1 Corinthians 9:19-23 For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings. (NRSV)
In the comments on My Tribe, jh raised the issue of liturgy, and in particular of the Roman Catholic Church's interest in Eastern Rite Liturgies. The Lutheran and Anglican Churches use liturgies that are recognizably derivative of the Catholic Mass, enough so that it is easy for people who are accustomed to one to follow along in an other. My personal inclinations in such matters are perhaps best witnessed by my favorite hymn, “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence,” which comes from the Divine Liturgy of St. James. I am in so many ways a traditionalist, and within that, a seeker of ancient alternatives.
I see in traditional liturgies a number of admirable qualities. By participating in these liturgies, we feel connected not only to past and future generations, and thereby to the church triumphant, but also to the worship of heaven itself. Through repetition, the tones, the cadences, the images, and even the smells become identified with worship, and so help contribute to the sense of worship.
But I think that Paul's words above contain a message for us: we should be all things to all people, so that by all means some might be saved. In my opinion, the best form of worship for anyone is the form that brings them to and keeps them in Christ, and thus diversity in humanity more than justifies a diversity in worship styles. Indeed, I find value in participating in worship styles very different from those that I am accustomed to, as each speaks to me in a different way, even as I return to traditional forms for my regular worship.
The Spirit moves when, where, and how it wills.
Peace
3 comments:
perhaps a more apt passage form 1 corinthians would have been ch. 11
i ch. 9 paul is basically bragging about his pastoral style...and it is good bragging because somehow he had the insight that the gospel must transcend class ethnicity and any cultural predisposition
in ch.11 he is pretty serious about a uniformity of practice and doing away with anything that stands in the way of a gracious welcoming atmosphere for anyone...no one should feel left out or alienated in any way...that's the real art of liturgy - to create a sense of universal attraction
i was for a time a musical liturgical director in a church in new jersey and the congregation for one mass on sunday was almost all ibo people from nigeria...and they wanted it their way...and that included some loud drumming...at one point when there was a change of liturgical season i suggested we do something different...and in the process i questioned the use of music and that perhaps we could try to have music that people who were not ibo might like too...long story short...it got very intense...they could not see that they were creating an ethnic division...all the white and non africans went to a different mass for that very reason...so in some sense while the people gathered with a sense of ethnic pride it militated against a more "catholic" spirit...this divisionis common in most larger parishes where masses are adapted to tastes - and like a i say we are questioning that
but one of the interesting developmnets in catholic liturgy since the council has been the openness and the flexibility of liturgy...i've celebrated in prison in hotelrooms in gymnasiums on a train on top of mt sinai at kitchen tables...and the whole gamut of church gathering from grand cathedrals to humble dirt floor chapels...and this is something that could never happen with the easrtern orthodox rite...but i say this knowing also that there have beeen some egregious abuses and ignorances of liturgical sensibility...it seems only now we are coming around to the sense of a renewed spirit of solemnity...and i know from reading alexander schmemann that the apostolic quality of eastern liturgy is being rediscovered - that vital connection to the people
- for whom after all it is really all for...the body of christ
in the last 40 years there has been a ground swell of cultural expression in all parts of the world in catholic masses -it seems those cultures which possess a sense of ritual dignity can tap into the spirit of sensitivity in liturgy better than can most americans
were i to be looking for a movement with a sense of the depth and the inclusiveness in liturgy for all christians i would look to TAIZE
the presiders of catholic masses are just now learning again the ancient sense of getting the personality or (ies) out of the liturgy letting the rite find its own flow treating each moment with appropriate dignity...everything must point to the person of christ
everyone else is a servant of that ideal
in parishes there is bound to be more recognition of individuals but even then the ideal should be to give the rite the feeling of the rite...i think that's what the orthodox can show us once again
the role of the priest in my understanding is to be a student of liturgy...in the american experience he is more than likely a business man/community organizer and a good pastor but hardly a liturgist...the rite is the thing guys
lex orandi lex credendi
j
jh -- you raise some great points, and I'd like to follow up in a more focussed way in a later post. Am I right in believing that you cite 1 Cor 11 because of the way it interweaves the concepts of tradition, division, and the Lord's supper in 1 Cor 11:17ff?
I am more optimistic than you are that we can accommodate differences in practice without creating or sustaining divisions. But I fully accept that a naïve, "everyone does their own thing" approach is inadequate to create or sustain Christian unity.
I'll note that some of the Taize material has already entered into my worship experience, specifically "Jesus, remember me." It's excellent material, but I don't believe it alone is enough to bring in everyone who might be brought in by other forms.
And I am fully sympathetic to the notion that in some cases, alternative forms of worship have undesirable individualistic elements, which the more mature forms have had adequate time to purge.
As for the role of professional clergy as liturgists, I've known pastors who are first rate liturgists, and others whose strengths and interests was in other aspects of pastoral ministry. There is a diversity of gifts, even within the clergy, and 1 Cor 12 seems to say that that's part of the plan.
i spent a week at taize a few years ago
and i became convinced
it is the center of the future the heartbeat of ecumenism
mainly for its attraction to young people
older pilgrims
(the actual tradition of people walking to pilgrimage sites is taking on a renewed life in central europe) find their way there too
and not just for the music
the liturgy and the theology coming from taize is something i find really inspiring
there are many gifts
no doubt
my take and i concede that this is a benedictine bias is that first theology is liturgical
to get that right is to take care of a whole lot of community problems...from the beginning the christian community saw this in the same light as the role of the temple priesthood
now of course we do speak of the priesthood of the people but the role of the steward of ritual is one that it seems we've compromised quite a lot in these our times...i've come to appreciate the gifts of those who know rites and do rites very well
like i say it is a real art
sustained by a whole lot of prayer and reflection
i am inclined to think that the pastoral sense is probably more to benefit from pauls teaching
and that in reality is something that many can develop not particualrly the priest
j
Post a Comment