Thursday, April 25, 2013

Liturgy as Teacher

How does a pastor know what to say when he's teaching somebody?

I've seen my pastor do it in numerous contexts: teaching from the liturgy.  Somebody is getting married?  My kids tell me he went through the vows and the wedding rite, talking about what it means, what it teaches, what it shows, what God does in that rite.  Or maybe a young pastor wants to know how to be a pastor, what to do.  So Pastor uses the ordination vows as a guideline to discuss the work of a pastor.  Or maybe people have questions about death.  He may start discussing the funeral rites.

I like that.  Not only does the liturgy tell us what we need to know when we're asking, but it also means that every time you're there again (a baptism, a wedding, a first communion, etc) you've got all that fleshed-out and expanded-upon discussion to illuminate what God is doing & saying in those rites.

2 comments:

  1. This is the very reason why I attend this Church!
    And is it ok for me to be jealous of you and your husband, since you have known this Pastor FOREVER?

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  2. As much as I love and respect Pastor, knowing him isn't really worth diddly. Knowing the liturgy and the psalms and the doctrine (especially with his clear explanations) ... THAT's what's a treasure.

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