I had the blessing of gathering at table for a time of
fellowship with ministers from differing faith traditions this morning over
breakfast. Though I hadn't originally
intended on going, it was a joyful time in which the Priest in our midst shared
a wonderful devotional to remind us that as Christians, “we are third” (God,
other, then self), and also that “we are the keepers of the flame of Christ”. Breaking bread and sharing encouraging words
is something that scripture calls us to and I fear that as a community in
Christ we sometimes forget that we are to spend more than an hour on Sunday
together.
That being said, I found myself lingering with Damon Plummer
and a couple of young bucks in local ministry and we entered a discussion about
traditional worship. Damon is in my
experience, a man who is passionately in love with God. He is honest in sharing his faith and his
pursuit is to disciple followers of the Christ.
I truly have a mad amount of respect for him. And I am not saying that to add a “but”. It is just truth. Damon is “good people” as the folks in
Mississippi are prone to say.
When the discussion began I was making a point that
tradition in worship shouldn't be ignored because it connects us with the
saints who have gone before. I am not
advocating the ignoring of contemporary styles of worship by saying that
either. I believe firmly that there
should be a balance that we can strike that honors tradition while allowing for
new expressions of Spiritual creativity.
(Expressions that the Spirit of God moves us to create.) And this is where my confession of
defensiveness comes to light…
Damon asked a question (that at the time I took to be a
statement, when with distance from it, it may have just been a question) that
made me automatically feel as if I needed to defend my position. I don’t think he attacked me, or insulted me,
but I bristled just the same. “Do our
traditions push down on a genuine movement of the Spirit by seeking to deny the
emotional connection to a given song or prayer or moment in worship because of
our need to adhere to form?” (I’m
paraphrasing as best as I can at a distance of a couple of hours by now.)
I think that this is a valid question. And I admit to wondering about this
myself. But I also think that when we
ask it, we need to determine whether our traditions can be understood to be interchangeable
with our belief systems. I think that my
colleague was coming from the stand point that they are one and the same. Our worship traditions are born out of our
beliefs about how we are to approach God.
How we interpret our interactions are guided can be shaped by our
traditions.
In that I agree with what was put forward. But I think where I differ (and may have been less than articulate in trying to make my point at the time) is a place where I realize that if we examine the reasons we share traditions, these very same traditions (which were new and taken up over time before they became tradition) help us to begin spiritual practices meant to bring us into communion with God. They are not meant to be a substitute for Grace, but are rather a means to participate in receiving Grace. (Wesleyan thought process alert!)
In that I agree with what was put forward. But I think where I differ (and may have been less than articulate in trying to make my point at the time) is a place where I realize that if we examine the reasons we share traditions, these very same traditions (which were new and taken up over time before they became tradition) help us to begin spiritual practices meant to bring us into communion with God. They are not meant to be a substitute for Grace, but are rather a means to participate in receiving Grace. (Wesleyan thought process alert!)
If we are intentional
in seeking to be in communion with the Spirit, we will find that communion. If
we are not, we won’t. But that is true
in traditional, contemporary, alternative, and emergent “patterns” of worship. I don’t think we can discount one in favor of
another without denying the fact that someone was stirred by the Spirit to
enter into this practice at a point and time that the Spirit chose to. What we have to be careful to avoid is a place
where we think that because the Spirit led us here yesterday, we will never be
moved again after that. After all, God
honors diversity… has established diversity… and in creation looked at all the
diversity of life and said about each area, “It is good.” God desires unity, not “sameness”… else we
would all be the same.
Contemporary worship service patterns, even in their lack of
apparent “form” or tradition, do follow a traditional pattern of worship. Beginning with songs of praise and adoration…
prayers for the Spirit’s anointing of the sacred time and space of worship…
preaching the word, and exhortation… followed by a call to action in creation
(either personal or social). These have
been shared by every worshiping body since God established Israel (and historical evidence suggests they occurred even long before that). The details or specifics have changed, and
they must, but the flow of worship has not.
Beyond that… it is not the activity, but the motivation of those who participate in the activity that informs
whether a worship time is Holy, or just a social club gathering. (See Isaiah 1: 10-20)
I don’t seek to limit the powerful movement or presence of God through Spirit in anything I do. I believe that all of the Spiritual gifts that are listed in 1 Corinthians 12 are real; and beyond that I don’t think that the list is exhaustive. (There are more to be revealed if we are open to the idea that Spirit still moves and gifts as it sees fit!) But I also try to remind myself that Spirit doesn't only reveal in the ways that “I” can see or believe. If someone else has an experience that I haven’t, I don’t see them as more or less Spirit filled than me. Just differently gifted.
I don’t seek to limit the powerful movement or presence of God through Spirit in anything I do. I believe that all of the Spiritual gifts that are listed in 1 Corinthians 12 are real; and beyond that I don’t think that the list is exhaustive. (There are more to be revealed if we are open to the idea that Spirit still moves and gifts as it sees fit!) But I also try to remind myself that Spirit doesn't only reveal in the ways that “I” can see or believe. If someone else has an experience that I haven’t, I don’t see them as more or less Spirit filled than me. Just differently gifted.
And I do owe my friend an apology, and thank him for not
calling me out on my obvious error in our discussions about Spiritual
things. I kept pointing to the Greek
rendering of the word glossolalia as
being the word for gifts when the word I was reaching for (and couldn't reach) was pneumakiton; which has been
translated (depending on the translator) as Spiritual “things”, or “gifts”
alternately.[1] . Glossolalia is the Greek for the
specific gift of tongues.
The use of the term pneumakiton as it is used in 12: 1, may
have broader meaning than what is traditionally translated as “spiritual
gifts”, and according to The Social-Science Commentary on the Letters of
Paul past translations may be misleading.
Malina and Pilch offer a definition of the Greek as meaning more
accurately “spirit induced phenomena,” or “phenomena ascribable to a spirit.”
(113) Phenomena is the plural form of
phenomenon which is defined by the Encarta English Dictionary as “something
that is out of the ordinary and excites people's interest and curiosity,” or
“somebody or something that is, or is considered to be, truly extraordinary and
marvelous .” This understanding would
make more sense to a world that was based largely on a “quid pro quo”
existence. In a system rooted in ideas
and practices of patronage, a gift was unheard of and everything received was
almost certainly expected to be reciprocated.
So to receive Grace given freely or the Spirit of God without any hope
of reciprocating would truly be out of the normal range of experience. Anthony Thiselton cites earlier sources such
as Chrysostum and Luther as interpreting the Greek to mean “Concerning the
forms of action which proceed from the Holy Spirit and make manifest [the
spirit’s] agency.”[2] In light of these understandings of the use
of the word pneumakiton we can begin to see the movement of the Spirit,
possibly, as “phenomenal action on the part of God” rather than simply “gifts.”
Divisions centered around “right” practice or “wrong”
practice… traditional or contemporary service… when we take up an offering… insert name of practice here, have been
around from the beginning of the Jesus movement. This isn't too far removed from the state of
the modern church. While many can agree
on the central idea of Christ as Savior, there is still much discussion
(argument?) over how He is Lord, and how we express faith. Denominations bent on, or opposed to,
tradition will wage verbal and sometimes physical battles in the name of
Christian doctrine and practice.
Claims to knowledge of “correct” practice from one group or another have
much of the modern Church practicing Gnosticism in form if not in the actual
belief of some “secret” knowledge. (We
all want to believe that ours is a specially revealed understanding of God’s
will just for us on some level don’t we?)
I guess that means that in a way, we already have returned to some of
the practices (i.e. discords, diversity of practices, etc.) of our earliest
ancestors in faith haven’t we?
Paul’s challenge to the believers at Corinth really seems relevant in light of these renewed modern controversies. And his definition of what the true (discerned by searching the scripture) Holy Spirit in action could look like and accomplish, helps us to remember that even in diversity we can find a way to move closer to the One gift giver in unity. It just may be that if we begin to allow those who have received a phenomenal action on the part of God, whatever it may be, to begin to carry that action forward, we will see a genuine edification of God’s people in connection to a physical manifestation of the Power and its presence in creation.
Paul’s challenge to the believers at Corinth really seems relevant in light of these renewed modern controversies. And his definition of what the true (discerned by searching the scripture) Holy Spirit in action could look like and accomplish, helps us to remember that even in diversity we can find a way to move closer to the One gift giver in unity. It just may be that if we begin to allow those who have received a phenomenal action on the part of God, whatever it may be, to begin to carry that action forward, we will see a genuine edification of God’s people in connection to a physical manifestation of the Power and its presence in creation.
So, thank you to Damon for leading me to study upon this
further. And thank you to God who has revealed something to me in this
interaction. I can only believe that it
was a phenomenal action of the part of God that put me in that restaurant this
morning when I had no real plans to be there.
Praise be to the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of us all.
Your servant in Christ,
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