The Day of Days
We had a full throttle, pin your ears back, kick in the pants worship service on the first Sunday of Easter a couple of weeks back. That organ that cost us more than the GNP of an island nation was wide open from prelude to postlude. The hand bells were out there on one side of the chancel with two trumpets and two trombones on the other. The choir sang three full-length anthems, spaced within the order of worship. And, oh yeah, the Hallelluia chorus responded to the benediction.
The sermon, which had its moments, was given within a packed sanctuary. The liturgy had a special zing to it, the liturgists had voice and rhythm, and the Sacrament of Holy Communion moved people, not just to the Lord’s table, but in other ways as well. It was just a splendid thing in which to participate.
The worship on the Second Sunday of Easter had many features to commend itself, but it wasn’t like the Sunday previous. Is this a problem?
I had never thought that it might be until I heard an interview with a pastor on the radio, as part of an NPR puff piece during Holy Week. He was asked if he was going to pull out all the stops for Easter. No, he said. His church tried to avoid doing anything on Easter that wasn’t done the rest of the year. He mentioned that he didn’t want Easter visitors to come back the next Sunday and feel let down.
Now I must add that this pastor’s church has the words “worship center” in its name. He preaches with a jumbo-tron behind him, on which movie clips and other illustrating images are displayed. You know there’s a soft-rock praise band balanced by a small orchestra, opera-quality soloists on call, and high production values all over the place. So the guy’s not exactly chillin’ with the Quakers week in and week out. He’s got the rockem-sockem worship factor going on every Sunday.
But does he make a verbal point if not a lived one? Do we make too much of a liturgical deal over the Sunday celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord? Should we reclaim some of the plainly decorated style of the Puritan side of our family? Does our current practice give the lie to the fact that it’s Easter every Sunday?
From the opposite direction, perhaps we need to ramp up all the other services to match Easter’s. But would that be more about marketing than about praise?
Just wondering.
The sermon, which had its moments, was given within a packed sanctuary. The liturgy had a special zing to it, the liturgists had voice and rhythm, and the Sacrament of Holy Communion moved people, not just to the Lord’s table, but in other ways as well. It was just a splendid thing in which to participate.
The worship on the Second Sunday of Easter had many features to commend itself, but it wasn’t like the Sunday previous. Is this a problem?
I had never thought that it might be until I heard an interview with a pastor on the radio, as part of an NPR puff piece during Holy Week. He was asked if he was going to pull out all the stops for Easter. No, he said. His church tried to avoid doing anything on Easter that wasn’t done the rest of the year. He mentioned that he didn’t want Easter visitors to come back the next Sunday and feel let down.
Now I must add that this pastor’s church has the words “worship center” in its name. He preaches with a jumbo-tron behind him, on which movie clips and other illustrating images are displayed. You know there’s a soft-rock praise band balanced by a small orchestra, opera-quality soloists on call, and high production values all over the place. So the guy’s not exactly chillin’ with the Quakers week in and week out. He’s got the rockem-sockem worship factor going on every Sunday.
But does he make a verbal point if not a lived one? Do we make too much of a liturgical deal over the Sunday celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord? Should we reclaim some of the plainly decorated style of the Puritan side of our family? Does our current practice give the lie to the fact that it’s Easter every Sunday?
From the opposite direction, perhaps we need to ramp up all the other services to match Easter’s. But would that be more about marketing than about praise?
Just wondering.
As Ever,
Dee
Dee
posted by Rick at 6:23 AM
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