In Our Church

ADVANCE NOTICE: the following joke could be used with almost any christian group - because in fact, many groups want to make this claim - but in my experience, it works best this way:

Once upon a time, there was a meeting of the Pastors of a local community who had gathered to address the issue of what could be done to help those who were in need,  the hungry and homeless. After some discussion on the subject and after they had made some decisions about outreach the hungry and homeless the discussion shifted to they way they each conducted worship services. The Orthodox priest in the group kept pretty quiet, neither asking questions nor volunteering observations. Finally, they all turned to him and said, “Father, you’ve been very quiet. Don’t you have anything to say about our different worship styles, or perhaps you could share how you guys do worship?”

After trying to get out of answering – he just wanted to go home by this point, but realized he’d missed his chance on that – he answered.

“Well, I guess we all have different ways of worshipping the same God. . . . You Roman Catholics like your vestments and bells and are committed to following along your tradition. And since there’s lots of folk who grew up in the Catholic Church I guess it’s OK that you to do things your way. . . . And you Charismatic folk – well, you seem to shy away from any kind of formality and like louder music and a contemporary sound and not much structure, but since many folks like things that way, I guess it’s pretty good that you do things your way. . . . And you Baptists and Alliance fellows – you’re very much committed to evangelism which I think is a wonderful thing, and you stick pretty close to the Bible when it comes to preaching and you try to find out where people are at when you design your worship services. I guess it’s pretty good that you do things your way. . . . And you Reformed folk – you’re pretty conservative I noticed, and you don’t really like much change, so you’ve stuck with the older style of music and a more traditional order of worship. I guess that since there are lots of people who grew up with that and like it, it’s OK that you folks do things your way as well.”

“But what about you guys in the Orthodox Church? How do you do things when you worship? They all asked him.

“Well, as I’ve said based on the people you want to reach and the different traditions you’ve all come from, you’ve all become pretty committed to worshipping God in your own different ways. We Orthodox, on the other hand, from the very beginnings have simply tried to continue to worship God in His way.”

A little blunt, perhaps, but at it’s core, it’s a pretty good summary of why we Orthodox Christians worship they way we do – with very little change And we all – many millions of us – worship God day in and day out in pretty much the same that that its always been done. In fact our “Contemporary Service” dates back a holy man named John Chrysostom., and the late 4^th Century – almost yesterday in the eyes of the Holy Church!

Our worship is perhaps the greatest reason why the most effective evangelical invitation we can give people is that of our Master, 

 

                  “Come, and see.” [John 1.39]

And why would this be so?

First, “Come and see” is a most effective evangelical invitation because worship is prayer, and prayer is an encounter expressing and leading to our union with God, and that’s what converts folk – encounters with God. You and I may very well be instrumental in bringing people to Christ our God, perhaps even to the point where we become as parents to them in the Faith, but ultimately conversion is a matter between God and each individual.

I remember attending a seminar on evangelism in my pre-Orthodox days, and I was struck by something one of the presenters said. He asked the rhetorical question,

“What’s the most important thing about the evangelical encounter?”

And his answer, delivered after we’d had a few moments to consider it, was:

“Duck! – or, in other words, get out of God’s way!”

Each of us has the ability – perhaps disability would be a better word – to get in God’s way when it comes to drawing people into the Faith once delivered. I know this because I am among the first in this area. I love to talk about the Faith. Let’s be honest, I love talking and perhaps even love the sound of my own voice too much! And it’s all too easy for me to drown a fragile enquirer in my words. So much simpler just to say “Come and See” and let them be confronted with the Word Who is revealed and encountered in Orthodox worship – Christ Jesus Himself.

Second, “Come and see” is the best evangelical strategy because it is in our worship that who we are as Orthodox Christians is most fully revealed. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, and heard of, people reflecting on an Orthodox worship experience with such words as “It’s all about Him, isn’t it.” And, “You do all this when there’s so few people present? Wow!”

May we find such joy in our participation in the liturgical life of the Church that we may be bold enough to say “Come, and see.”

Glory be to Jesus Christ! May His glory be for ever!