Liturgy

I love my church. I realize that I have said this many times before, and I am continuously surprised that I continue to say it. Not that I don't want to love the place where I worship, I am just surprised that the honeymoon period has not ended. What is it about worshipping at City Presbyterian Church that stirs something in my soul unlike any of the other experiences I have on a weekly basis?

I work at a small Christian university. The majority of my time is spent surrounded by other people who believe simlarly to me, by people who are encouraging me to be involved in small groups, to talk about my faith, to grow deeper in my faith. I love Christian higher education because it gives me the opportunity to provide a place for students to expore, doubt, ask tough questions in an environment that is safe, an environment that will help catch them if the feel like they are falling. Students, faculty and staff attend chapel twice a week to hear from local pastors, to engage in contemporary worship music, to be challenged to serve in different capacities throughout the city and the world. I am encouraged as a part of my job to mentor students, to disciple them in their own faith.

And yet, in the midst of all of this Christianity, it seems like I am missing something. I have become so used to "knowing" the right answers, saying the right "Christianese" that my daily life at work has become ritualistic. I go about doing all of these great Christian things on auto-pilot. I feel distant from the very meaning of the work that I love and do.

Ironically, I think that part of the distinction for me between these two faithful activities, attending church and working at a Christian university, is found in liturgy. Ironic, because liturgy is often described as empty and meaningless, that the ritual of saying the same things over and over every Sunday move people away from genuine faith instead of toward it.

Liturgy is an important part of the worship at City Presbyterian Church: "It points us to worship as an act rather than as an experience. The experience comes as a result of the act, for we have come to do something (worship) and the blessings we receive are in response to what we have given." (City Presbyterian Website). So, what exactly does this mean? In my short and very limited research on the topic of liturgy, I have discovered a few commonalities. Liturgy allows us to connect to our own faith through history, liturgy allows for active participation in worship, and liturgy provides a basic structure for our worship. And I think this is a big part as to why my church has been feeding my soul, and continues to feed my soul, even after a year of attending.

Some Sundays, I sit with a big dumb grin on my face when the preacher says, "and let us join with people around the world as we say together..." I love that we recognize that we are not starting something new when we gather together on Sundays. When we work together through different passages, read different creeds, sing hymns written in the 1600s, it makes what I believe that much more real. It reminds me that I am not walking alone, but that others have gone before me, and I can join with them even across time.

Liturgy also allows for participation through the service. This is often when people say that liturgy leads to meaningless ritual. Because we just stand up, and sit down, and repeat what we are being told. The difference here for me, is that the words that I am being called to repeat, the lyrics to the hymns that we sing go so much deeper that I cannot help but participate. I cannot say the words that are not the common "Christianese" and not hear what I am saying. They are refreshing and new, and take me to a place that is much deeper.

The order of worship has been powerful for me too. The structure reminds me the importance of things like confession in my life. Every week, I get to the confession part of our service and I am reminded once again of my deep need for Jesus. And in my busy week, even as filled as it is with good "works", I do not stop long enough to remember to sit silently and humbly before God, recognizing my own depravity. And every week, I have the opportunity to reflect on the death of Christ, through the sacrament of bread and wine. I don't know that I would spend a typical day going to these depths. It is the community of this church that helps me to get to that place.

Liturgy, literally means "the work of the people". And maybe I am beginning to understand the power of that good work. That as a community of people, we are able to meet Jesus in a deep and significant way because of the intentional and common bond we find in our rituals.