services, feasts, and observances.

The outlines and formats for worship services of many denominations are called “liturgy.”  Denominations that still maintain true liturgical services include Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal/Anglican, Methodist and others.  But some evangelical and emerging churches are rediscovering liturgy as a valid component of worship.  Organizations like Bifrost Arts and others are devoted to reviving liturgy and sacred hymns in the modern church.

So the liturgical calendar is simply a roadmap for worship services throughout the church year that follows the life and ministry of Jesus (and in Catholicism incorporates the various feast days of the saints), beginning with Advent (before Christmas) and ending with Pentecost, which happens 50 days after Easter, usually some time in early May.

During Lent, Sundays are feast days when one can partake of whatever has been “given up” for the season.  Lent is typified by solemnity, mourning, and penance, which stands in stark contrast to Advent, which is a season of expectancy and hope. 

The Sadness of Lent culminates in the celebration of Easter.

 Before the joy of Easter, we have the events of Holy Week:

1.     Maundy Thursday.  This is a remembrance of Christ's washing of the disciple's feet, and the Lord's Supper and surrounding events.  It's also called the Feast of the Lord's Supper or the Feast of Holy Communion.  The word "Maundy" come from the latin "mandatum," which is where we get the word "mandate."  This is because the early Catholic church believed that in the act of washing His disciples' feet, Christ issued one of his direct mandates (or specific commands) in John 13:14: "If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet."  Today "The Maundy" has come to refer to "the washing of feet" as a ritual of the church.
2.     Good Friday -- the Crucifixion.
3.     Easter Eve -- a sabbath day.

During Lent, many of the faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxuries as a form of penitence. The Stations of the Cross, a devotional commemoration of Christ's carrying the Cross and of his execution, are often observed. Many Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches devoid their altars of flowers, while crucifixes, religious statues, and other elaborate religious paraphernalia are often veiled in violet fabrics in solemn observance of this event.  In certain pious Catholic countries, the consumption of meat is traditionally halted during lent. 

The Seven Churches Visitation. 

There is a Lenten tradition of visiting seven Christian sites, churches, or parishes.  Originally done on Maundy Thursday, but in modern culture throughout Holy Week.  There are many associations with the number 7 that are said to be the origins of this tradition, but the most common are the seven events of Christ's capture, and the seven statements of Christ on the cross.

Events of Christ's Capture:

            1. Jesus taken to High Priest Annas — John 18:12-23;
            2. From Annas to High Priest Caiphas — Mark 14:53-63
            3. From Caiphas to the Sanhedrin — Mattew 26:56-67
            4. From the Sanhedrin to Pilate — Luke 23:1-5
            5. From Pilate to Herod — Luke 23:6-12
            6. From Herod to Pilate — Luke 23:13-25
            7. From Pilate to Calvary — John 19:1-6

Seven Statements from the Cross:

            1. Father forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).
            2. Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43).
            3. Woman, behold your son: behold your mother (John 19:26-27).
            4. My God, My God, why have you forsaken me, (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34).
            5. I thirst (John 19:28).
            6. It is finished (John 19:30).
            7. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (Luke 23:46).

So now we have a little bit of definition and history of Lent.

Now I want to speak a little about the role of liturgy -- and really of ritual and religion in general -- as part of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and our lives of faith and following. 

The Reformation

The modern Protestant Church, and especially the Evangelical denominations, has been running away from all things ritualistic for generations, beginning almost 500 years ago with the Reformation.  On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a German Augustinian Monk, nailed his 95 Thesis to the doors of a church in Wittenberg, and thereby sparked a movement away from the ritualism and ecclesiastical culture of the Roman Catholic Church that would continue over half a millennium later.

Luther took issue with the Church's selling of indulgences (granting absolution from sin in exchange for money), stating that only God could absolve anyone of sin, and only by His Grace through Jesus Christ.  The Pope and the priesthood did not have this power to grant forgiveness, according to Luther.  He also spoke out against the very idea of the priesthood, stating that all baptized Christians were part of a royal priesthood, as stated in 1 Peter 2:9 and Rev 5:10.  And He proclaimed the Bible as the only doctrinal authority, not the Church or the Pope, or the priesthood.  Luther believed that it was not physical penance that overcame sin, but rather a changing of the heart.  He was excommunicated for his refusal to take back his statements, and he was declared an outlaw by the Roman Emperor, Charles V.

But what began in Wittenberg grew rapidly, spread throughout Europe and all of Christendom and became the impetus of a reformation that would see the founding of just about every Protestant denomination today, including Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, etc.

The reformation planted the idea of Scripture as the only true authority when it came to doctrine.  And so over the centuries more and more of the religious trappings that were not found in Scripture but rather were invented or instituted by the church were questioned and very often discarded as unnecessary or even detrimental.  The Evangelical movement would take this even further than the previous Protestant denominations, doing away with formal liturgies, traditional imagery and icons, and discarding much of the rigid formality of more traditional church services. 

The Modern Church

Non-denominational evangelical churches would take it even further, doing away with hymnals, traditional church instruments (organ), vestments for clergy, altars, and very idea of "Sunday best" in an effort to create a comfortable, informal environment that was inviting and not intimidating. 

There are many variations within the Evangelical denominations and churches, but they all share some common traits.

Evangelicalism de-emphasizes ritual and emphasizes the piety of the individual, believing that God works certain changes in the individual, including:

1.     Personal conversion, or being "born again" based on passages in The Gospel of John chapter 3 and 1:12-13
2.     Creating a high regard for Biblical authority and an identification with the Biblical story
3.     Drawing particular attention to teachings that proclaim the saving death and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus Christ as forgiveness of sins and new life
4.     Motivating towards the active expression and sharing of the gospel

Now the Evangelical movement has given rise to the emerging church movement (of which the "house church" phenomenon is considered part) that ultimately says "we don't have to do church the way it's always been done, or how our parents did it."  There are emerging churches that are extremely fundamental and conservative and some that are very liberal and progressive, but they all share this idea that church can and should be what we need it to be, and not what tradition tells us it should be.

Our services here in this church are a far cry from a Roman Catholic High Mass, with little formal structure and certainly no liturgy.  In some ways we are the ultimate result, that furthest reaching ripple, that was begun when Luther hammered his Theses to the doors at Wittenberg.

But as different as my weekly worship looks from a High Mass, I can't help but think it bears a strong resemblance to the gathering in the upper room on Maundy Thursday.  An informal gathering of brothers and sisters who shared a faith, loved each other, and who hung on every word their Lord had to say.

The Baby Out With Bath Water?

We've gained much.  But I also wonder if we have not lost much.

The Evangelical movement away from ritual is completely understandable.  Rituals can and very often do overshadow or even supplant relationship.  Luther saw this.  Luther saw the Catholic priests manipulating the rituals of confession and penance to exert power and control over their flocks, taking away a personal relationship with God through Christ and turning it into a relationship with the church.

I believe the greatest danger of ritual and religion is that when used in the absence of a personal saving relationship with God through Christ and an indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they can give a false sense of security.

Jesus knew this.  This is why He said in Matthew 7:21:
 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

Think back to the selling of indulgences.  How many poor souls believed it when their priest told them that by paying money they could avoid condemnation for sins and be saved from hell (and/or purgatory) all because of a false ritual?

And how many church-goers over the centuries -- and this very day right here in North Texas -- have thought that by attending a service, giving money, saying and/or singing some words, partaking in a sacrament (communion, baptism, etc), etc. etc., that they had done what needed to be done, what God required -- or at least what they themselves required to make themselves feel better -- and that salvation, a ticket to heaven, was secured?  How many will close eyes and raise hands this Sunday in order to fit in or appear pious rather than out of reverence and worship for the God they are singing about and with Whom they have a personal relationship?

So we've tried to strip all of this away to avoid any confusion.  It's relationship with God through Jesus that matters, not ritual.

But in the process I believe we have lost a sense of reverence.  We have lost some respect.  It has become more and more difficult to approach the throne of Grace with a sense of awe because nothing about our modern services of worship are designed to inspire awe.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  Many newer non-denominational churches are designed to be familiar and comfortable, even mundane, looking more like a trendy coffee shop than a holy sanctuary for the gathering of a people come to humbly worship and commune with the God of the universe.

We scoff at the expense and extravagance -- the waste -- of the great cathedrals.  But who among us when we enter into one does not catch his breath and look up?  This was the purpose of the designers, architects, and artists: to point to God.  To inspire a sense of awe appropriate for the God whom the people were coming to meet and encounter.

The Catholic church taxing the people to build a great basilica bears striking resemblance to God's words to Moses in Exodus, as he gave instructions on the building of the Tabernacle:

"Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution. 3 This is the contribution which you are to raise from them: gold, silver and bronze, 4 blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, 5 rams’ skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood, 6 oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 7 onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece. 8 Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them."  Exodus 25:1-8

Of course today we are the Tabernacle, the dwelling place of the Spirit of the Most High God.  We are the Church.  We are the Temple.  God no longer requires a physical building made of the purest most valuable things this world has to offer in which to dwell, because His Spirit now dwells inside bodies that He made in His very own image, bodies that are washed by the blood of His Son.  All of the world's pure gold and silk and gems couldn't come close. 

The Fear of the Lord is The Beginning of Wisdom (Prov 9:10)

So we don't need to build cathedrals.  But I submit to you that we need to bring reverence, respect, and awe back to our services of worship, and to our relationship with God in general.  We have become too flippant and familiar, I think.  From the pulpit we're told that praying is easy.  "God just wants you to talk to him as you would anyone else."  And yet Jesus says, "When you pray, pray like this: Our Father, who are in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name..."  We know God as "friend," "comforter," "healer"...  Our "Abba" Father.  Our "Daddy."  But we rarely are reminded that He is Lord, King, Master.  He is Almighty.  And He is a God of Wrath, of such unfathomable holiness that were it not for the intercession of Christ, we could not come near Him without being consumed, utterly destroyed.  We have lost a "fear" of God, a respect born from an understanding of how far above us He is in every way, and that apart from Christ we have no right to approach Him.

Rituals and traditions can help us regain some of this.  Simple things, like:

•         Dressing a little nicer for worship.  Like a spouse dressing up for a date.  We are the "Bride of Christ," after all.
•         our posture. 
•         Bowing our heads,
•         Clasping hands
•         Removing hats
•         Kneeling before God.
•         Reciting the Lord's Prayer, not by rote, but in a contemplative way, considering what it means to pray in the manner our Savior instructed us.
•         Standing for the reading of the Gospel
•         Responsive readings of Scripture
•         Fasting

Even liturgical observances, like Lent, can be very powerful and effective ways of helping us focus our attention on God.  They can help us meditate on Christ, His life, ministry, sacrifice, and victory.  Giving something up for lent because it's traditional or helps you feel less guilty is a waste of time.  But giving some favorite thing up as a heartfelt way to show God that you love Him more than the things of this world  -- much like tithes and offerings -- is a beautiful act of worship.  And every time you crave that thing you are abstaining from, your thoughts will be drawn to Him and your love for Him.  And we can think about how trivial our sacrifice is in light of what Christ sacrificed for us during His final days and moments before His resurrection.

Lent is a time to solemnly contemplate the terrible price paid to restore us to God.  This type of contemplation is vital if we are to the ever know "the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death..."  Phil 3:10.

We spoke a little about Advent over Christmas time, and traditions like the lighting of the Advent Wreath Candles and having Advent devotionals.  These can have the same impact.  They focus our thoughts and prayers on the gravity and majesty of just what God did for us when He sent His Son to earth to be born as a babe in a manger.  And all of sudden Christmas, with all of its wonder, joy and expectancy, lasts for a month and not just a few days blurred with presents, food, and retail commerce.

So in closing, let me say this: ritual, tradition, and religion are not evil things.  But in the absence of or as substitutes for a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they are a waste of time and of no value to God whatsoever.  They have been destructive over the centuries by giving a false hope of salvation to millions.  But ritual, tradition, and religion can be beautiful and effective tools to use in our worship of God.  They can help us focus, and they can restore the reverence and awe that God so deserves.  Bottom line is this: rituals are to be a response, an outpouring of our love for and worship of God.  They are a means, not the end.  They help us focus on our Lord, but they are not to be the focus in and of themselves.

And they are not necessary for all Christ Followers.  The absence or presence of rituals and traditions in your personal faith life is no indicator of the depth of that faith, or whether or not you are rightly relating to God.  We have freedom in Christ, and we should feel free to exercise that freedom to observe the rituals and traditions we want to as we worship.

As for me, I am overwhelmed every day by all the many and varied ways God loves me and cares for me.  When I worship Him, I want to do so in as wide a variety of ways as possible.  And in a world that is so often typified by disrespect -- not just for God, but for everything -- and apathy, and in our work-a-day lives that can often seem filled to the brim with the mundane, I long for moments of awe, and reverence.  I long to be in the presence of the Divine and know that He is God and I am not.  And over the past 1600 years, the Church has instituted many beautiful rituals and traditions to help me do this.

Let us pray...

Lee Mayhew
Worship Pastor, Ekklesia House, Dallas

February 17th, 2013

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