Recovering Ancient Practices
The issue of Liturgy dealing with “Liturgy and Identity,” guest-edited by Matthew Lawrence Pierce, looks at how liturgical practices form the identities of individuals and communities. What follows is an excerpt from Winfield Bevins’ essay on what young adults are seeking in worship today to nurture their spiritual lives. –– Melinda Quivik
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God’s story helps us understand the true nature of God by focusing our hearts and minds on the message of redemption in such a way that it transforms and changes us. This is far more than simply grasping bare historical facts or embracing philosophical beliefs. History is full of amazing tales about great men and women of faith God has used to change the course of humankind and influence the world with the Word of God. Their lives were captured by the transformative power of God’s story. They were drawn by it and drawn into it so that their lives now form part of the unfolding narrative.
Sadly, as a result of the philosophical movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the rise of individualism and a materialist understanding of the world, we now live in a story-deprived world. Ours is an age in which people don’t know where they come from or where they are going. People today tend to focus on “the now” at the expense of the past, investing in what is temporal rather than what is eternal. Many contemporary Christians have historical “amnesia.” They are missing vital aspects of the faith that are necessary for spiritual growth and maturity, and as a result they lack roots—an understanding of where they have come from and who they really are. Christians today have lost hold of our collective story. That loss is one reason why liturgy resonates with so many. The recovery of liturgy offers them a way to reenter the narrative, to reengage with the story.
Our contemporary lack of historical awareness can be partially remedied by reconnecting to the historic words, songs, and patterns practiced by Christians from generations past. This connection to the past, rooted in God’s Word, helps us to discover our own place in God’s story. Through a beautiful blending of ancient foundations and a vision for the future, liturgical traditions offer a sense of belonging (connection) and a sense of purpose (meaning) by aligning our lives with the Christian narrative of redemption. As our hearts, minds, and bodies are formed by this narrative, it offers a fresh word to our present age. Liturgy frees us from having to create our own story from our limited perspective and experience. Instead, it invites us to find our place and allows us to join God’s story.
Liturgy helps us relinquish our desires to serve ourselves and invites us to surrender by selflessly serving God and others. Liturgy does this by immersing our lives in God-centered worship on a regular basis. Liturgy is formative, telling again and again a story that holistically inoculates us from a human-centered experience of worship.
Much of contemporary Christian worship tends to focus on the individual. It is “me-centered,” written and designed to emphasize how “I” feel or what I must do. It feeds the ego and sense of self-importance, but these are not helpful or formative for following Jesus on the path of discipleship. Liturgy is designed to free us from the worship of self in order to focus our hearts on the triune God.
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The full article and issue of Liturgy 35, no. 2 is available by personal subscription and through many libraries.
Winfield Bevins is the Director of the Asbury Seminary Church Planting Initiative in Wilmore, Kentucky, and author of Ever Ancient, Ever New: The Allure of Liturgy for a New Generation (Zondervan, 2019).
Winfield Bevins, “Young, Restless, and Liturgical: Young Adults and the Search for Identity,” Liturgy 35, no. 2 (2020): 18-24.