THE BLESSINGS OF RITUAL

Paul T. Stallsworth

            The common complaint is that a Service of Worship with ritual -- “written prayers,” responses and responsive readings, and a creed -- can become far too routine.  “At church, we do the same things every time we worship” is a ritualistic statement against ritual.

            Repetition is probably not a major problem.  Please think about it.  We do many things in life -- graduations, scout-award ceremonies, college basketball games in Chapel Hill/Durham/Raleigh, family meals, the work day, the school day, and so on -- with plenty of repetition.  Time after time, the same words, gestures, movements, and routines are repeated.  This repetition can be a sign that an event and its participants are committed, not uncommitted, to the activity at hand.

            But ritual, or repeated order and words and gestures, in the Church can become wooden.  Ritual can become deadly.  It can involve just mouthing the words, without thinking about them or holding them in our hearts.  It can be just going through the motions.  (But then again, is not mindlessly saying the words of ritual better than not saying the words?  And is not just going through the motions of ritual better than flopping on the couch and watching television?)

            Christian worship can employ ritual well.  Well-written ritual centers on the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- with special emphasis on Jesus Christ, crucified and risen.  Well-led ritual is inviting and engaging; it draws people into the Service of Worship to participate faithfully.  Ritual, when written and led well, brings all of the people in a sanctuary together and joins them in the common project of worshiping God.

            There are times that we do not want to be in the sanctuary.  We do not feel like it, for whatever reason.  But God, working through the ritual of a Service of Worship, reminds us that what each of us wants at any particular moment is not what should guide our lives.  God then reminds us of our identity with His People, the Church, and He brings us out of our aloneness and self-concern.

            There are other times when life has excited or surprised or shocked us.  We are not sure what to say and do.  We find it hard to think and act.  But then we walk into the sanctuary, and join in the Service of Worship.  The ritual of the service gives us words, familiar words, to pray, to praise, to sing, to remember God’s mighty deeds, to lead us to God, to lead God to us, and to renew us in being the People of God, an outpost of the Kingdom of God.

            The blessings of ritual are many.

From May 2004 St. Peter's Post