Thursday, July 16, 2015
Finding LIturgy
Alissa Wilkinson links to James K. A. Smith:
This latter observation seems really important when it comes to how we do church. If we make it too convenient, if we make it to easy to fit into their schedule, are we building habits?
Don't we need to build habits?
habits liturgy vocation
If we want to pursue God in our vocations, we need to immerse ourselves in rituals and rhythms and practices whereby the love of God seeps into our very character—is woven into, not just how we think, but who we are.There are two things I deeply love about that. One is sanctifying our work and the other is that the liturgical is the habitual and the habitual defines who we are in some very real sense.
This is one of the reasons why worship is not some escape from “the work week.” To the contrary, our worship rituals train our hearts and aim our desires toward God and his kingdom so that when we are sent from worship to take up our work, we do so with a habituated orientation toward the Lover of our souls.
This is also why we need to think about habit-shaping practices—“vocational liturgies,” we might call them—that can sustain this love throughout the week. This was John Calvin’s vision for the city of Geneva: he wanted to see the entire city governed by the rhythms of morning and evening prayer and psalms-singing, not just for monks and “religious” folk but for all of the butchers and bakers and candlestick makers whose work was equally holy.
This latter observation seems really important when it comes to how we do church. If we make it too convenient, if we make it to easy to fit into their schedule, are we building habits?
Don't we need to build habits?
habits liturgy vocation
