liturgy

Permit me to tell two stories.  First, a passing conversation.  At a recent choir rehearsal we were rejoined by our organist who had taken a Sunday-morning position playing for a nearby Catholic church.  I entered the conversation just as she was describing a recent multi-cultural Mass which featured, among other things, hymns from around the world and a liturgical dance with lighted candles.

In my previous post, I briefly noted the history of the Kiss of Peace, its often disruptive quality when misunderstood and poorly practiced, and the importance of teaching us to practice the Kiss of Peace a respectful manner.  Here, I would like to address my concerns regarding the reasoning offered by two advocates of ending the practice, a currently practicing priest and an active Metropolitan.

I have had recent opportunity to consider the practice of the Kiss of Peace during the liturgy.  Apparently it is seen as disruptive by some members of the Orthodox Church.  I am offering (at least) two reflections, the first on its practice, the second on concerning elements which seem to underly the reasons offered to no longer allow or encourage the exchange of the Kiss by the laity as well as clergy.  The Kiss of Peace is a longstanding tradition that has important meaning for our Christian practice.  I offer these reflections in the hope that both laity and clergy take the opportunity to learn both the significance of the action as well as how to do it with a dignity appropriate to its meaning.  

The devotion below has been circulating the internet in the days since it was posted, particularly among the Orthodox.  It is, frankly, quite nice to have such sympathetic attention drawn to Orthodox liturgical practice.  I suspect much of its popularity is precisely because of such sympathetic attention on an otherwise quite Protestant website.  In addition, it highlights a number of aspects of Orthodoxy which are true, or, more honestly, which some of us would like to be true.  So while I appreciate elements of its characterization of Orthodoxy, and certainly resonate with the danger inherent in cults of personality, there is quite a bit here that is disingenuous.  I wouldn’t think the more disingenuous elements worthy of comment except that they are rhetorical descriptions which are voiced by many Orthodox, and I am not at all sure they are true.  They feed into a construction of ourselves, and a construction of us by others, which seems more about how we want to portray ourselves (or be portrayed) than about how we really are.

I recently quit the choir, primarily because I realized that I was having trouble praying while singing.  It took me a long time to make this decision since I couldn’t understand how it is that I could sing the liturgy and not be praying.  I am not sure I have ever regularly attended a church and not been in the choir.  Any number of factors probably contributed to the problem: concentrating on timing, the music, singing in a language I do not actually speak.  All of these things can distract from actually praying rather than just mouthing the words I sing in (thought not always) tune.  At other times in my life, these elements were not distracting, but they were now for whatever reason.  It was just time for a break.

My first Sunday standing in the congregation was, well, surprising.  I must admit, I sang virtually everything I would have sung had I been in the choir.  I am not sure I am able to participate in liturgy without singing.  At various points though, I didn’t sing.  Sometimes, I read the translation (if it was in Greek).  A number of times, I read the prayers along with the priest.  And it was wonderful, reading these prayers.

I had ample opportunity to read scripture this past Holy Week, as close as I get any more to “preaching the good news.”  During Holy Week, significant sections of the Psalter are read, and the otherwise too rare opportunity to read texts from the Hebrew scriptures is plentiful.  As is my custom, I modify the language a bit.

It seems that putting up a provocative Hauerwas quote without explanation is a bad idea. Which is fair because he usually requires some explanation and context. So, in lieu of a reply to a comment, here is simply "Take 2" on Hauerwas.

Sometimes, you just have to toss something out there and see what happens. There is no ethicist better at this than Stanley Hauerwas. And if he is right, then, well, we should pay attention to our liturgy, yes?