Saturday, February 9, 2013

An acquired taste. . .

Borrowed and adapted from another blog (originally about the Latin Mass but directed here toward the liturgy in general):

The liturgy is like beer. You have to drink it in a few times before you begin to like it. Before you make any comment or any decision, attend the liturgy for a month or more of Sundays in a row. 

Spot on.  In our instant culture of instant pleasure and gratification, the idea that you would give something a chance to grow on you is almost lost in the equation.  We hook up to worship services and musical styles as we do people.  The liturgy needs time to grow on you, to unfold its richness before you, and for you to develop an informed palate to begin to taste that richness.

So don't shack up with a church because it hits you in the moment.  Take some time.  Think about it.  Spend a fair amount of time discerning the liturgy before you make a judgment.

Then, if you are tied of worship lite, weary of being entertained instead of encountering the Living God, and had your fill of worship with a feel good agenda, seek out a liturgical congregation in which the Word of God is rightly proclaimed, the Law and Gospel carefully distinguished, and the Sacraments administered as Christ instituted them.  Give that congregation and the liturgy time to soak in... lots of time...  You will be happy you did...  Take it from me...

It’s like drinking beer for the first time. “This tastes terrible!"  But by the time you have tasted it a half of dozen times, the terrible gives way to a taste rich, deep, and well nuanced.  The kind of taste that leaves you wanting for more.  Like the liturgy...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The "hook up" culture of seeker-driven churches will leave you feeling.........the morning after.

I am selective about my choice of beer, wine, cigar, chocolate, and coffee.

People drink the typical mass-marketed Budweiser, Coors, Miller, etc. in order to get drunk, and not to savor the flavor. "Macrobreweries" know this. Why else does it need to be served at a near-frozen temperature?

Savor the liturgy.