RITUAL: GOOD OR BAD?
I have
heard people in Protestant circles speak of ritual in a negative light, as if
to imply that ritual is meaningless and disconnected from sincerity. In my
recent studies on corporate prayer for my doctoral thesis, however, I have
concluded that this thought is unsubstantiated, for sincerity is truly rooted
in the heart, not the action. An action might surely stem from a sincere or
insincere heart. Nonetheless, the action is the result of the heart. Realizing
this should cause us to pontificate upon our ideas of sincerity and furthermore
of ritual. In many evangelical camps, ritual is frowned upon; yet, nearly every
church participates in some type of ritual (perhaps unbeknownst). I find it
ironic that many who churches which admit to not using a liturgy are, in many
ways, the most apt to abide by a liturgy, i.e. while they may not strictly
follow a lectionary, they certainly abide by their own order, which often lends
itself to routine and ritual; what are the roots of those rituals though? Perhaps
because the routine is disparate from a liturgical church (those that follow a
lectionary), the subconscious thought (in some free traditions) is that ritual
is not present; yet, it absolutely is. Here is the question then: is ritual
good or bad? If what I propose is true, namely that ritual is disconnected from
both sincerity and insincerity, how should we approach it? Should we abandon it
or realize its helpfulness? To answer these questions, I have three thoughts
regarding ritual.
Sincerity Is Not Linked to Ritual or Spontaneity
We should
be careful not to falsely link sincerity to either ritual or spontaneity.
Sincerity is a matter of the heart, for out of the heart, the mouth speaks
(Luke 6:45). The idea that sincerity is somehow dependent on either ritual or
spontaneity is unsubstantiated, i.e. there is no practical and (much more)
biblical support for the idea. I would define sincerity as genuineness of the
heart, i.e. one’s words and actions reflect the attitude of their heart. It is
important that God’s people are sincere in worship; yet, sincerity is not found
in the routine actions we employ in our worship practices. Additionally,
sincerity is found apart from spontaneity. What might be derived from the truth
here is that one may surely be sincere in both ritual and spontaneity.
Certainly, the Holy Spirit guides spontaneously; however, he also guides God’s
people through rigorous and careful planning. What we can imply then is that
the one who prays using a scripted and prepared prayer could be equally as
sincere as the one who prays extemporaneously. For sincerity to protrude from
the believer’s life, the heart must be found in right standing with God in the
righteousness of Jesus Christ.
We Are Not Formed without Repetition
James K.A.
Smith says, “. . . there is no formation without repetition.”[1]
Logic would ask to consider Smith’s statement and likely conclude the truth in
it. I speak from personal experience when I say that the areas of growth in my
life have come largely from repetition. Whether spiritual growth or growth in
an area such as musicianship, athletic ability, or academic growth, the more I
repeated something, the better I became at it. Spiritually speaking, many of
the deep and mysterious truths of the faith that I acquired over the years were
planted in me through repetition, e.g. scripture memorization, attending weekly
worship growing up, and singing hymns consistently. In those cases then,
sincerity is certainly evident in the routines. The routines themselves did not
bring about sincerity. Sincerity, in fact, was neither caused nor hindered by
routine. Through routine, however, I was formed in the power of the Holy Spirit.
If we consider our spiritual journeys and those in our lives who have been
largely responsible for fostering our growth, we might remember repetitive
practices such as memorizing scripture, worshiping with God’s people on a
weekly basis, reading the Bible, and praying with God’s people. These are
repetitive actions, but through repetition, God has formed and continues to
form us. When an athlete trains, they repeat; when a musician rehearses, they
repeat; why would Christians not do the same in their spiritual journeys then?
Far be it from us to criticize repetition because there is no formation
without repetition.
Much Liturgical Ritual Comes from Deep Roots
As already
mentioned, nearly every church adheres to some type of liturgy, i.e. while
there may not be a strict adherence to a lectionary, an order of worship is
usually present. With that in mind
then, we should understand that many of our weekly worship practices and
routines are deeply rooted in an unmatched depth of theological reason. Even in
Protestant and rather progressive traditions, our rituals stem from
historically and biblically based practices, many of which are centuries old. I
know of no one who would suggest ridding the local church of the communion
table; yet, it is an ordinance of the church instituted by Jesus himself the
night before he was crucified. It is, therefore, an old tradition. The same is
true for practices such as proclaiming the mystery of faith.[2]
Not only is this proclamation found in the text of Scripture, but it has been
proclaimed since the early church. These are two examples among many; the point
is that routine is not always empty. Certainly, it can be if the heart is not
right. The roots of many rituals, however, are deep and both biblically and
historically based. We then should not be so quick to throw the baby out with
the bathwater.
We should
answer the original question then: is ritual good or bad? The answer is yes, implying
that ritual may be either good or bad depending on the heart. I submit,
nonetheless, that routine or ritual in and of itself should not be the
determining factor to answer this question. Rather the heart should be.
Sincerity is not solely linked to tradition or spontaneity; it is, in fact, a
matter of the heart. If a tradition possesses deep roots and is beneficial for
the church in a substantial manner, why would we not keep it? Let us carefully
examine all our worship practices and act accordingly. There is no formation
without repetition so let the church cling to the ever-true mysteries of the
faith and worship God in sincerity and with a clean heart.
[1] James K.A. Smith, Imagining
the Kingdom: How Worship Works (Baker Academic, 2013).
[2] “Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come
again.”
