The in-house Youth Fellowship discussion led by Susan Saji Kochamma, brought together young families from the Mar Thoma church. During this gathering, Kochamma shared about the importance of Liturgical worship even in this modern age.
Liturgical Worship vs Contemporary Worship
In our modern age, some people find Liturgical Worship to be long, outdated, repetitive and boring, whereas they find Contemporary Praise and Worship to be short and sweet. But we need to ask ourselves, whether everything that is modern and innovative always good for us? Nowadays, people want to worship God in whatever way they feel comfortable. In Jeremiah 6:16, the Lord says, Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. So, as we stand at the crossroads seeking clarity as to which form of worship is appropriate, we need to ask how God wants Him to be worshiped. When we worship God the right way it is beneficial for us and we will find rest for our souls.
Importance of Sabbath
In the beginning was God, and there was constant, eternal exchange of Agape love flowing between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This agape love flowed out of God which brought the cosmos into existence. Human beings were created out of this agape love and we were to live in this love relationship with God. God in his agape love gives Himself completely to us, we respond by giving ourselves completely back to God in Eucharistia – thanksgiving. Human beings were created to live in that complete surrender, union and fellowship with God.
In Genesis 1, the account of all six days of creation ends with this phrase “and there was evening and morning”, implying each of these days had a starting and an ending. But absence of this phrase “and there was evening and morning on the seventh day” implies that the Sabbath was not meant for a day, but for eternity. Whole of creation was moving towards the Sabbath. In Mark 2:27, Jesus says that The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
Genesis 2:2 says Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. The Hebrew word for ‘seventh’ is Shevah which is closely related to another word Sheuvah which means ‘Covenant’. Sabbath is a sign of God’s covenant with human beings. Unlike a ‘Contract’ which is breakable, which shares property, and which defines what is yours and what is mine, ‘Covenant’ is an unbreakable promise that shares life and says I am yours and You are mine. In creation itself God enters into a relationship with us and we were created to share in God’s life, by giving ourselves completely to God and resting in Him.
What is Worship?
Genesis 2:15 says The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. The Hebrew word for ‘work’ is abad which also means ‘serve’ or ‘worship’. So, God put man in the garden to worship and to take care. Worship is living in that covenant relation with God wherein God gives Himself completely to us and in turn we surrender ourselves completely to God in thanksgiving and live in Union with God. It is only in this union and surrender to God we could take care of the world. But in Genesis, man sinned and stopped surrendering completely to God. As a result, our lives are broken and in a mess. The Good Shepherd – Jesus Christ came to redeem our lives and through his death, resurrection and ascension, enabled us to share in God’s life again and experience the rest prepared for us. So, this Redeemer God is the center of our worship, without whom we wouldn’t have this union with God for which we were created. That is why our Liturgy begins by praising and adoring Him –
O Lord Jesus Christ, born of Mary, baptized by John, have mercy upon us and we respond by saying We magnify You, O Lord our King, only begotten Son, Word of the Father, Lord Jesus Christ…
We begin our worship with Praise and Thanksgiving. But worship is not just Praise and Thanksgiving because, we are all broken people – We also need Confession, Sanctification, Purification and Reconciliation to lead us into Union with God.
Why is Liturgy so formal, written and repetitive?
Liturgy has to be formal. There is a thing you want to do and the formality sets boundaries around it so that it can be done. In this sense games are formal because there are rules that make the game possible. Families are formal too. There are set patterns in our homes. Eating supper, praying, brushing teeth, reading bed time story to the child is a pattern set for the child to lead the child to sleep. So also, liturgy is just a framework or a pattern set for us: Listening to God’s word, examining ourselves, confession, absolution, reconciliation leading us to that union with God, which God desires from us.
Liturgy has to be written and cannot be spontaneous based on our emotions that keeps changing every day. God is not based on our emotions. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. True worship that God requires from us is always complete surrender of ourselves to Him. So even when our emotions are down, written Liturgy helps us to keep ourselves in the right perspective and the formality in the liturgy enables us to lead to that union with God which God requires from us.
Revelation 4:8 says: Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” Day and night they never stop praising – hence repetition is not a problem. Here we are focusing on God’s worth and not the repetitiveness of the act itself.
So, Liturgy has to be formal, written and can be repetitive. When we actively participate in this liturgy using our whole body, mind and spirit we could experience this union with God, which alone is true worship. Such a worship of complete surrender and union with God will enable us to live in right relation with the world around us.
Praise and Thanksgiving alone is not worship. When worship becomes too much about us, what we want to do, and what pleases us we are creating a god of our own image and likeness and our worship goes astray and deformed. When Moses was away for 40 days and nights, the Israelites made a golden calf for themselves. They became impatient and wanted to bring God into their midst to satisfy their needs and make themselves happy. The worship of the golden calf was a self-generated, self-seeking and a self-affirming worship. It was no longer concerned about God’s desire of worship. Worship of God requires Confession, Sanctification, Purification, Reconciliation along with Praise and Thanksgiving which are the elements of our Liturgy.
Liturgy is also the anticipation of future
Revelation 5:13 says: All beings in heaven and on earth worship together, praising God and Christ the Lamb. When the curtain/veil is opened in the beginning of our worship, it symbolizes heaven and earth becoming one and worshiping God together. As Paul says in Corinthians “now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face”. Liturgy is reminding us of this hope. During the liturgy when we all say “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty; Heaven and Earth are full of His glory, Hosanna in the highest: Blessed is He who has come and is to come in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest” we are joining the angels in worshipping God, for this is the song that is sung in heaven by the angels. Our early church fathers prepared the Liturgy for this heavenly experience.
Let us ask God to put a desire in our hearts to worship Him. The more we experience Christ through Liturgy, the more our hearts will grow in love for Christ and the more we will become the person God created us to be!
Summarized by Tessy Mathew
