The Tradition of Worship
I turned on my computer to write this article and, of course, had to make sure first and foremost that Facebook didn't have anything important happening. Wouldn't you know it, the meme on the opening screen said this: Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people. My first thought was, "That's a terrible thing to sayl" My second thought was, "What's wrong with learning from those who went before us?” This whole year we've been talking about stewardship which, in the context of the church, is about the management of everything God created in the beginning. There've been a lot of people who have preceded us in this work and we’ve learned from all of them!
One good example of this is in the "stewardship of worship." A couple months ago I wrote about how worship (worth-ship) is about knowing and showing the wholeness and holiness of God's image in each of us. We often come to "know" God—with us through the tough parts of life, those times when we simply can't cope but experience God's presence, forgiveness, and love as the foundation on which we can take a next step. We "show" it through praise and prayer in our everyday life. The world sees it most clearly when we gather together in worship. A pastoral leader is privileged and blessed to look out at the congregation and see when this knowing comes together with showing in a strong and vulnerable way; someone who has just come through a tough illness or maybe the loss of a loved one displays such dependence on Jesus during worship. At other times in life, faces display the busyness, stresses, concerns, and frustration of daily life. Yet, each face says, "You are God, I am not, help me to value You above all else!*
Here's where I think tradition makes a big difference. Through 2000 years of following Jesus and the 1000+ years of worship before that which centered on the throne of the Tabernacle in the temple, we have honed how best to help people to truly enter the mindset of worship. This has nothing to do with whether the music of a worship service is done by guitar/drums or organ (once upon a time, organs were the latest and greatest new instrument!). It has everything to do with how, throughout the history of the Church, we have determined patterns/actions that lead into a mindset of worship. Basically those actions are:
gathering in confession (Take off your shoes, Moses, this is holy ground!)
hearing the Word proclaimed deeply (How can people believe if they don't hear the Word?)
eating the holy meal together (Do this in remembrance of Me!)
being blessed to go out with Good News (We proclaim Christ crucified...and risen for US!)
This pattern not something that needs to be recreated in each generation. It is given by God in scripture and polished through practical use. It is meant to be stewarded and that's why your pastor, your SAMs, and your musicians put time and thought and prayer into crafting worship services. And, yes, we do feel the "peer pressure of dead people" because we value how Christian leaders down through the life of the Church have faithfully honed the actions that help everyday people across time and place enter into worship: knowing God's presence and showing the world the source and ground of true life.
I can offer a practical example of the value of tradition from our trip to Germany. (You'll probably get tired of hearing about our trip but it was sooooo cool!) The signs outside of Lutheran churches list the time of "Messe." Yes, the service is still called a "Mass" in German/Evangelical churches! If it sounds Catholic, it's because Luther appreciated the order of worship used in his time known as the Formula missae (Form of the Mass) and we continue to this day to use it. The musical settings, the amount of congregational singing, the format of prayers, the language in which it is conducted, even the order of things- -all these details are freely flexible to best connect with the worshippers. But the order for traditional worship still stands, based in scripture and tradition!
If we have any clear view of heaven, I think we find it in Rev. 4-5. There we see all of creation circled around the throne of God where we find the Lamb slain yet risen. Praise and confession is seen as creation bows before God. You see, while worship might come from our past, it is meant for our future! This is one thing that we steward that will NEVER pass away!
Worshipping with you,
SAM Jeanine
