Finding Liturgy and Discovering Theology

28 Feb 2011 Posted by joannareyburnmay

Maybe it's because I grew up in an evangelical, non-denominational, charismatic, rhyming worship songs, sanctuary-with-basketball-goals type of church, but I love me some liturgy. This Christmas Eve, my husband and I went to a midnight mass at small-town West Virginia Anglican church, and we've decided it will become a yearly tradition for us. Something about a quaint old sanctuary, candle-lit ambiance, organist and choir playing ancient hymns, and a sermon called a Homily that just seems a more appropriate way to honor the incarnation of Jesus than the "Christmas Cantada" I'm used to. I love the antiphonal prayers, Scripture reading, kneeling, standing, sitting, kneeling, standing combo, and every time I say the Apostle's Creed, I am moved to remember the tenants of this faith I hold so dear.

    I believe in God, the Father almighty,
    maker of heaven and earth;
    And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;
    who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
    born of the Virgin Mary,
    suffered under Pontius Pilate,
    was crucified, dead, and buried.
    He descended into hell.
    The third day he rose again from the dead.
    He ascended into heaven,
    and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty.
    From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
   I believe in the Holy Ghost,
    the holy Church,
    the communion of saints,
    the forgiveness of sins,
    the resurrection of the body,
    and the life everlasting. Amen.

In a small chapel, filled with penitent candlelit faces, I am usually moved to tears. On Christmas Eve, J.May, my husband, leaned over and whispered, "Are you okay?" With tears were streaming down my face, I totally missed the cue from the little choir-robed girl to go up to the front to receive communion. And once you miss the line, you're out of luck. I thought to myself, "We probably looked like those heathens that aren't baptized and can't take communion." Part of me wanted to clarify to everyone after the service, "No really, we do know how to take communion, and we're allowed." But I didn't. We quietly and revently made our way back to our car, holding hands, thinking about the incarnate Christ, and it was beautiful.

I remember at a Onething conference in Calgary, Alberta, Luke Wood sang that Rich Mullins song 'Creed.' A friend of mine came to me afterward saying, "You know, I didn't really ever think about what specifically makes me a Christian, but it really is all those things in that song."

Now I'm not religious about this, but I also very much like the Book of Common Prayer, and enjoy readings and prayers from it. (If you're really looking for a copy, I'd recommend a used bookstore.) Maybe with all the hubub and commotion in the modern world, there's something in me that longs to see some sort of a return to solemnity, doctrine, and substance. This blog is probably chalk full of those kind of musings.

Since it is evening for me now, here's an excerpt from the Book of Common Prayer which is also available online. You have to admit, this is some goodness!

I will bless the Lord, who giveth me counsel; my heart
teacheth me, night after night. I have set the Lord always
before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not fall.

Psalm 16:7,8
V.    O Lord, show thy mercy upon us;
R.    And grant us thy salvation.
V.    Endue thy ministers with righteousness;
R.    And make thy chosen people joyful.
V.    Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R.    For only in thee can we live in safety.
V.    Lord, keep this nation under thy care;
R.    And guide us in the way of justice and truth.

V.    Let thy way be known upon earth;
R.    Thy saving health among all nations.
V.    Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R.    Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
V.    Create in us clean hearts, O God;
R.    And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day
is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and
awaken hope, that we may know thee as thou art revealed in
Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake
of thy love.    Amen.

Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we thine unworthy servants
do give thee most humble and hearty thanks
for all thy goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all men.
We bless thee for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for thine inestimable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we beseech thee,
give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful;
and that we show forth thy praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to thy service,
and by walking before thee
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit,
be all honor and glory, world without end.     Amen.

Christians have become so fearful of anything that appears 'religious' or 'traditional,' that we have so often thrown the baby right out with the bathwater. Have you ever been to a more traditional service and felt the presence of the Lord? What was it like? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Comments

IanFri, 04/22/2011 - 12:24am

Totally!

Last year I went to the traditional Christmas service at my mom's Methodist church and I could not help but get excited as the minister went down the story of the Incarnation -- and singing those hymns! The Presence of God was there with me, and it was unexpected and awesome.

DebiTue, 04/12/2011 - 9:02pm

You are only 26? What a

You are only 26? What a mature perspective and understanding of the heart of God you have. I discovered your two songs - Here's My Cup and What do you think of me on Elijah Streams. They play it all the time. It's beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I sense the presence of the Holy Spirit all over it. Thank you. Stay pure. Stay open to Christ. I know He will bring healing to others and bring us closer to His heart through your music. What a blessing.

KurtTue, 03/08/2011 - 4:50am

Good Stuff

I like this. While it's been awhile since I have been to a more traditional service, I have sensed a similar thing in reading the early church fathers, particularly Athanasius. While the atonement of sin on the cross is necessary Athanasius takes a completely different view of salvation. He recognizes the cross, but bases salvation on the Incarnation of the Word. It's some good stuff, definitely recommended.

"What was God to do in the face of the dehumanizing of mankind -- this universal hiding of the knowledge of Himself? So burdened were men with their wickedness that they seemed rather to be brute beasts than reasonable men, reflecting the very likeness of the Word. What, then, was God to do? What else could He possibly do, being God, but renew His Image in mankind, so that through it men might once more come to know Him? And how could this be done save by the coming of the very Image Himself, our Savior Jesus Christ?... Men had turned from the contemplation of God above, and were looking for Him in two opposite directions, down among created things, and things of sense. The Savior of us all, the Word of God, in His great love took to Himself a body and moved as Man among men, meeting their senses, so to speak, half-way. He became Himself an object for the senses, so that those who were seeking God in sensible things might apprehend the Father through the works which He, the Word of God, did in the body." - Athanasius

AnonymousTue, 03/01/2011 - 8:27am

I like this a lot...thanks

I like this a lot...thanks for sharing.

AnonymousTue, 03/01/2011 - 2:09am

Religion is not a bad word.

I'm glad you said something. Here's my 2 cents, since you (indirectly) asked for it. I grew up Catholic until Jr. high, when my parents got divorced and my mom stopped bringing us to church (my dad is Muslim and came to the U.S. in the 70's, and I'm grateful not to have been raised Muslim). Somewhere around freshman year, I met some friends who brought me to an AG church. I started going initially because I was starving for friendships, and kept going because the gospel message was alluring. The concept of a perfect father was alluring. I got saved over 20 times. Then I guess it finally stuck. a couple years later (age 18), I graduated high school and joined a two year discipleship school with my church because I desperately wanted to know God. I got a significant amount of healing and direction during that time and was involved in my local house of prayer leading worship and also in overseas missions. I loved it... But something was missing. Fast forward 5 years and you'll find me sitting in a chair 40+ hours a week as a local house of prayer intercessory missionary. I longed for the life we were meant to live in Christ, I longed for true worship and prayer and fellowship. A group of fellow missionaries and myself decided to pursue the model of the early church, so naturally we researched messianic Judaism. There is so much beauty in celebrating Passover from the perspective of knowing our passover lamb has already come. I found so much joy in seeing the fulfillment of the scriptures through celebrating all the different feasts... But once again, something was missing. I admit it. I got fed up with the church. The non-denominational church (which does a lot of good) was wearing me down. In my opinion, the church as spent so much time adapting to the culture of the world with all it's programs and relevancy and music (though I love good music as much as the next guy) instead of the world or the people adjusting to the culture of the church. Our church had no history. It has adapted and split off and closed and opened more times than anyone knows. It's frustrating. Something is missing. I met my boyfriend over a year ago. He is an Eastern Orthodox Christian. I did a few things I NEVER thought I'd do. 1. Date a person from a traditional religion. 2. Leave my expression of Christianity for a more traditional one (i was taught that non-denominational Christianity was a breaking free from the relationship-less "religious" life). and 3. Enjoy it. Fail, fail, and fail. I've been attending an Orthodox Church for about 10 months, and I can say it has been one of the most challenging, interesting, incredible, hard, beautiful, painful, and wonderful experiences of my life. This is a church that regularly practices liturgy and that has a community of believers that love Christ. what is it NOT: +it's NOT a practice of the worship of Mary or of saints. +it's NOT focused on works alone, but emphasizes regularly a love relationship with the trinity. +it's NOT dead. Anyway, back to your question. Liturgy has challenged me, especially as a former HOP WL. It was everything to me. How I expressed my worship was my identity. Of course, God doesn't want our identity to be wrapped up in anything but Him, so naturally he has used my time in this season to strip me of that identity and to teach me something new. I get to worship every sunday (and then some) as the early church did. It's beautiful. (I can recommend some awesome history books if you're interested). It's late, and i'm exhausted. if you'd like, I can dialogue more with you on this. I'm not selling Orthodoxy, I'm just a fellow lover of Christ who has found immense beauty in Liturgy. Hope this helps.