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IDOLS, OH HOGWASH!

 I have been in liturgical churches most of my life; they follow the Christian Calendar of seasons and times of the life of Jesus Christ. They have colors that represent those times and certain decorations are put out. On occasion, incense is burned with a meaning behind doing so. At other times certain candles are used with a meaning as in the Advent wreath. Then there are the ashes on our foreheads to bring home the point of Lent and remind us of Christ in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. Sometimes there are visual aids like a Crucifix to shock us into the reality of the awful price of our salvation and freedom from sin. Then there are the bare crosses representing the resurrection of the empty tomb and empty cross. Pictures and statues are part of visual help as is the beautiful stained glass that tells stories of the Holy Bible.

Now these are not to be worshipped and become idols. They are merely to help remind and teach us the life stories of Jesus. They help us remember to pray, show reverence to God, and help us remember the teachings of Jesus. Some teach us how to be saved.

I have spent a year in an Evangelical church and they all but ignore the Christian Calendar. I forgot we were so close to Easter because they have no markers for religious holidays except that holy day they have an Easter service. Otherwise, it is just business as usual. They see any liturgical things utilized to teach and remember the Trinity as idols being worshipped. They also immediately think only Catholics are liturgical. So what about Greek Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans, oh my?

Now if the Liturgical church and Evangelical church could hybrid each other that would be fantastic. Evangelical churches have powerful preaching and Bible studies. If only they would start blessing the Holy Communion. Deep sigh of the spirit. Oh, for the love of Saint Peter! 




Comments

  1. Richard Stutz March 22, 2024 at 6:59 PM

    https://bobrussell.org/a-dangerous-meal/ Great article on Holy Communion.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 24, 2024 at 8:32 AM

    The symbolical reminders are very important also because studying the Bible in the context of the eàson you're in....its appropriate, it matters and keeps the readings in good perspective..from experience... Presbyterian and Episcopalian do not great recruiting for lack of a. Better word to bring people in. Our best is at coffee hour where our community meets after or before church. We welcome all there but we don't really go door to door. We could doa little better but it hasn't really been our history to do a lot more or different. You already know this also
    Its great to read your blog Richard !

    ReplyDelete

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