Happy Friday! We’ve persevered
through another week. Hopefully 2020 is off to a good start for you. The beginning of the year is always a busy
time for accounts. We’ve been wrapping up our 2020 budget as well as closing out
the final numbers for 2019. Since work has been so busy, I haven’t had much
time to read theology. When work slows down, I hope to dive into patristic
studies and some Christian philosophy. Also, my girlfriend graciously gifted me
with several new books that I will be reading as well. I think she’s a keeper! Among these books are
works by C.S. Lewis and SBC president J.D. Greear. I’ll let you know how those
books impact me as soon as I get through them!
For
those of you who know my theological preferences, it should come as no surprise
that I enjoy liturgy. A quick Google search defines liturgy as “a form or
formulary according to which public religious worship, especially Christian
worship, is conducted.” I would also say that liturgy can also be used
during personal prayer time as well. The use of liturgy is an ancient practice. The first liturgies were written prior to the cannonization of the New Testament of the Bible.
Over the past year, my girlfriend has introduced me to the music of Christian artist Andrew Peterson. (If you don’t know who he is, I’d encourage you to YouTube his music as soon as possible.) In addition to being a talented musician, Peterson doubles as an accomplished author. Peterson promotes a book recently released by Douglas McKelvey consisting of liturgies for various scenarios (I’ll have more about this book later). Inspired by the work of Peterson and McKelvey, I set out to write a liturgy of my own. My liturgy was intended to be used at the start of each new year and includes parts to be read by a leader as well as parts to be read in unison. See the link to my liturgy below:
Over the past year, my girlfriend has introduced me to the music of Christian artist Andrew Peterson. (If you don’t know who he is, I’d encourage you to YouTube his music as soon as possible.) In addition to being a talented musician, Peterson doubles as an accomplished author. Peterson promotes a book recently released by Douglas McKelvey consisting of liturgies for various scenarios (I’ll have more about this book later). Inspired by the work of Peterson and McKelvey, I set out to write a liturgy of my own. My liturgy was intended to be used at the start of each new year and includes parts to be read by a leader as well as parts to be read in unison. See the link to my liturgy below:
It is my hope that this liturgy
will be a blessing to you and your family at the start of each new calendar
year.
So why is liturgy important? Does
liturgy have value?
Growing
up Catholic, liturgy was a way of life. Liturgy was the very foundation of our public
worship of God. But it’s not just Catholics who have engaged in liturgy over
the years. Liturgy is familiar to the Eastern Orthodox, the Anglican Communion,
and many confessional Protestants. Unfortunately, liturgy has fallen out of
favor in much of today’s Evangelical culture. I’m not going to debate exactly
when or why this happened nor whether this shift in worship philosophy is
favorable. I’ll simply give my reasons for the value of liturgy.
Oftentimes,
extemporaneous (spoken or done without preparation) prayers are seen as having
more value as they are considered to “come from the heart”. This is in opposition
to liturgical prayers which can be seen as rote, tepid, and dry. To be honest,
I often find my extemporaneous prayers to be rote, tepid, and dry. I find
myself repeating the same lines and requests over and over again when praying
before meals or other occasions. In fact, you might consider my extemporaneous
prayers to be a really poor liturgy! I
often feel stressed when asked to provide a meaningful prayer in front of a
group of people.
Using
liturgy can remove the pressure of prayer. Prayer does not have to be conjured
on the spot in order to be heard by God. In fact, 1 John 5:14 tells us “This is the confidence we have in
approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
If we pray with the will of God in mind, He will hear our prayer whether the
prayer is extemporaneous or a pre-written liturgy! There is nothing “cheap”
about the use of liturgical prayer in either corporate worship or our personal
prayer lives. There's just something special about reading a liturgy out loud
and letting the Words and truth you speak wash over you.
Secondly,
liturgy can shift the focus of our prayer away from ourselves and back toward
the almighty God. When I pray
extemporaneously, I find that my prayers are often self-focused and centered on
my perceived needs and desires. Given the universal (not meant for any
particular person) nature of liturgy, it is much easier to approach prayer with
the will of God in mind as exhorted by 1 John 5:14.
Finally,
the use of liturgy develops Christian community. As I mentioned above, liturgy
most often has parts to be read by a leader and other parts to be read by the
entire group. Romans 12: 4-5 tells us that all Christians are part of the
mystical body of Christ: “For as in one
body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function,
so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of
another.” Use of liturgy in a group setting serves to edify the body
of Christ and to foster Christian community. According to Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three gather in my name,
there am I with them.”
Other than the liturgy I wrote
and linked above, there are inexhaustive resources available that provide
access to liturgical prayers and rites. Below are a couple good ones:
Every Moment Holy – By Douglas
McKelvey
I
personally have been blessed by the book of liturgies since picking up a copy at
Andrew Peterson’s Behold the Lamb of God concert at the Ryman Auditorium in
Nashville. The book contains liturgies for every imaginable scenario – not the
least of which is a liturgy for changing a dirty diaper. I’m not kidding! The
book is very reasonably priced and is worth every penny. I know that I will
wear out my copy.
Anglican Book of Common Prayer
(2019 Version)
First
published in 1549 by Thomas Cranmer, the Book of Common Prayer has faithfully
served the Anglican Communion over the past several centuries. The book is
filled with beautiful prayers that will undoubtedly enrich your prayer life. I
plan to order a copy for myself to use in conjunction with “Every Moment Holy”.
I would love to
hear how you make use of liturgical prayer. Comment below with your experiences
with liturgy in both corporate and personal settings. If you are not currently using liturgy, I pray
that you will be open minded and give this method of prayer a fair chance. Please note that I'm not discouraging the use of extemporaneous prayer - not by a long shot! Extemporaneous prayer can be beautiful! However, a little variety in our prayer life can go a long way.
In Christ,
Kendal May
No comments:
Post a Comment