Communion Confession...

Adapted from the Didache (AD 50-150)

Leader: “The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’”

Response to the Bread:

         Everyone:         We give thanks to you, our Father,

                           for the one bread, which you have made known to us.

                           Through Jesus, your servant, to you be glory forever.

Leader: “In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’”  

Response to the Cup:

         Everyone:         We give thanks to you, our, Father,

                           for the cup of blessing, which you have made known to us

                           Through Jesus, your servant, to be glory for ever.

Leader: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.’”

Sharing of the Elements:

Everyone:         Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let your church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into your kingdom. To You is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ forever.

* image is of the agape feast, an ancient Christian tradition carried on today as communion.

Early Christian Confession

"Whom no senses can reveal
    was made for us manifest;
  Who no ache or pain can feel
    was for us by pain oppress;
  Willing all things to endure,
    Our salvation for procure."
               ~Ignatius to Polycarp

Early Church Hymn

"Very Flesh, yet Spirit too;
    Uncreated, and yet born;
  God-and-Man in one agreed,
  Very-life-in-Death indeed,
  Fruit of God and Mary's seed;
    At once impassible and torn
  By the pain and suffering here below;
  Jesus Christ, whom as our Lord we know."
              ~Ignatius to the Ephesians

The RetroChurch...

In our last post we asked the question, "How do we know we have 'real' Christianity?" To answer this question we must traverse three fields of thinking; theology, the Bible, and history. In short, we have a real reflection of the faith if we have presented God and His character/actions in an orthodox way. We have what is real if we have presented a biblical foundation for salvation/sanctification/glorification that is clear and verifiable. Also, we have a real faith if we have properly rooted and guided into the historical practices that were given for all by a "great cloud of witnesses."

This last sentence is where we have a tendency to say...wait...what?

Yet this reliance on history is an important and indispensable guide to capturing and protecting a reflection of the Christian faith that is "real". Without a faithful reliance on history you are not a faithful reflection of the church.

It is time for your church to go retro.

In Michael Svigel's book, RetroChristianity, he gives us a guide on discerning the influences of history. Let's face it, when I say that we need history in order to be "real", some not so good moments in the life of the Christian church can be conjured up. One may say, "there is a lot that we must avoid in history and by avoiding the bad the church currently looks the way we do." To be fair, we need to be aware and conscious when dealing with history. We need not take anything blindly. But we must not neglect the work of God through history by ignoring those that came before us. Svigel suggests these as a guide:

Some things Never Change and Never Should.

There are some things that simply should never change. The center of our faith is Jesus Christ. Not the healings of Jesus, but Jesus. Not the sacrifice (continually) of Jesus, but Jesus. Not the prosperity of Jesus...wait...okay that is just not Christian. Jesus is and should be the center of our faith. We can learn much from history (especially the early church fathers) on making Christ and his gospel the center of it all.

The story of our faith should be the Trinitarian creation (Father, Son, and Spirit all active in the creative acts), redemption, and restoration. Our faith can never leave this story. Our worship can never stop replaying this central drama. This is historical worship. This is Christian faith.

The markers (doctrines) of our faith should always stay the same. These markers come through the struggles and biblical wrestlings of our fathers. To leave our fathers behind is to say that we no longer need their voice, their thoughts, their fights. Sadly, many do this very thing. Some, even proudly.

Some things have Never been the Same and Never Will Be.

Still, some things can never be the same. There is a diversity among Christians today unlike any in history. We have different denominations and reflections on orthodoxy and that is not necessarily a bad thing. We cannot have the solidarity that our church fathers enjoyed. We cannot go back to that time and we should not seek to idealize it. What we can do is learn to embrace diversity. We can have unity in essentials while maintaining diversity (and discussion) of non-essentials. Without history we can (and have)...(and do)... easily confuse the two.

Some things Grow Clear through Trial and Error.

I do not advocate leaving the challenges of the present by blindly retreating to the "golden days" of the past. We are where, and when, we are. We have learned through the decades and centuries. We have grown through time. We must continue growing. But we can also keep learning through remembering. Many traditions and many time periods have golden gifts for us if we will accept them. We do not have to accept them all. We can continually be guided by theology and Biblical faithfulness.

As Michael Svigel says, "This is not returning to the past, but retrieving the past for the present."

Freedom from Independence...

The mark forever placed on those that are born and raised in the United States of America is an appreciation and celebration of freedom. Specifically, the type of freedom that displays itself in independence from another governing authority. Men and women of this country fought for it...died for it...and continue to defend it.

This passion for independence affects much of what is done in America. Independence is a cultural norm. It is a social expectation. We see it in marketing, in education, in entertainment, in technology, and in worship.

The standard form of Christian worship in America has been to gather as individuals...sing as individuals...have a sermon prepared and performed by an individual...and if we happen to take communion (depending on whether you hit the right day of the year) we take it individually. We are independent!

But this is not Biblical worship.

Biblical worship has a specific pattern that it follows. It has a form. This form is not arbitrary. The form is not dependent on personal creativity, the talent of the music leader, or the budget of the congregation. The form is Biblical, historical, and universal. This pattern and form does not negate our freedom. It upholds our freedom. It remembers our freedom. Freedom from slavery in the Exodus. Freedom from class, race, and gender. Freedom from the bounds of sin. Freedom from the ravages of death.

Freedom from independence.

In Biblical Christian worship we tell a story. The story of creation, redemption, and new creation. We tell this story with signs, drama, and participation. It has a beginning (invocation) and an end (benediction). It celebrates Christ's incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection in gathering around the table for Eucharist (thanksgiving). It demands response from the people through hymns, creeds, prayers, doxologies, confessions, and offerings.

This is worship that is Biblical.

This form and pattern of worship also unites Christians throughout time and space. We are in communion with patriarchs, saints of old, a gathering of languages, cultures, genders, and classes. This is worship that gives freedom. Not freedom to deconstruct and rework. Not freedom to explore a new way but a freedom to walk in ancient ways. This is freedom to be who we were created to be. This is freedom to behave how we were created to behave. This is freedom from being on my own. This is a freedom that is shared by a people...a new people. To engage the spiritual realities through physical signs. This is worship.

True worship is freedom from independence.

Such a Great Cloud of Witnesses

Our last blog post about reading Scripture in light of history ("History Glasses") brought up some very good questions in response. Two questions that surfaced regularly were "why?" and "how?" In other words, people wanted to know why history is such an important part of seeing Scripture more clearly and they also wanted to know how they could begin to tackle such a daunting task.

We have a far deeper and more rich fellowship within the church than many people realize and many churches (see our last post) refuse to acknowledge as a witness to various views. Hebrews calls this rich and deep fellowship "a great cloud of witnesses" (12:1). This "great cloud" that surrounds us allows us to "look to the author and perfecter of our faith". Some of us have grown up completely segregated from the church fathers and find them foreign and aloof. Many others approach them with skepticism and a Western idea that newer is better. We who live in the west have a natural predisposition to be wary of history because we can see their mistakes.

Christianity, however, points us to embrace history because the Spirit of God has been moving then, as now, to lead and guide us in faith (the point of Hebrews chapter 11). It is precisely because we can see the mistakes of others that history becomes more important for us. If we are led by the same Spirit, in the same faith, to worship the same Lord, then we might just be heading for some of the same errors. The fathers have given us a gift of seeing farther because we "stand on the shoulders of giants"(CS Lewis).

The barrier of how to go about engaging these fathers is a bit tricky. The immediate attraction is to pick up a history book and begin to read or purchase a paperback of the church fathers (here) and think that we can be in communion with them. These tasks may be helpful but they are not fellowship with the Christ in communion with the saints.

This kind of communion comes in worship, community, and mission. This comes as we celebrate, share, and serve together as we take into account the hearts, minds, and efforts that have come before. This means that pastors have a necessary responsibility to point us toward reflections, prayers, hymns, and confessions of the faithful. We need to be made aware where and when these meditations came from so that we can learn to appreciate them and even learn to read the fathers with eyes for insight. Our worship leaders need to purposely choose music that unites us with ancient paths and future ones.

Our faithful fathers of days gone by are not to be forgotten. They were, and are, the church. We owe much to them. We venture on a journey that has been laid bare by the feet of the faithful that have come before.

This ancient path is our guide as we walk into a glorious future.

Gospel Time...

This is the time of year when the Christian calendar is most known. More people are aware of the events of Easter and the significance to the Christian story. Soon Easter will pass. The mainstream church, of which I used to be a part, will continue to celebrate time in a not-really-distinct secular manner. We will see opportunities to come together to celebrate moms, dads, patriotic holidays, even celebrations of Halloween will take place. This is a sad state of affairs. The calendar of the church has always meant much more. It has pointed to the Christian story. The Christ story. The Gospel.

The Gospel calendar begins at Easter. From the moment of resurrection time has changed for the one who is a Christian. We celebrate time differently. We celebrate with remembrance and expectation. The Gospel calendar moves backward from Easter Sunday to Advent. And then forward to Pentecost (which ends at Advent). This ordering of the calendar has real significance.

As we can see here the calendar displays 6 movements of time. Advent is a time of expectation, of waiting for Jesus to come into time...into our hearts...once again for consummation. Advent ends at Christmas where we celebrate the Son of God becoming man. Christmas lasts for 2 weeks (not one day). Christmas gives way to Epiphany where we celebrate Jesus being "manifested" (this is what epiphany means) through his teaching and miracles and it lasts for 9 Sundays. Lent begins after Epiphany as the Christian begins to celebrate renewal and restoration as a prelude to the resurrection event. This season takes us through mourning and suffering into victory and triumph. Easter lasts for 7 weeks!!! The resurrection and subsequent appearances by Christ to his followers revealed his glorified nature and purpose for all mankind. The final season is Pentecost. This is a time to celebrate all that the church is and what it means to live in this "Day of the Lord" in expectation and action.

We miss so much when we lay these significant moments aside. Worse, when we pick up less worthwhile celebrations that celebrate nothing of Christ and nothing of the purpose of the church. Our preaching and teaching could easily follow these celebrations as we spent half of our time focusing on the person and work of Christ and the other half on the purpose and function of the church.

I cannot fathom whatever made us trade so much for so little.

All of this is not said to press us to simply pay homage to a foregone era. This is not to remain in some sort of nostalgia about the way things used to be. This is said to press us to relay to our people a sense of who we are in Christ. As we engage the Gospel story we continue to grow. The Gospel calendar allows us to pause, reflect, celebrate, and recall exactly who we are. Through these sacred actions we are nourished, sustained, and compelled through grace.