Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Thoughts on Liturgy Response
Nicholas Wolterstorff, the 2006 commencement speaker at Calvin College, has a sizeable collection of works in the Hekman Library on topics spanning Ethics to Education. But my most recent reading from Wolterstorff came from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music Colloquium Journal. Wolterstoff responds to an essay by Christopher Dustin “The Liturgy of Theory” in which Dustin explores the formation of liturgy and how the term theory applies to liturgy. Now it’s my turn. What is liturgy? Why bother with theory? Can I really make a synopsis of a 2 page response? Oh, you bet I can!
The first thing that pops into my head when I read/hear the word “theory” is Relativity, followed closely by the word “model”. Type “theory” into Google and the first site listed in the official String Theory page. Science has taken theory as its own. While I may not know Greek, I know the Greeks. The Greeks were geeks. They knew their science. Dustin’s essay ties theory and liturgy together through Greek vocabulary and thought. But Dustin ends up using theory to mean contemplation, which is fine and good. But how does theory as a science term influence liturgy? Theory in science is simply a way to understand why things are the way they are. Theories are not permanent, if a better method of understanding is found, the old theory is tossed. Take Relativity and String Theory as examples, each theory provides a way to understand the universe. We don’t have a way to prove either of them wrong or right, yet..., so they both remain theories until we find the actual way the universe works. Each branch of science has theories that are important. Now take a dramatic leap (this is my favorite part) and think of worship as a science. What is your theory of worship? How do you best understand worship? Are you a “praise and worship"-er or a “traditional hymn"-er? What do the sacraments mean to you? What actions are appropriate in your church? If it isn’t apparently obvious by now, here it is straight out. Your theory of worship will define your liturgy. Just as there is more than one way to explain the workings of the universe; there are probably just as many ways to view worship.
But all theories are not equal. Turning back to Wolterstorff will provide us with an accurate picture of the liturgy that we at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship hold dear to our heart. So I think of liturgy as being, in good measure, not contemplation (as Dustin writes) but dialogue. Worship should be dialogue. The Vertical Habits program is an effort in just that direction. We invited a select group of churches to create resources for worship and learning under the themes of phrases that we share with God in worship. “Help!”, “I’m Sorry”, “Thank You” are just some examples of dialogue in worship. Wolterstorff draws from antiquity to support this dialogue theory of worship. While the Greeks viewed their gods, Israel heard God. And Wolterstorff continues to say that listening is not a passive sitting. Listening is an action; ”Full, Active and, Concious Participation” is a “joint practice of engaging each other (both people and God) in dialogue and sacramental action.”
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