Liturgy and Life
Session One
Why do we need rituals?
What do rituals do for us?
What danger is there in ritual?
What distinguishes a religious ritual?
“They go to use the service, or if you prefer, to enact it. Every
service is a structure of acts and words through which we receive a
sacrament, or repent, or supplicate, or adore. And it enables us to
do these things best—if you like, it “works” best—when, through
long familiarity, we don’t have to think about it. As long as you
notice, and have to count the steps, you are not yet dancing but
only learning to dance. A good shoe is a shoe you don’t notice.
The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware
of; our attention would have been on God.”
C. S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm.
Good Ritual
“For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent, he will set me high upon a rock.
And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies round about me;
and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the LORD. “(Psalm 21:5-6)
Bad Ritual
"I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and cereal offerings, I will not
accept them, and the peace offerings of your fatted beasts I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will
not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.” (Amos 5:21-24)
Worship
To worship something is to honor it, to give yourself
to it.
Does worship need to involve ritual?
Do we always worship worthy objects?
“But you’re gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”
- Bob Dylan
Do you agree with Dylan?
“Spiritual worship”
“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to
present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to
God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1
How should we worship God, according to Saint
Paul?
Can you think of ways that we bring the worship
of our lives into the worship of the Church? How
might this help you prepare to celebrate the
Eucharist?
Liturgy
Liturgy means “work of the people”
• the common prayer of the people of God
• Active participation is important—we come to
church to give, not to consume
Why is worshipping God in common so
important to Christians?
Who stands at the center of our worship?
Symbols
True symbols don’t illustrate, they reveal: they
open up a deeper, truer world to us—they are can
bear multiple meanings at the same time.
Paschal Mystery: Symbol of Symbols
“Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion:
He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit,
seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on
in the world, taken up in glory.” I Tim 3:16
“Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.”
Mystery in the New Testament means the hidden
purposes of God as revealed to His people by faith.
Paschal means the “passing over” from death to life,
from sin to righteousness.
God reconciling the world to himself through the life,
death, resurrection and glorious return of Christ is the
central mystery of our faith, which is praised and enacted
at every worship service.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever.
We begin by acclaiming the Lord—not talking
about ourselves.
Berakah: classic Jewish prayer form—blessing God
for his mighty acts.
How has God established his kingdom?
How do we show that we are members of his
kingdom?