Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Schism
Notables :
2.4 km - 11:00 STILL! Doh... but I started my "sprint" a full 100 m earlier.. stupid machines... lying...
Looks like that's the boundary to cross then. 11:00... its getting progressively harder to whittle down my time :( Growing old.
Last weekend I went to churches. Yeah, two churches, catholic mass and then sermon at All Soul's (Anglican, multidenominational)
I do that occasionally, since I like to hear the readings and interpretations at All Soul's, and the music, oh the music.
I've written this before, but Catholic masses don't really help you interpret the Word. They read the word to you - yes. But they then contextualise it in today's world... and they don't really bother to explain it in lay english. It's almost as it they expect you to know already. The brunt of the catholic sermon isn't in the meaning of the Word, but the application of that Word in your life.
Anglican sermons are usually more pedantic... individual words explained (sometimes repeatedly, roll eyes) and sometimes if you're really lucky they even set the scene (ie in those days...) for the sermon, thus helping you understand why it was written the way it was.
Listening to the sermon at All Soul's this weekend however, I couldn't help but be taken aback when the young, handsome, fiery preacher went slightly off course and started slagging off the Catholic church (which he described as descending in a tide of darkness across europe?) It was unusual, and surprising, since usually the Anglican refrain is to pray for all churches around the world, regardless of denomination - and at a "multidenominational" Anglican church like All Soul's, which purpotedly welcomes you to take communion regardless of creed or religion even - this struck me as very, very misplaced.
Funny that - the position of the papalcy has been inclined towards reunification. During mass sometimes we even pray for healing of the rift between Christianity and Judaism. Yet here we have one brand of Christianity set against the rest...
According to him, the whole service is in Latin, making a mockery of the Word, because it is not being explained, and that these are signs of the Word falling into disuse (cleverly tied in to a reading from Luke, I think) like "the old days".
He also slagged off other protestant churches, since they have lost the focus of the Word (this I agreed with somewhat) - that it's not just all happy clappy good news and salvation - we mustn't forget Christ's death on the cross and that salvation is only through Him. He said that "King" Jesus is lost to the churches of the rest of europe, and to the Catholics especially. He was essentially ranting at an act of perceived omission - at a truth only half-told.
I looked around me and saw hordes of Anglicans nodding sagely - probably because they didn't know better - or perhaps they did but wanted to stay in their darkness? And couldn't help but feel sad.
It's ironic that a church that champions the Truth of the Word as staunchly as All Soul's also falls prone to misrepresenting that same truth, in order to gain its own ends.
I should have liked to call that speaker to task for his slightly misinformed comments - because he was misinforming the congregation, and his role is that of the Teacher.
If King Jesus is lost to the Catholics, what is he doing nailed to the crucifixes that adorn the inside and outside of every church and cathedral? Usually complete with little replicas of the wound in his side, and his crown of thorns. That same Jesus has been removed from the cross that represents modern day Christianity - why is that?
And even in High masses, the sermon is read in English - at least it is in the UK. Presumably, in europe, they're read in the lingua franca of the country.
It is the Liturgy itself is occasionally in Latin - and you can attend a lower mass if that is off-putting to yourself, and if you can't actually be bothered to find out what it means.
I suppose to a long-suffering Catholic, even if it was performed in swahili you'd still get the drift, since the liturgy is standardised across the world. The sermon might be a bit of a bugger though. In which case it isn't anyone's fault, surely? You just... don't understand. Find somewhere that does it in a language that you do.
The Liturgy itself is a thing of beauty, which perhaps "born again" Christians cannot see. It actually contains the Word - it reminds us precisely what it was Jesus Christ asked us to do, in memory of him. Communion is taken at every mass, and not just once a month.
The story of Christ is actually contained within the order of the Catholic mass, which the priest faithfully reads, and the people recite.
It may seem like a tired ritual to the uninitiated, and heaven knows I haven't been initiated that long, myself. But I still listen to the words, and marvel.
Jesus Christ not apparent in the Catholic Church?
from The Gloria :
"Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,
You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen."
from The Apostle's Creed :
"I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen"
Funny. It does sound like the same Lord Jesus Christ that All Soul's sings about, doesn't it? In fact, many of the hymns are based around the gloria and the creed (or about psalms)... and the same gloria and creed are actually present in the order of service for many protestant churches, only they've been reworded, and some might argue - had specific words removed from them (like the word "catholic", for instance - changed to "universal")
Baptisms are remarkably similar - attending both churches makes one realise that the intentions are the same, and the words are slightly different, but mirror one another.
I believe there are strengths to both churches - Catholic and Anglican. (and by extension, protestant in general) I see strength in the Word of the Catholic liturgy (sung / spoken) - and I also see strength in the sheer uplifting motivational power of the music I hear at All Soul's. Not just the usual boring Christian songs
(You are... Lord, you are... you do... you this, you that, you obviously don't remember so we're just singing to remind you that we are your children, and you will save us?)
but proper songs telling the story, focusing on Christ, rather than ourselves today. Beautiful melodies. Perfect tempos. Perfectly performed by a smooth instrumental group, and a sombre choir (with notable exception of oriental girl who is desperately trying to be noticed by the congregation, by making really exaggerated arm and mouth and head movements? cynical me... my bad)
It saddens me that while our church leaders strive to bridge the gaps between them (this is apparent occasionally during service at St Paul's, when the sermon actually contains prayers for the catholic church, or for healing of the rifts between the churches) it is the people on the ground who seem to want to hold high their banners of war and intolerance - and ignorance.
I watched the Anglican church fragment (homosexual priests, etcetc) with some sadness, and it was very apparent that the Anglican church today is not a single body anymore. The Archbishop of Canterbury has little sway over the little factions scattered across the world ("cell groups". heh heh). There is no longer any standardisation - and the same is true with many of the other denominations.
How can anyone claim to be a "universal" church when in truth every denomination prides itself for its uniqueness... and every church, within that denomination strives to be something remarkable? Who for that matter are we trying to impress by being different? God? Or are we giving ourselves choices - is that what Christianity is? A brand to be tailored to the wants of the people - like Coca Cola is tailored per country's taste test? (ha. bet you didn't know that. That's why US coke tastes different to UK coke tastes different to Singaporean coke.)
It doesn't matter to the layman like you and I. We go to our little churches, and we take part in our little services. Hear the words and go away happy, and hopefully slightly repentent.
But if the words are changed, or the message is perverted - we will be none the wiser. We are truly sheep... where do we go when our shepard is misguided himself?
Sometimes I just wish that the churches could learn from each other. And that the common humanity and pride of man would stop interfering with the workings of the Church. Sometimes I rue the day when the church was broken.
Listening to the preacher rant (and taking note of all his good points, of which there were a fair few) it struck me that it is fear of the unknown that leads many Christians to berate Catholicism. (and vice versa) I was one once, myself - afraid of idol worship, afraid of ritualistic masses, afraid of Latin and feeling left out in the dark. I sat in on masses and felt sad that I couldn't partake of communion - now I sit in on services and feel the same.
The Catholic church does not always explain its meaning to you - you have to go out and look for it. Perhaps that is the lure of Contemporary Christianity - it's all packaged neatly for you, just sit back and enjoy the ride. And that's a good thing, to be sure. Another strength of the protestant movement, and probably why they're better at recruiting.
However I couldn't help but notice sometimes, while I was Anglican and visiting various counties through the course of med school - that there were saints pictured in the windows. That nearly every Anglican church is named for a saint. That many speak the Apostle's creed in its original form. That some even spoke the Hail Mary.
{Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28);
“Blest are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Luke 1:42; cf. Deut 7:12-13; 28:4)}
And I couldn't help but wonder... the truths we heard - perhaps they were only half-told? Perhaps there were things which had been removed... for various reasons.
Today, I wonder - what became of the shrines within those cathedrals to the saints that stood in their windows? There are bays for them, filled instead with statues of dead medieval commanders and war heroes. And that strikes me as just a little bit odd.
To the preacher at All Soul's last sunday : The Catholic church is not your enemy. Don't strike out simply because you don't understand. That was not the way of our Lord, but of his enemies. We are brothers in Christ... can you not see?
2.4 km - 11:00 STILL! Doh... but I started my "sprint" a full 100 m earlier.. stupid machines... lying...
Looks like that's the boundary to cross then. 11:00... its getting progressively harder to whittle down my time :( Growing old.
Last weekend I went to churches. Yeah, two churches, catholic mass and then sermon at All Soul's (Anglican, multidenominational)
I do that occasionally, since I like to hear the readings and interpretations at All Soul's, and the music, oh the music.
I've written this before, but Catholic masses don't really help you interpret the Word. They read the word to you - yes. But they then contextualise it in today's world... and they don't really bother to explain it in lay english. It's almost as it they expect you to know already. The brunt of the catholic sermon isn't in the meaning of the Word, but the application of that Word in your life.
Anglican sermons are usually more pedantic... individual words explained (sometimes repeatedly, roll eyes) and sometimes if you're really lucky they even set the scene (ie in those days...) for the sermon, thus helping you understand why it was written the way it was.
Listening to the sermon at All Soul's this weekend however, I couldn't help but be taken aback when the young, handsome, fiery preacher went slightly off course and started slagging off the Catholic church (which he described as descending in a tide of darkness across europe?) It was unusual, and surprising, since usually the Anglican refrain is to pray for all churches around the world, regardless of denomination - and at a "multidenominational" Anglican church like All Soul's, which purpotedly welcomes you to take communion regardless of creed or religion even - this struck me as very, very misplaced.
Funny that - the position of the papalcy has been inclined towards reunification. During mass sometimes we even pray for healing of the rift between Christianity and Judaism. Yet here we have one brand of Christianity set against the rest...
According to him, the whole service is in Latin, making a mockery of the Word, because it is not being explained, and that these are signs of the Word falling into disuse (cleverly tied in to a reading from Luke, I think) like "the old days".
He also slagged off other protestant churches, since they have lost the focus of the Word (this I agreed with somewhat) - that it's not just all happy clappy good news and salvation - we mustn't forget Christ's death on the cross and that salvation is only through Him. He said that "King" Jesus is lost to the churches of the rest of europe, and to the Catholics especially. He was essentially ranting at an act of perceived omission - at a truth only half-told.
I looked around me and saw hordes of Anglicans nodding sagely - probably because they didn't know better - or perhaps they did but wanted to stay in their darkness? And couldn't help but feel sad.
It's ironic that a church that champions the Truth of the Word as staunchly as All Soul's also falls prone to misrepresenting that same truth, in order to gain its own ends.
I should have liked to call that speaker to task for his slightly misinformed comments - because he was misinforming the congregation, and his role is that of the Teacher.
If King Jesus is lost to the Catholics, what is he doing nailed to the crucifixes that adorn the inside and outside of every church and cathedral? Usually complete with little replicas of the wound in his side, and his crown of thorns. That same Jesus has been removed from the cross that represents modern day Christianity - why is that?
And even in High masses, the sermon is read in English - at least it is in the UK. Presumably, in europe, they're read in the lingua franca of the country.
It is the Liturgy itself is occasionally in Latin - and you can attend a lower mass if that is off-putting to yourself, and if you can't actually be bothered to find out what it means.
I suppose to a long-suffering Catholic, even if it was performed in swahili you'd still get the drift, since the liturgy is standardised across the world. The sermon might be a bit of a bugger though. In which case it isn't anyone's fault, surely? You just... don't understand. Find somewhere that does it in a language that you do.
The Liturgy itself is a thing of beauty, which perhaps "born again" Christians cannot see. It actually contains the Word - it reminds us precisely what it was Jesus Christ asked us to do, in memory of him. Communion is taken at every mass, and not just once a month.
The story of Christ is actually contained within the order of the Catholic mass, which the priest faithfully reads, and the people recite.
It may seem like a tired ritual to the uninitiated, and heaven knows I haven't been initiated that long, myself. But I still listen to the words, and marvel.
Jesus Christ not apparent in the Catholic Church?
from The Gloria :
"Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,
You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen."
from The Apostle's Creed :
"I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen"
Funny. It does sound like the same Lord Jesus Christ that All Soul's sings about, doesn't it? In fact, many of the hymns are based around the gloria and the creed (or about psalms)... and the same gloria and creed are actually present in the order of service for many protestant churches, only they've been reworded, and some might argue - had specific words removed from them (like the word "catholic", for instance - changed to "universal")
Baptisms are remarkably similar - attending both churches makes one realise that the intentions are the same, and the words are slightly different, but mirror one another.
I believe there are strengths to both churches - Catholic and Anglican. (and by extension, protestant in general) I see strength in the Word of the Catholic liturgy (sung / spoken) - and I also see strength in the sheer uplifting motivational power of the music I hear at All Soul's. Not just the usual boring Christian songs
(You are... Lord, you are... you do... you this, you that, you obviously don't remember so we're just singing to remind you that we are your children, and you will save us?)
but proper songs telling the story, focusing on Christ, rather than ourselves today. Beautiful melodies. Perfect tempos. Perfectly performed by a smooth instrumental group, and a sombre choir (with notable exception of oriental girl who is desperately trying to be noticed by the congregation, by making really exaggerated arm and mouth and head movements? cynical me... my bad)
It saddens me that while our church leaders strive to bridge the gaps between them (this is apparent occasionally during service at St Paul's, when the sermon actually contains prayers for the catholic church, or for healing of the rifts between the churches) it is the people on the ground who seem to want to hold high their banners of war and intolerance - and ignorance.
I watched the Anglican church fragment (homosexual priests, etcetc) with some sadness, and it was very apparent that the Anglican church today is not a single body anymore. The Archbishop of Canterbury has little sway over the little factions scattered across the world ("cell groups". heh heh). There is no longer any standardisation - and the same is true with many of the other denominations.
How can anyone claim to be a "universal" church when in truth every denomination prides itself for its uniqueness... and every church, within that denomination strives to be something remarkable? Who for that matter are we trying to impress by being different? God? Or are we giving ourselves choices - is that what Christianity is? A brand to be tailored to the wants of the people - like Coca Cola is tailored per country's taste test? (ha. bet you didn't know that. That's why US coke tastes different to UK coke tastes different to Singaporean coke.)
It doesn't matter to the layman like you and I. We go to our little churches, and we take part in our little services. Hear the words and go away happy, and hopefully slightly repentent.
But if the words are changed, or the message is perverted - we will be none the wiser. We are truly sheep... where do we go when our shepard is misguided himself?
Sometimes I just wish that the churches could learn from each other. And that the common humanity and pride of man would stop interfering with the workings of the Church. Sometimes I rue the day when the church was broken.
Listening to the preacher rant (and taking note of all his good points, of which there were a fair few) it struck me that it is fear of the unknown that leads many Christians to berate Catholicism. (and vice versa) I was one once, myself - afraid of idol worship, afraid of ritualistic masses, afraid of Latin and feeling left out in the dark. I sat in on masses and felt sad that I couldn't partake of communion - now I sit in on services and feel the same.
The Catholic church does not always explain its meaning to you - you have to go out and look for it. Perhaps that is the lure of Contemporary Christianity - it's all packaged neatly for you, just sit back and enjoy the ride. And that's a good thing, to be sure. Another strength of the protestant movement, and probably why they're better at recruiting.
However I couldn't help but notice sometimes, while I was Anglican and visiting various counties through the course of med school - that there were saints pictured in the windows. That nearly every Anglican church is named for a saint. That many speak the Apostle's creed in its original form. That some even spoke the Hail Mary.
{Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28);
“Blest are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Luke 1:42; cf. Deut 7:12-13; 28:4)}
And I couldn't help but wonder... the truths we heard - perhaps they were only half-told? Perhaps there were things which had been removed... for various reasons.
Today, I wonder - what became of the shrines within those cathedrals to the saints that stood in their windows? There are bays for them, filled instead with statues of dead medieval commanders and war heroes. And that strikes me as just a little bit odd.
To the preacher at All Soul's last sunday : The Catholic church is not your enemy. Don't strike out simply because you don't understand. That was not the way of our Lord, but of his enemies. We are brothers in Christ... can you not see?
