LAKE JAMES

NORTH CAROLINA

Lent V [C] + March 25, 2007 + Saint Paul’s Church, Lake James

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

For over a thousand years, churches of the West have covered crosses, statues, and holy pictures with veils during Lent. In some places, the veiling spanned the entire 40 days of the season while in others, veils were only used during the final two weeks. In any case, the purpose of that custom was, and is, to make the church seem different, even strange! By removing some of the most familiar landmarks such as the lovely colorful banners which usually adorn the nave, and by covering the crosses, we transform the familiar parish church into a kind of wilderness. As you may remember, being led into the wilderness is a frequent event in the Bible, one which often seems to be provided so that, freed from the familiar, people might sort out the truly important from the less so, thus getting things right in their relationship to God, to their vocations, and to other people, which is also why the Church provides us with the season of Lent.

Well, so what? Who cares? Are you wondering whether Father Zadig is taking sermon time just to talk about things which would only have value in games of an Episcopalian version of Trivial Pursuit? I do hope you know that that’s not the case! This sermon is about the use of symbols and ceremonies, symbols and ceremonies which are not unimportant or trivial at all. Why bother? First, because the use of symbols and ceremonies is something found in all cultures and all the years of human history. While that use expresses deep human needs, it can be effective, it can be useless, even silly, and, in some situations, can be quite harmful. The symbols or ceremonies which individuals adopt and use for their own private lives are usually retained or abandoned on the basis of perceived meaningfulness or usefulness, but when symbols and ceremonies are used by groups, difficulties frequently arise. What is meaningful, or helpful, to one person may be worth less, or even worthless to another. Nowhere is that more clearly experienced than in the religious dimension. Here, externals are intended both to teach and to increase devotion. Whether in fact, they do, may depend on a number of factors, one of which, at least, is whether people understand what the symbol exists to signify or the ceremony is intended to teach.

There is an old story about an Episcopal church which had a rather unusual ceremonial custom. At the entrance rite, as the processional came down the center aisle, the acolytes and priests walked quite normally until they reached the altar rail. Then, even though the sanctuary was on the same level as the rest of the church, they lifted their feet high as though they were climbing over a hedge! That went on for years until a new Rector arrived and had the curiosity to ask why they did that. Nobody seemed to know. Finally, an elderly parishioner remembered that, many years previously, there had been a very high step there. Although the step had long ago been removed in a renovation, the lifting high of the legs had become an established ceremonial and never been changed! Silly, but true! (Perhaps those folk had not noticed the line in our reading from the Hebrew Scriptures this morning in which, according to one translation, God says “cease to dwell on days gone by.”)

In a profound book entitled “Principles of Religious Ceremonial,” the late Walter Frere, who was Bishop of Truro (that’s England, not Cape Cod), wrote these insightful words: “There are no such things as mere externals.” His point was that every external implies and has reference to something internal and needs to be understood and evaluated in that light. One of the truths about human functioning is that ceremonies, just like art, often express inner realities which are difficult, if not impossible to express by other means. A twin truth is that externals such as symbols and ceremonies are often both the results of doctrines and their inculcators. For example, as simple an act as bowing one’s head at the name of Jesus expresses reverence for the Lord, but also teaches it – teaches it to those who observe it even as it reinforces it in the one doing the bowing. So, point number one: Religious symbols and ceremonies are not (or should not be) mere fussiness or pageantry, but rather, aids to help understand and reinforce important aspects of our faith.

Symbols and ceremonies are, obviously, designed by human beings, not God. Even in the Bible where Divine authority is provided for particular actions such as in the 3rd chapter of Exodus where God says to Moses “take off your shoes because the place on which you are standing is holy ground” or from the New Testament, words we will hear Jesus say on Maundy Thursday “As I have washed your feet, so you should wash the feet of others” – even there, the actions commanded are cast in terms meaningful to the period and culture of those receiving the message. Sometimes, some customs do not transcend the centuries very well. Think of this: few of us, I suspect, would be edified by following the directions provided in the Bible for slaughtering animals to be offered as sacrifices to God, nor would we be apt to find that taking off our shoes, or insisting on covering the heads of men (or women) in church seem to be necessary for us in order to offer meaningful worship to God. Which brings me to Point number 2: It is no lessening of the worthiness of some symbols or ceremonies to realize that their effectiveness may vary as times change, and that they can and should be changed if their purpose will be better served by newer customs.

It is often said, and quite rightly, that the Anglican version of Christianity is incarnational. That is, we place great emphasis on the fact that the Word was made flesh – God the Son took on the physical fullness of humanity, thereby making the physical holy. In a short while, we will bless two new containers for holy oils – one which will contain the oil used in the anointing of the sick in the Sacrament of Holy Unction, and one in which the blessed oil used at baptism will be kept. Blessing those containers will set them apart for their sacred use but also signifies that things can be made holy. Do you see the parallel to the use of ceremonies? Consider the way the Gospel is heard at the Eucharist. The Gospels are accounts of both the life and teachings of Jesus and so, instead of being read from the lectern, the reading appointed for use is brought into the midst of the congregation the way Jesus Himself came into the midst of the people. Both that simple procession and our custom of standing emphasize the uniqueness of the Gospel message if we think about it, if it matters to us. Like any other ceremonial, what we do at the Gospel time can be insignificant, formalistic, or truly meaningful, helping to bring us closer to God.

Think of it – it is possible to worship God – truly to worship – without a special building called “a church.” It is possible to worship God without a cross in the church, without candles, or vestments. It is possible to worship God, as we did two weeks ago, without organ music (but speaking not only for myself, I am sure for the whole parish, we are so very glad to have Debbie – and her fine playing – back with us). There are Christians of other traditions who not only do not use the kind of externals I have been mentioning, they actively forbid them. My point is not to judge the way others worship, but to say that, in the Anglican approach to God, we both celebrate and appreciate symbols and ceremonies which enrich and aid us in our worship.

Many of our parishioners at St. Paul’s Church have come from other religious traditions in which such things as a formal liturgy, bowing or genuflecting when entering a pew, kneeling for prayer, making the Sign of the Cross, or bowing one’s head at the Name of Jesus, are not customary and so may feel strange, even alien. From time to time I have been asked by newcomers to the Episcopal Church whether God cares whether they do or don’t learn and practice those ceremonies. I believe the correct answer is that what God cares about is whether one participates in worship as deeply and meaningfully as possible, both so that one’s worship is truly expressive of our love for God but also so that one receives the fullness of grace and joy which should be byproducts of that worship.

Some of us who came from other Traditions, (including both of your priests,) know that, at first, there were many aspects of the liturgy which bewildered us – we wondered when to stand and when to kneel, what page others were on, looked out of the corner of our eyes to see when people were bowing or making the Sign of the Cross, and hoped we weren’t so far out of step with everyone else that others were staring at us. It is possible to be so self-conscious about what one does or doesn’t do and when, there is hardly any time or energy left really to worship God! If you fit that description, please relax! If you ever studied piano, or typing, you know that, at first, all you could do was to stare at the keyboard but, with time and practice, it became less threatening and even familiar. Let me assure you that the same will happen in terms of your participation in the liturgy. In the same way if you are one who is comfortable with the liturgy, but find some ceremonies new to you, may I just say I hope you will give them a try, trusting that they might be helpful to enhancing your worship of God. I would be more than happy to talk privately about any of this with you if you wish.

In the Collect for today, we asked God to enable us to fix our hearts where true joys are to be found, that is, to fix our hearts on God. Doing that starts with God’s grace to help us, but it continues with our own acts of the will, our desire, and the faithful practice of our faith. And it is in the practice of that faith that symbols and ceremonies come in, which is why, this morning, we have not been considering unimportant details but resources which can be of significant help in our worship of God – if we let them. That’s worth thinking about! That’s worth praying about! It’s even worth preaching about!

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The Reverend Alfred T. K. Zadig, Sr.

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