Talking about liturgy (the way in which worship services are planned and structured) with an evangelical or conservative presbyterian can be an exercise in frustration. For example, many think a "formal" worship service is one at which the preacher, and perhaps some of the congregants, wears a tie.
Actually, a "formal liturgy" is one which uses forms: that is, a set order (salutation, call to worship, confession of sin, declaration of pardon, etc.), written prayers, and the like. The more formal Church traditions (Episcopalian, Lutheran) are "high Church" in liturgy, while the more anti-formal (Baptist, many conservative presbyterians) are "low Church."
This is brought to mind by an article in today's Rocky Mountain News (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/sep/04/rove-recalls-colorado-roots/), which recounts how John McCain was appointed a chaplain at his prisoner of war camp because he had liturgies memorized. This feat is only possible, of course, if the order of service at one's Church is consistent and formal. In many low Church traditions (whether such as a congregation or a denomination), there is no liturgy which the observant participant could memorize.
Here, then, is a very pragmatic argument for formal liturgy: it trains and equips congregants to worship even when they do not have access to their home Church or a pastor, even when they are in a cauldron of despair such as a North Vietnamese POW camp. Anti-formal evangelicals, baptists, and presbyterians may learn to think at their Lord's Day services, but not to worship.
1 comment:
I read "Liturgy & prisoners of war" just minutes after reading the following from Edward T. Welch's book, Depression: A Stubborn Darkness, p. 55:
Liturgical services... consist of prayers and readings that have been prepared in advance. If you are depressed, you are going to have to learn to be a liturgical worshiper.
Welch goes on to remark: "You can sit in silence or cry to the Lord. You can cry on your bed or cry to the Lord. Those are the two choices" (p. 56). Under a subhead, "God Names the Silences" Welch recommends to the depressed person use of the Psalms: "They are God's liturgy, prepared for you in advance" (p. 57).
Here is another "cauldron of despair" to add to war. Depression can be described many ways, but two words that come first to mind are "emptiness" and "helplessness." (My own experience is many years in the past, but I remember this much well.) God reaches into this profound awareness of the Christian's weakness with his strength, and ultimately (if not "soon" as we understand and want it) brings light and beauty where previously reigned gloom and ugliness. It is one of the things God does best. (See 2 Corinthians 4 and 12:9-10.) Without Welch's help I think I would not have seen a connection between depression and liturgy, or fully appreciated your words here. But that gracious "package that comes from without" offered to an emptied Christian believer is, I see now, just what the Great Physician ordered.
Thank you for comments.
Post a Comment