The Liturgical Wretchedness of the Cross

Gordon Lathrop

(I am sorry for the length of this post)     

I am still thinking and tracking with Gordon Lathrop (go here).

In his book, Holy Things, he writes this:

"Jesus Christ is the ground and the content of our praise, yet this praise is broken. The grounds of our thanksgiving are found in a crucified man. For Christians, all the suffering with which we are surrounded and in which we participate has been gathered into Christ. He is among the wretched of the earth, the God-forsaken ones. Jesus Christ is the ground and the content or our beseeching."

 We have here the honest assessment that, even in worship and our part of the liturgy, things are off center. In the midst of praise there is grief and the brutality of the human condition. This sour note cannot be stressed enough. We must offer the people the truth of the Gospel which includes the truth that all is not well and will never be until the Kingdom bells ring in a community. Said another way, a community must become a community, caring for sick and the dying, the widow and the orphan, the locked out and the left out, which first begins by acknowledging that they are in front of us, and most importantly that we are part of them! Let me attempt to show what I mean by two illustrations:

PETER ROLLINS -- We are Part of the World & It's Suffering

Peter Rollins

The first comes from Peter Rollins' book, The Orthodox Heretic, which is a
 series of parables told to illustrate the author's understanding of theological discourse. (spoiler alert) In "Jesus And The Five-Thousand," Jesus gathers the food from the 5,000 but instead of feeding the multitudes he feeds himself and his disciples. They eat the feast leaving nothing for the crowds. The point Rollins makes in the explanation is that, as the body of Christ, we are now nothing less than the continuing manifestation of Christ in the world. He suggests that this may actually be how we are presenting Christ to the world.

 
JURGEN MOLTMANN -- Suffering is in the World & In Us - Let's Tell The Truth

Jurgen Moltmann

As a prisoner of war Jurgen Moltmann was deeply defeated and distraught over his country's war atrocities. Someone gave him copy of the New Testament and the Psalms where he discovered the the Psalms of Lament. He said in particular, Psalm 39 (see below) spoke to him and for him.

The point in all this is that we must emphasize in our liturgy and worship the brokenness of the cross (theologia crucis) and not just the glory of the resurrection.  We must not rush through the suffering and the cry of dereliction so that we can get to the church triumphant. To do so is to cheapen the suffering of the world and make meaningless the suffering of the cross.

for more of my thoughts in this direction go to these older posts: the chaos around the corner     the human condition     Lyvia Roach, RIP

PSALM 39 (NRSV)
1 I said, "I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence." 2 I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse, 3 my heart became hot within me. While I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: 4 "Lord, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. 5 You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. (Selah) 6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; they heap up, and do not know who will gather. 7 "And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you. 8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool. 9 I am silent; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it. 10 Remove your stroke from me; I am worn down by the blows of your hand. 11 "You chastise mortals in punishment for sin, consuming like a moth what is dear to them; surely everyone is a mere breath. (Selah) 12 "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears. 13 Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more." 

Lindsay -- Must See Video

Deidox | Lindsay from Deidox on Vimeo.

Keeping Witness

 How often I have kept witness with a dear one riding the knife of grief or sitting in the waiting chair while a loved one lies naked on a table somewhere getting knifed in a sterile environment amidst tubes and technical apparatus. How often I have sat in the embalming station as witness to a family painfully unearthing the inert facts about the deceased -- social security number, number of copies of the death certificate, favorite songs, casket color, grave opening. If you've lived very long then you know the drill.

But the drill is somewhat different for me. I am a pastor and I am privileged to see people at their worst. I see them when the veneer is cut and the raw wood is exposed. I see them in cursing foul moods and tender moments where humanness bleeds through in the broken spots.

As a small church pastor I am called to witness the onslaught of the human condition with them. Sadly, a large church pastor rarely has this opportunity -- being too busy with other important items. 

I'm fortunate. My job is not to offer advise our platitudes like so much worn down philosophical capsules, date expired, potency gone.  No, my job is to be a witness. I am to stand with the person in pain so that the pain and loss and grief does not go unnoticed. Their pain screams out to the world, "I am here!" Were it not for family and me, no one would hear; no one would take notice.

The Shape of the Liturgy, or How the Liturgy Shapes Us

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The shape of the ancient liturgy, what Gordon Lathrop calls the Bath, the Word & the Table, has the ability to shape our Christian spirituality in ways little else can.  For, not only do these actions provide symbols that directly link us to the distant past of our faith -- the cave and the catcomb, but the earthly & existential present-ness of the water, book, bread and cup somehow also directly link us to the the Christ of God.

In fact, I would argue that regardless of how one views the sacramental nature of the water, book, bread or cup, quite nearly every Christian believer comes to the "table of the LORD," the waters of Baptism, or the "Word of GOD," with the distinct expectation that she would somehow meet the GOD who is there. And, I would also argue that she will not leave disappointed, even if most of us do not have "eyes to see." It is GOD who has promised to meet with us. It is God -- the Great I AM (which supremely means I AM PRESENT) -- who has determined to touch us through Jesus the Christ, Spiritually mediated in the water, the book and the table.


 It has been so from the beginning. Which means we stand in this moment of history on the work (the liturgy) of others. It means by our participation in the liturgy we are presenting to the watching world the present-ness of GOD. And, we are at the same time offering to the next generation the hope necessary to sustain the one meta-narrative that can shape the world for good.

Sometimes I offer this benediction by John Drescher to the end the work of the people

 

As you go from here, go forth in faith.
Go, joining the faithful of all the ages,
Who labored long, Who suffered much, Who rejoiced greatly.
Go forth in faith,
Knowing God created us for a purpose,
And Loves us with a steadfast love
May the peace of God go with you...   

Reference Material:

   

Sunday Aftertnoon

A great song about life, real life, a life that don't come easy...

Sunday Morning

It is early, Sunday.
I have dressed the altar and I have read through my notes. I await the people.

I am praying.

"O GOD, illunine our hearts to Your present-ness. Open our puny minds to the reality of Your unfailing love and the power of Your eternal providence. You, who are the "GREAT I AM," be present this day.

Martin Luther's Sacristy Prayer ( I Prayer it every Sunday):

“Lord God, You have appointed me as a Bishop and Pastor in Your Church, but you see how unsuited I am to meet so great and difficult a task. If I had lacked Your help, I would have ruined everything long ago. Therefore, I call upon You: I wish to devote my mouth and my heart to you; I shall teach the people. I myself will learn and ponder diligently upon Your Word. Use me as Your instrument -- but do not forsake me, for if ever I should be on my own, I would easily wreck it all.”

To which I respond, Amen & Amen.

GOD Is There

 Somehow we (the western church) must unearth the long, lost view of God from underneath the crust of modernism, and rediscover the God who is beyond the God of the Gaps. Somehow we must posit a God -- in our own thinking -- that is worthy of worship and taken seriously again. God is present, but how are we to know and experience God in a present-ness?

What I think I know:

1. God is there. [this is the primary statement, and it is one of faith]
   
2. God is mystery. [language, even biblical language is metaphor and cannot fully contain God]
3. God cannot be known or experienced unless God takes the initiative. [revelation]
4. God is known in the judeo-christian experience, but is primarily revealed in Jesus. [this is why I call myself a Christian]
5. God is personal, but is not personality. [God is not a person like we are]
6. God is everywhere, but God is not everything. ["in Him we live and move and have our being]
7. God somehow speaks to us in and through our thoughts and impressions. [NOTE: This, of course is fraught with danger and traps, see: Genesis 22] 
8. God's relationship with the world is open and fluid. [God is monstrously creative, taking our very real decisions, which matter and have consequences, and using them to accomplish the divine will for the world]

holy experience

this is a blog i follow and thought this post & pics were very moving