tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17691136.post2837693502403850749..comments2023-11-05T00:29:50.421-07:00Comments on The Rebellious Pastor's Wife: Walking TogetherRPWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16686240798146992394noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17691136.post-51165623480634689192009-01-24T21:50:00.000-08:002009-01-24T21:50:00.000-08:00David my friend, I am so glad to hear from you!!!!...David my friend, I am so glad to hear from you!!!!<BR/><BR/>No, I understand what you mean. I am not Orthodox or Catholic, believing in revelation through tradition or through grace through the performance of ceremonies. I do not believe the Liturgy is a sacrament, or that the Holy Spirit works through the Liturgy other than through the Biblical words that it contains. But because it pours forth Scripture, and points to Holy Communion and my baptism from the very moment of invocation, I do believe that He does work through it.<BR/><BR/>We are unified in the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ, through the Means of Grace. The unity that I talk about is unity of practice. And while that is not the same, though, I do believe that it is very important. <BR/><BR/>Knowing that the liturgy has developed through history for the purpose of confessing the faith and feeding God's flock does enrich the faith and emphasizes the Communion of the Saints. Knowing that I am worshiping using the same liturgy I used as a child, the same liturgy that Luther used, to a great extent, and a very similar liturgy that was used in the 2nd century is important. <BR/><BR/>Rituals do unify. I am a stronger American knowing my history, knowing the Constitution, knowing the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address. Every opportunity that I have to say the Pledge of Allegiance and Sing the National Anthem reminds me of those things and builds my identity. I remember standing in Dodger Stadium the day the baseball parks reopened, singing the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America with 56,000 other people, and over a million in other stadiums that day, not to mention the people in their living rooms was an incredibly uniting experience. A strengthening and comforting experience. These things do not make me an American, but an American does these things and finds enrichment through them and the fact I do this with other Americans creates a bond.<BR/><BR/>The liturgy provides that so much more every day that I am blessed with hearing it and being fed by it because it is full of God's Word and the Holy Spirit works through God's Word. God serves me through the Divine Service. That is what Divine Service means - God serving me - God serving my neighbor. That is uniting. That is comforting. That is strengthening. The liturgy does not make me a Christian, but it does serve to remind me that I am one, and it strengthens me in that. And when I am crying "Lord have Mercy" it is not that I am "doing the Kyrie" but that my faith takes hold of the fact that Christ does indeed have mercy. Amen.RPWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16686240798146992394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17691136.post-26362681190509163102009-01-24T20:31:00.000-08:002009-01-24T20:31:00.000-08:00hey lora,stumbled across your blog from facebook. ...hey lora,<BR/>stumbled across your blog from facebook. LOVE the title of it! i've been thinking about that last paragraph, and i respectfully disagree with what you wrote, but hopefully not what you meant.<BR/><BR/>i believe that you and i are united, but the liturgy does not unite us. even tomorrow when i'm chanting, and you're in worship, and we are separated by 2000 miles - we will be united - but it will not be by the liturgy (even if it happens to be the same - we don't have maroon covers either).<BR/><BR/>When you and I were Baptized in Christ, God united us with Himself and with each other. There is MUCH precedent for this in God's Word. There is no precedent for us being united by liturgy in God's Word.<BR/><BR/>I get concerned when good intentioned folks wrongly focus on the liturgy instead of the Christ that the liturgy is intended to focus us upon. Our fallen nature is so corrupt that we so easily can turn the best of things into idols.<BR/><BR/>Tomorrow may we both not focus upon the Kyrie, but upon the One to Whom we cry, "Lord, have mercy!"<BR/><BR/>Does that make sense?<BR/><BR/>Peace!<BR/>Smiling Hawk (aka David)<BR/>:-)Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07735560697635196640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17691136.post-16475260605261263892009-01-24T16:39:00.000-08:002009-01-24T16:39:00.000-08:00DK, I had the same experience at a state church in...DK, I had the same experience at a state church in Germany. I don't know enough German to understand what's spoken to me, but I could follow that service. Amen!Elephantschildhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14610471467736150461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17691136.post-9168385843617368642009-01-22T04:48:00.000-08:002009-01-22T04:48:00.000-08:00Oh! And I would add that this is the reason that ...Oh! And I would add that this is the reason that years ago, when worshiping in a Lutheran Church in Finland (a state church to be sure, but they used the liturgy) that while I didn't understand the language, I could figure out where we were in the service. I could see the bones - the trinitarian invocation let me pick out the words that would reappear in the Gloria, and the Kyrie, and absolution....There were even hymns that I knew well enough in English to participate.Designated Knitterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17022685471972200007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17691136.post-57672442922292611232009-01-22T04:43:00.000-08:002009-01-22T04:43:00.000-08:00Amen! That's the reason we say that we "know it b...Amen! That's the reason we say that we "know it by heart."Designated Knitterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17022685471972200007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17691136.post-68506668420435655982009-01-21T13:48:00.000-08:002009-01-21T13:48:00.000-08:00Amen! That is right on the money. We just had an...Amen! That is right on the money. We just had an expert at our PTL saying that the liturgy is INTREGAL (sp?) for children's participation in church. They need repetition to learn it completely. Our Lutheran liturgy is beautiful, and I wish more churches would appreciate it for what it is. Especially Matins, my favorite!Estherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11362207430242737134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17691136.post-8818384526864208022009-01-21T11:54:00.000-08:002009-01-21T11:54:00.000-08:00Bingo! When my grandmoher was near death and suffe...Bingo! When my grandmoher was near death and suffering terribly wth Alzheimer's, she didn't even know my name. She couldn't pick out a matching pair of shoes, or go for a short walk without getting lost. But she knew her liturgy, prayers, and creeds forward and backward. Someday, those ancient yet deathless words of Mary, Simeon, Isaiah, David, and all the saints along with Christ's own words may well be the only evidence of my faith. What peace for me and those I leave behind! <BR/><BR/>BTW, I too make a point to recite the liturgy and creeds from heart, because if I read it I tend to bypass my brain.Untamed Shrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07273110800292712897noreply@blogger.com