Does the Spirit need liturgy?
At the 2d Festival of Theology final calendar week, the first talk was given by Graham Hunter, Vicar of St John's Hoxton in London. This is what he said.
Introduction – Trellis & Vine
I spent the second half of August this year with my wife and children in a Provencal Mas – a converted farmhouse only a few miles from a petty-known French commune named Chateauneuf-du-Pape! As a typical Anglican cleric, I was thrilled by the providential setting of our holiday location, for it enabled me to enjoy the site of mile afterwards mile of vines laid out in expansive Cotes du Rhone vineyards.
I managed to sneak an afternoon abroad from the kids to visit an aboriginal vineyard and winery and learn a footling more almost these globe-famous vines.
One hitting feature of the area is the different means in which the vines are laid out in the fields. Some are planted to abound forth long running wire trellis; while others are carefully pruned to grade what is known as a goblet vine – as they resemble a classic Paris goblet.
Why the difference? Some varieties of grapes, information technology turns out, do better on a smaller vine. They grow best when supported by a simple stake just a foot or so from the footing. They must be carefully pruned and shaped each year – for if they grow too big, they topple over under their ain weight. The fruit is usually good on these vines, but there is little of information technology.
On the other hand, vines planted on a running trellis grow longer and reach farther. They are able to absorb more than nutrients grade the soil; they're more structurally stable, and they yield a much greater ingather of fruit.
Why do I mention this in relation to my topic? Because good liturgy is the spiritual trellis of the church. 'I am the vine, and you the branches' says Jesus in John 15. 'Bide in me and you will bear much fruit'. Good liturgy is the mechanism or means chosen by God to enable united states of america to bide in Jesus and bear much fruit.
Asunder, set apart from one another, we volition be like goblet vines – which may but grow to a limited size before toppling nether our ain weight. Without the running trellis of liturgy which connects the church of Jesus Christ to Jesus Christ, we cannot bear much fruit. Conversely, the running trellis of Christian liturgy is given to connect the states to one another across centuries and continents, and enables us to bear spiritual fruit for the globe.
That's my central metaphor for understanding God's purpose in giving liturgy to shape the life of the church building – and so if you call up only the pictures of goblet vines and running vines, so that's probably plenty. However, if you can acquit a little more than, then I shall try to share a lilliputian more that might be helpful.
Gifted Not Needed
'Does the Spirit demand liturgy?' is the championship of my talk. Well I might begin past examining the terms of the question. For the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, participating in the full divinity of the Begetter and the Son. The Holy Spirit is God, and as such we can impute to him nothing in terms of necessity. If liturgy is the piece of work of the people, then God can do perfectly well without it thank you very much.
God does non demand our liturgy – just he does give us our liturgy as the means by which he may be known and worshipped. Although liturgy is not listed within the classic lists of the 'means of grace', it is a means of grace. The Holy Spirit chooses to requite liturgy as precisely that means by which we may exist connected to ane another, as well as the means by which through such connections we may encounter the divine image reflected inside the new covenant customs. Liturgy is a gift of God, merely it does non constrain divine freedom.
Miroslav Volf has claimed that 'the church is the extension of the incarnation'. He'due south wrong – appealing, but wrong. While I capeesh the polemical force of the merits, St Paul uses the trunk of Christ metaphor as just that – a metaphor. St Paul doesn't think that when we describe the church every bit the body of Christ, we're actually Jesus' body. The writer to the Hebrews is articulate – the dwelling place of the actual resurrected Jesus Christ is at the right paw of the Father in sky.
The signal is this: liturgy is not needed past God in whatsoever sense in which that might limit divine freedom. Simply information technology is gifted to u.s.a.. Notice delight that I'thousand not making also bold a claim for liturgy – it is non liturgy in and of itself that connects united states of america to Christ. Although adept liturgy enables individual Christians and local church building communities to participate in the wider life of the people of God, it is a far more profound and gracious gift which enables us to participate in the life of Christ himself.
To be 'in Christ', to utilize St Paul'south participative language, is a work of God entirely united nations-dependent on our liturgical responses. Our liturgy may confess, profess and proclaim the new realities given us by God's grace – but they neither produce nor tuck those realities. In other words, we don't demand liturgy to produce God's gracious motility towards us in Christ, nor does the Holy Spirit need our liturgies as though at that place were something lacking in the divine life without them.
Then if the Holy Spirit does not need liturgy, why does he cull to give liturgy to the church?
Words & Works of Liturgy
In his classic text, Introduction to Christian Worship, James White reminds us that our term liturgy is derived from the Greek term leitourgia – itself a chemical compound word consisting of 'ergon' – work, and 'laos' – people. Leitourgia or liturgy is a work of the people. In ancient Greece, liturgy was a public work – given for the benefit of the people. Indeed, paying taxes could be described every bit a leitourgia – so conspicuously Google and Amazon are among the depression-church anti-liturgists of the corporate world!
James White summarises:
'Liturgy, then, is a work performed by the people for the do good of others. In other words, it is the quintessence of the priesthood of all believers in which the whole priestly customs of Christians shares. To call a service "liturgical" is to signal that information technology was conceived then that all worshippers take an active office in offer their worship together.' (White, 1990, p32)
How then tin we sympathise more fully the spiritual betoken of these works of the people? And how did we move from the works of the people to the words of the people – words usually presented in a baffling array of assuming and italicised text?!
The works and the words give both substance and course to our expressions of Christian faith in relation to other Christians. At that place are some things that basically all Christians in all place and all ages have washed. In that location are some mutual 'works of the people' which span continents and centuries. I might have almost nothing in common culturally with a sixth century Coptic orthodox Christian, or a 21st century Brazilian Pentecostal, or a 16th century German Lutheran, but however I remain continued to each of them in the body of Christ. Our running trellis somehow connects these disparate parts of the vine.
What are the uniting works of Christian peoples? What have most all Christians done in all times and places?
Well, this is not an exhaustive listing, but
- first, we have gathered together to receive in worship the revelation of God in Christ every bit witnessed to by Holy Scripture;
- second, we have initiated new members of our community by baptism, as commanded by Jesus;
- third, we accept recalled the saving piece of work of God and renewed our response to the new covenant in celebrating Holy Communion;
- quaternary, we have prayed for God's kingdom to come on earth as in heaven and we have interceded for the nations; and
- fifth, nosotros take served the poor, the sick, the lowly and the lonely – seeking to embody the compassionate beloved of God for all people.
These works of the people are uniting – whether we prostrate ourselves in worship or heighten our easily, whether we wear funny clothes or create funny sub-cultures – there are still some bones features of Christian life that nosotros hold in mutual with others. These 'works of the people' or liturgies are a gift of the Spirit to unite usa – that we may be one every bit the Son and the Begetter are 1.
Only what then of words? How did we end upward with so many words? Words have a symbolic function – they stand in for deeper realities. But like all good symbols, there is a trusted connection that bears potency between that which is signified and the signifier. The course of words bears their content and gives them authority to convey meaning. Words have power, and they have power to connect us and draw us into communion with God and ane another.
But many church traditions are sceptical virtually the use of liturgical words – the utilise of fixed words and ready texts in our gathered worship. Much of the complimentary evangelical tradition, and indeed with information technology the charismatic movements, accept a lingering suspicion of ordered textual worship. Tom Wright has a vivid assay of this – he believes that this suspicion is rooted in the lingering influence of philosophical romanticism and existentialism. Not that people would apply these terms of grade, but the statement as Tom Wright makes it goes similar this: the simply matter which is true and authentic is that which comes unfiltered and spontaneously from deep within myself.
Romanticism holds central the idea of the autonomous individual who must find means to limited the truthfulness of their 'self'. Existentialism is sceptical about conformity – that is, the idea that your words, thoughts and actions might be conformed to social conventions. To do so renders them inauthentic. Social conformity is a threat to individual expression.
Y'all tin see how this might exist played out in a Christian worship setting – we can find ourselves believing (consciously or sub-consciously) that the most authentic, and therefore spiritually pure, expression of our worship is that which comes from deep inside ourselves, without the filters of fix form or social conformity getting in the mode. The only 'true' prayer or worship in this example is spontaneous prayer and worship. This can lead us to labelling as 'spontaneous' even things that we practise routinely.
The truth of the thing is that charismatic worship relies very heavily on set up texts – but they're the gear up texts of the worship song repertoire. The words of our songs every bit they appear on the projector screens / TVs are our set liturgical texts. They've been written by someone else, just we still use them to express our own spiritual devotion. Imagine if we abolished the set texts of our worship songs. Much of our worship would be rendered impossible for any kind of unity in participation. For charismatics, worship vocal words have a 'catholicising' upshot: they aid us express unity both within our local church, but indeed across a range of churches and denominations.
Liturgy is given by the Spirit to have a catholicising effect – the words of our worship songs or our spoken liturgies enable u.s. to be connected beyond the centuries and the continents. Christians in every time and place can experience what it means to abide in the vine that is Christ through the common life we share in our liturgies.
Conclusion
So let me conclude by returning to my original metaphor, though with a brief excursion to an alternative metaphor beginning.
The relationship between the liturgies of our gathered worship and the movement of the Holy Spirit can too be understood by manner of a musical metaphor – that of jazz music. I love jazz music. In particular, I beloved the jazz music of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and other pioneers of what is sometimes described as the gratuitous jazz movement of the 1950s and 60s. This course of music is characterised past amazing improvisation by musicians.
Every bit someone who has attempted over the years to play jazz music, I've come up to realise that truthful improvisation is only possible when musicians have developed a deep agreement of the musical forms. Only when the deep rules of melody, harmony and rhythm have been learned and practised is it possible to break out of these forms and savor the freedom and creativity of improvisation. The best jazz musicians will know their scales, chords and music theory inside out, and tin so move freely within and beyond their accustomed musical conventions.
Understanding the deep rules and patterns of the liturgies that the Spirit has given to the church tin can enable usa to enter into the blithesome improvisation and freedom in worship that comes from the Spirit. And to return to the original metaphor, when we embrace this gift of liturgy, we have our place in that running vine which connects all Christians in all time and all places through both our works and our words – and abiding in that vine, nosotros may deport plentiful spiritual fruit.
(Y'all can read Graham'south more detailed exploration of this in his Grove bookletDiscipline and Want: embracing charismatic liturgical worship)
Come and think about the End of the World and Christian Hope at the teaching forenoon on tenth Nov 2018.
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