I was at a united methodist church for a Christmas Eve service. Let's just say that dipping bread in wine, a female pastor giving the message and distributing communion, the high church rituals, and the present darkness were too much for me. I was not impressed. I've felt more at home in a catholic church. I don't feel like talking about it all. The Holy Spirit could use some of it, in fact He did, but there was little substance here. (One section He indicated for me to listen was about wisdom and knowledge leading the wisemen to Christ's feet.) I tuned the rest out for I could not bear it. It seemed too much like the female pastor was reading an english paper with soft spoken generalities. I did not feel right about the situation. There was too much stain glass and too much dead wood. I felt my senses were being dulled by beautiful music for them to be totally reliable. I still didn't like the situation afterward.
I reserved my right to refuse communion for the first time last night. I did so at a catholic church but that is different in my mind. I was afraid that I was being self-righteous. Maybe, either way my heart and head were not right to take it. They perhaps were right before God but not in that church. I could not consent or condone the actions of that church. I could not submit myself to commune with such. Theologically first. With the dipping of bread into wine and a female pastor. Second, its uncertain overflow into my heart. Third, I thought it to be unclean so it was unclean for me. I did not feel Christ being exalted there. I did not feel like the service benefited me.
Finally, I still could sincerely say "Merry Christmas" to the female pastor afterward. If that means anything. I am not happy about what went on last night. I don't want to think that I did my duty and went to church. For My soul did not greatly benefit. I was present but not attending.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Candlelight Eve Service
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I came across your blog by accident, and found this article very interesting. I understand how you feel about services that don't put Christ where He truly belongs: in the first place.
I am a Catholic (a convert from a non-Christian religion, through Protestantism) and also don't like some of the things that I see at the liturgies. But then I think about what is most important, and that reassures me that I am where Christ is calling me. For me, the most important thing is not a thing but a person. God gives us His Only-Begotten Son in the Holy Eucharist. We receive truly the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, as our True Food and True Drink, as He promised us. And so I am a bit curious about something that you said. You mentioned being more at home in a Catholic Church. I think that may be because of the Real Presence of Christ in Holy Communion that we receive. I was wondering why you would give that up to worship in a community that does not have that Presence. I know that the Protestant denominations have a profound respect for the spiritual value of Holy Communion. But the Catholic Church gives you Jesus Christ Himself. I was just wondering why you would be unhappy with that, or not find it enough?
I hope my question doesn't offend you. I'm just curious to know.
God bless you.
PS: By the way, I do enjoy reading some of your other articles on this blog as well. Keep up the good work, and may Our Lord Jesus Christ bless you in all that you do.
What I mean about being more at home in a catholic church is to contrast the issue that it is not about litergy or tradition. I am the furthest possible from being a catholic on tradition. I personally follow Luther and Calvin.
I have considered catholicism lacking in some things. Yet, I shall never fall into the trap of calling all Catholics non-christian. There must be more than stained glass and ritual in one's heart. There must be christ. There must be a trust in the blood of Christ to cleanse us completely. This is in catholicism but it can be obscured by works. Some catholics trust too much in their own works and not enough in Christ.
I understand the Catholic Eucharist but I don't believe in the real presence. I see sacraments performing different functions other than supplying grace. They may but it depends much more on the individual than the sacrament.
I would much rather exhault God rather than an external church or a sacrament. My faith does not condone such in catholicism.
I very much believe in an invisible universal church of believers that does not fall within neat lines.
I very much believe in the metaphorical understanding of communion. Yet, this does not mean it has no spiritual/physical significance.
I find your comments very interesting. Thanks for responding to my comment, by the way. There are a few points though that I would like to address about what you say, if you don't mind.
Catholicism is a religion based on the belief in the Incarnation. We believe that Christ is the Incarnation of the Word, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. As the Incarnation of God, He embraces fully both the divine and the human realities.
It is true that Pelagius focused too much on works. He believed that works sufficed for salvation, and even that they were the means by which we obtain salvation. This position has been condemned by the Catholic Church as being heretical, that is, incompatible with the teachings of Christ and of His Body, the Church.
But Luther and Calvin went to the opposite extreme, and so erred on the other side. The problem with Luther's position is that it completely ignores the role of man's co-operation in the work of salvation. Salvation comes to us as a free gift, from the Father, through the saving work of the Son on the Cross, in the Holy Spirit. God alone saves; we do not save ourselves. But God does not want robots who are "automatically saved". He wants us to co-operate in our own salvation, by responding to His grace. This co-operation and response is what good works are. They attest that we are true, faithful disciples of God, in a very incarnate and real way. It is not enough to say, "Lord, Lord". We must do the Will of the Father.
This is why Catholicism reminds man that in order for his faith to be a live faith (see the epistle of St. James, where it is written that "faith without works is completely dead"), he must follow the Commandments of God, and especially the New Commandment of Christ: to love one another as He Himself loved us. Love of God and love of neighbour go hand in hand. This is why good works are an essential part of our faith. In the end, Jesus tells us, we will be judged on our charity: "You did this to Me; ... you did not do this to Me". He was speaking about good works of mercy: Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick and visiting them, etc. If works are not important in our salvation, then why does Our Lord Himself tell us otherwise?
I wouldn't be too turned off by the "externals" of the Catholic Faith. The external elements are only there because we are a faith based on a firm belief in the Incarnation: God became man. We need signs and symbols in our worship of God. We are not pure spirits, like the angels, but have a body too, with real senses. The Catholic Church's liturgy feeds not only the soul but also the body, precisely because man is a composite of both body and soul.
The Eucharist...I know that it is hard to believe that it is Real. It is hard to believe that Christ loves us SO MUCH that he would choose to feed us with His very Body and Blood! But the love of God has no limits. We cannot reduce that love, for example, by saying, "No, God COULD NOT love us that much!" Yes, He can. And He does. All the Church's seven Sacraments, and especially the Holy Eucharist, are proofs of the infinite depths of God's love for mankind. In the Catholic Church, we are truly blessed to be fed spiritually not just with a symbolic presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, but with the fullness of His Divine and human presence. The Real Presence is Christ's way of feeding us really and truly with Himself. That is why Catholics love the Holy Eucharist so much. Jesus Himself is there.
So you can see that the Catholic Faith is not exactly as you describe it. The externals are there for a reason. They tell us something about the deeper, inner realities that inhabit us. The Sacraments are not magic, or mechanical, or purely external. They convey to us the fullness of God's love, manifested to us in Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
These are just a few points that I hope will be of some use to you in your ongoing reflection on the Mystery of the depths of God's love for us.
I also stumbled across you blog.
The issue is simply what were Christ's words, This IS my body. After feeding the multitude, they came back to the Lord for more, and he spoke to them of his body being real food and his blood being real drink, and the ppl couldnt take such talk. Whenever he spoke figuratively, metaphorically or in parables, the Lord also explained himself, (or the writer in the gospels did). however this time was not a case in point. Jesus didnt explain that he should not be taken literally.
Jesus who is God, said, This is my body. God is limitless. He also said your sins are forgiven, get up and walk. By the power of his word, thing were and were caused to be. So why can't he in his infinite wisdom decide to be food for us and in his infinite power make this to be so. Because it would be foolish to do so. well. The ways of God are not the ways of man. and the folly of God is beyond even the wisdom of men.
Our desire to understand a mystery like God rather than accept and worship him, may make us want to "interpret" the reality of God" in an abstract way.
I believe in his real presence because he said so. He didnt need to say so. I wish he hadn't, cos then we wouldnt disagree on this, but He did, and I beleive.
That said, and I'm sorry if i sounded severe, (i dont feel anyone should have to be malleable about thier conviction) but its time that Christ is proclaimed in a manner that isn't wishywashy, which aims to affront none, and accommodate all, with vague sermons that are aesthetically or politically correct and inoffensive. Jesus and even John the baptist railed at the abuses of their time. Jesus could have ignored the moneychangers at the temple, and meekly avoided criticising the pharisees. But he didnt. As christians, we need to proclaim Christ boldly and unapologetically to the nations.
happy new year.
imo
Post a Comment