Order VS Chaos

I hear it often. The Orthodox Church is accused of worrying more about ritual than ‘The Word’ when it comes to worship. True, our Liturgy is filled with ritual elements. The same can be said for our protestant brothers and sisters who indict us. Just because something has ritual doesn’t mean it isn’t based on ‘The Word’.

BRETHREN, when you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each one of them keep silence in church and speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another by sitting by, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged; and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. But God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. What! Did the word of God originate with you, or are you the only one it has reached? If any one thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord. If any one does not recognize this, he is not recognized. So, my brethren, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues; but all things should be done decently and in order.

1^st Corinthians 14.26-40

Let’s be honest with each other. All human life exists in a ritual. Henry David Thoreau proved as much in the 19^th century. We wake up and ritual determines what we do, when we do it, and how we do it. Ritual shapes just about every moment of the day until we sleep. It is who we are, and it is how we stay alive.

Whether it is called habit or ritual, the patterns of our lives are deep rooted even when we worship. One thing Saint Paul was addressing in today’s passage was the order of worship. “God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” When life is in chaos, it is not according to God’s ‘way’ of creation. So, let’s look at worship for a moment.

From the moment we enter the Church, no matter what service we are attending, ritual ‘kicks in’ and allows us the freedom to concentrate on God rather than where we step our feet. We learn, after years of doing, the order of services and the expectation of our behavior. From the outside it may seem as if we are ritual focused. On the inside, we are allowing our bodies to worship God along with our mind and heart.

We may light candles and kiss icons as part of our ritual, but that does not mean Protestants do not have rituals of their own. If you attend just a few services of the nearest Protestant Church and you will notice the service follows the same pattern each week. Some hymns change while other ‘favorite’ hymns remain the same. The ‘worship bulletin’ leads visitors through the service, but regulars already know what comes next because of ritual. One hymn leads to one prayer which leads to a sermon followed by another hymn etc. This is ritual.

It is important to also remember that God established the first patterns of worship in the Temple. You can read about that in the Old Testament. These rituals weren’t to force us into behavior, but to prepare us for behavior.

All worship is to lead us to God. Since God is a God of order, then worship must have order. In our specific Orthodox Tradition, our ritual is based upon the patterns of the Old Testament. The Old Testament ritual was built upon the patterns already taking place in Heaven.

Prophet Isaiah and Saint John the Theologian both witnessed God being worshipped in heaven. They both wrote about their experience. They did not witness chaos but order. Saint Paul wasn’t trying to quash the creativity of the people. He was preparing the people for the orderly worship of God in Heaven.

One final word about ritual in terms of worship. Our Orthodox Liturgy has been practically unchanged for centuries. This allows the faithful to focus on prayer rather than action. We don’t have to bother with turning pages to ‘keep up’ with the choir. Even the hymns and readings unique to a particular day have a pattern that we learn through time.

If the ritual of worship is confusing, it is only because you do not attend enough for the patterns to settle into your consciousness. It is easier, and frankly more appropriate, for you to fix your attendance habits than to change the services for your personal desire.