Why We Worship the Way we Do: Part Two

In the New Testament, the Church would gather in synagogues and in people’s homes for worship. The earliest archeological evidence of a building used solely for Christian worship is in 257 A.D. By the early fourth century, pagan temples were stripped of their idols and consecrated for Christian worship. In these early churches, there were no pews and people gathered and stood as a crowd throughout the services. The elders and bishops led worship from a raised area called an “apse,” an architectural term meaning “vault,” or a “chancel,” meaning “rail,” an area reserved for instruction. These areas often featured vaulted ceilings and rails to both enhance the sound and protect the preachers from pressing crowds who had come to hear the Gospel. As the early choirs led processions into the church carrying the Gospels, the candles, the cross, the chalice and the bread, the crowds made way to allow the procession to come through the center of the church.

This center aisle led from the Narthex doors all the way up to the Chancel, an area also called a “Sanctuary,” meaning “holy or set apart,” symbolic of the Jewish Temple’s Holy of Holies. The center aisle symbolized the seeker’s journey on the straight and narrow road that leads to salvation (Matthew 7:14). Today, we refer to the whole room as a “Sanctuary” and the area where the Communion Table, Lectern and Pulpit are placed as the “Chancel.” This procession down the center aisle was a symbolic act of the entire church coming in to worship. On special days, the congregation would often gather with the choir and clergy outside of the church and process through the streets, into the church building and down the center aisle. As the years passed, the center aisle became a sacred space and worshippers gathered on opposite sides of the room to remember that they were supported on either side by fellow Christians in this journey, as well as surrounded and aided by the angels and saints above (Hebrews 12:1-2). The leaders of the early church officiated many rites and acts of worship from the center aisle as a sign that worship is done among the people and by the people, rather than for the people and to the people.

Why We Worship the Way we Do: Part One

“I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’ (Psalm 122:1)

Everything we do in Church has a purpose. How one acts and what one does in Church says a great deal about what one believes and practices. Whenever we hear the National Anthem, men take off their hats and everyone places their hand over their heart. It is a sign of respect, a tradition that honors what it means to be a citizen of the United States of America. Likewise, what we do in Church honors Christ and our gestures, words, and actions convey our honor and respect to God. Over the next several weeks we will highlight aspects of our worship service to help explain what we do, why we do it and what it teaches.

We are in God’s house, not our own and many believe that we have a right to worship God however we choose to worship God. You may have the right to buy your wife a power tool for Valentine’s Day, but will your wife appreciate it as much as if you bought her roses? In the same manner, worship at FCC refocuses us in ways that some may not see as important. Worship is not an event for our entertainment or from which we are to GET something. It is an event to which we come to give of ourselves. Our worship seeks to refocus our lives away from serving ourselves to serving God.

When one enters FCC, one enters the Narthex. The large gathering area was anciently a small closet where worshipers might offer prayers of confession before going into worship, recalling the words of Christ in Matthew 6:6. Over the years, it has become a gathering area to meet and greet one another and prepare for worship. We call this room the Sanctuary, but in the early church it was called the “Nave,” from the Roman word “navis” meaning, “ship.” We get our word “Navy” from the same root. The early church often identified itself as a ship under sail. It is an ancient symbol used by the early Christians to designate a place to gather for worship. The Church is portrayed in sacred art as a ship moving heavenward with its pews seen as ancient galley benches where all the members are thought to be pulling together.

The World says, "Easter is over." But its NOT!

What a tremendous celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. The sanctuary was filled with the scent of spring, the sound of brass and the sight of every pew filled. The proclamation of the empty tomb was heralded in word and song at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The extra chairs are now put away, the flowers went home with the donors in an effort to make sure they come back next year in flower gardens and the familiar sound of the organ will replace the orchestral sounds of this past week. For many, it is finished…again. Easter is not just a day! It is a season. Easter proper is 40 days long as its celebration responds to the 40 days of prayer and repentance through Lent. The day of Ascension, when Christ ascended into heaven to take his seat at the right hand of the Father, marks a turning point as 10 days after that, the Church celebrates the Day of Pentecost, the definite end of the Easter season. These 50 days of are a continuation of the Church’s celebration of Christ’s victory over death. The death, burial and resurrection of Christ are connected and inseparable in understanding the Gospel message. Without the death the resurrection is impossible, without the resurrection the death is meaningless. Themes of the power of Christ’s resurrection will continue as the readings for each Sunday reveal the scope of God’s redemptive power. Sin is vanquished, death itself is defeated, and the victory is God’s. As children of God, we are heirs of this storehouse of grace. We are forgiven. We are transformed. We, like Christ, will be raised again to new life. We are an Easter people. It is our faith. It is the Good News. Thanks be to God.

Disciples Identity: A second century Church Part Four of Four

In our final installment of our Disciple Identity series, we have struggled through the various changes in culture and how best the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) might meet these challenges. Change is inevitable. Whether or not the change is slow as new chapters are written in our history and identity or fast as some would support a more radical approach to identity and culture, it happens often when we do not even know it. As a movement that finds much of its identity in the traditions of the early church, our contemporary movement can learn much from a focused look back.

Throughout the first and second centuries, the know world power began to loose ground. As the Empire deteriorated, the structure of Christianity gained strength in the third century, as it moved away from the looseness and democratic administration of the first and second centuries. Christianity began to appeal to the entire spectrum of society. Prior to this transition, except for a few, most Christians identified with the suffering servant as they struggled against their own problems of poverty and persecution. Soon, the aristocracy as well as the peasant and merchant classes, sought a more personal relationship with the God they had heard so much about as revealed in Christ Jesus. Up until that point, congregations were rather autonomous with elders appointing one of their own who would serve a coordinator for a geographical region. The role of bishop was crucial to Christian administrative reform: bishops were still chosen by the community in the second century, but assumed more authority as they served as leaders, with elders and deacons subject to the bishop's authority. The Church had created a hierarchy for several reasons. The spiritual overseers defended the teachings of the church (contained in the universally accepted creeds), attended to the ministries of the church beyond local congregations and mentored those who would eventually take their place.

The Roman Empire was changing. New religions were crossing paths more and more as travel became easier. The economy was much less oriented around the village and was beginning to find its growth in a global market. Trade in spices, silk and precious metal would lead to the first “world bank” run by monks. Universities were being founded as those in education were looking for new methods to prepare young people for the changing world.

Does any of this sound strangely familiar? Maybe its not an issue of writing a new chapter or a new book. Perhaps, it is simply the changes that must take place as we, like the first and second century church, changed to meet the needs of a changing world with the unchanging message of God’s love through Jesus Christ. Perhaps that is the Disciple identity. The ability to model what it means to be a true community with all of the challenges in diversity, doctrine and service. As Disciples, the issue isn’t so much how we are different from other denominations doctrinally or in practice, but how we allow for adaptation and change. We model a church that is true church, aware of our sectarian history and our universal call. The bottom line is not that we believe different things ABOUT Jesus, but that all of us, no matter our opinion, recognize that we are FOLLOWERS of Jesus…Disciples.