Tag: Mary

Mystery of worship

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 2 – The Kingdom Revealed – Chapter 13 – Distinctives within the body of Christ

Mystery of worship

[Bible references: Deuteronomy 4:15-24; 12:1-32; Romans 12:1-21; 1 Corinthians 14:1-40; 1 Timothy 2:1-15; Hebrews 12:1-39]

What are proper ways of worship?

In Hebrew, the word for worship means “to bow down, to prostrate oneself” or to “lay flat on the ground.”  In Greek, the words for worship mean to “kiss the hand, to fall on the knees,” or to “prostrate oneself” “to pay homage” or “to render religious honor.”  These things can be done in the context of a “worship service” on a Sunday or in any activities throughout the week. Activities in work or play can be done in an attitude of worship.

There are some differences in belief about the role of arts in worship: Is music or artwork or dancing permissible, or what kind of music or artwork or dancing is permissible? Part of the differences are due to whether activities are permissive unless specified otherwise in the Bible or activities are not allowed unless specified in the Bible.[1] Some of those differences emerged in the way some of the Protestants perceived abuses of the arts in the Roman Catholic denomination. Despite these disagreements, there are some hymns that have been widely accepted across many denominations. In a similar fashion, many congregations/denominations have adopted the contemporary style music, although in some congregations that style of music has created divisions. Music can be important as an alternate means of expressing theology.

Icons are a specialized type of artwork that represent sacred objects or honored saints in the church. The icons were used as a visual method of teaching and were particularly important when literacy rates were low. Icons are meant to take the place of the physical presence of admired saints, and because of this, Roman Catholic and Orthodox congregants will bow to or kiss the icons as if they were bowing to or kissing the actual revered saints. This is not meant to worship the icons but to show respect.[2]

Prayer can be done formally, informally, individually, or corporately. There are different viewpoints about whether praying to the saints – asking them to pray for us – is acceptable. There are also differences about whether mystical experiences in prayer are proper.

What about Mary?

The mother of Jesus is in the middle of one of the great mysteries: How is it possible for the infinite God to become a human even from the point of conception? Related to that question are other questions: Why was Mary selected? How was it possible for her to conceive Jesus? Were there any special qualities for Mary to have in order to become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God? Did she actually become the Mother of God?[3]

The Roman Catholics consider that Mary was conceived without original sin.[4] Both the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox denomination’s view that Mary did not die but fell asleep,[5] and then was physically assumed into heaven.[6] The Protestants mainly reject these views and because of their reaction to the corruption of the Roman Catholic denomination have generally not held Mary in as high esteem.

What are liturgies?

Liturgy is derived from the Greek “public work” or “public ministry.” Within the church it has been usually applied to the worship service (for most congregations) on Sundays. For some congregations it specifies the service where Communion[7]  is performed. In some instances, the term has been used to specify worship services that have a formal structure. Sometimes, in order to delineate services that are more formal from services that are less formal, the terms “high church” and “low church” are used. In the “high church” setting the liturgy will be specified particularly as the Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist. Used more loosely, the term can be used to specify any type of public service, whether it is in gathered worship or scattered worship,[8] whether it’s in front of other people or simply front of God (who is always there). In some evangelical denominations, liturgy is seen as something we do for God, but in other cases, liturgy is seen as a setting where God meets us, and we respond.

What about the Sabbath?

From the Creation account, we see that the point of creation was to create a temple, a place for God to be with His image-bearing creatures. The “seventh day” was meant to indicate that the temple was now complete, and that God’s image-bearing creatures could fulfill the role of being God’s representatives on earth, to take care of the earth as his priests.

Unfortunately, our human rebellion separated us from God, and our role as his stewards of his creation became corrupted. The Sabbath liturgy was introduced to Israel as a weekly reminder to them of their priority to have a relationship with God; that they, as God’s chosen nation, could rest from their weekly labor because God would provide for them. This weekly setting aside of labor was a gift from God, still enjoyed by Jews to this day.

The early church consisted of mostly Jews who still celebrated the seventh-day Sabbath, but quickly also adopted the first day, the Lord’s Day, as a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. The Bible never required Gentiles to celebrate the Sabbath. Even if we regard the laws that applied to Noah to be also applicable to Gentiles, none of those laws prescribe Sabbath observances. As the church developed, different congregations developed different practices regarding the Sabbath. While the trend was towards Sunday gatherings to worship, some groups, who could be called Sabbatarians, applied Sabbath restrictions to Sunday. Others allowed for more freedom with a focus on the celebration of the joy of Christ’s resurrection, with the thought that all people who have the Spirit of God are Christ’s temple and we do his work each day of the week.

[1] Got Questions. “Regulative vs. normative principle of worship – which viewpoint is correct?” Got Questions www.gotquestions.org/regulative-normative-worship.html

[2] OrthodoxWiki “Veneration” OrthodoxWiki orthodoxwiki.org/Veneration

[3] OrthodoxWiki “Theotokos” OrthodoxWiki orthodoxwiki.org/theotokos

[4] Catholic Encyclopedia “Immaculate Conception” New Advent www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm

[5] OrthodoxWiki “Dormition” OrthodoxWiki orthodoxwiki.org/Dormition

[6] Sri, Edward. “The Assumption of Mary” Franciscan Spirit Blog www.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit-blog/the-assumption-of-mary

[7] Also known as the Eucharist or Thanksgiving

[8] Warren, Tish Harrison. Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life. InterVarsity Press 2016. eBook Chapter 7

Expectant Magi and the non-expectant king

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 2 – The Kingdom Revealed – Chapter 11 – The Kingdom Enters

Expectant Magi and the non-expectant king

[Bible references: Matthew 2:1-23; Hosea 11:1; Jeremiah 31:15; Micah 5:1-4]

Some people in a foreign country east of Jerusalem were also waiting for the Messiah. Perhaps because they were aware of the writings of Daniel, the Magi had hearts that were open to God and invested time and money to travel to Jerusalem looking for this newborn “king of the Jews.” However, when they arrived in Jerusalem, no one there was ready for this news. While the chief priests and teachers of the law could belatedly figure out that the birth was supposed to happen in Bethlehem, they obviously had not been looking for the Messiah.

Herod’s claim to the throne was sketchy, but he was a politician who had proven his ability to “keep the peace” by means of violent suppression and so Rome had installed him as king. So, upon learning from the Magi about the “King of the Jews” being born, Herod was threatened by what he thought was a rival king and tried to use the Magi to find out who this rival was.

However, the Magi had been warned in a dream about Herod’s ruse and after visiting Jesus they returned home another way. Joseph also had a dream in which he was warned that Herod was going to search for Jesus in order to kill him and so Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Egypt. Sure enough, when Herod realized that the Magi were not going to return, he put out an order kill all babies less than two years old in Bethlehem to eliminate His potential rival.

Joseph and his family stayed in Egypt until he learned in a dream that Herod died. However, when Joseph returned to Bethlehem, he learned that Herod’s brother was now king, he took the family to Nazareth in the region of Galilee. All these moves made it possible to make now sense out of three seemingly contradictory prophecies: that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem and come out of Egypt and that he would be called a Nazarene.

Observe

Read Matthew 2:1-23 Micah 5:1-4; Hosea 11:1; Jeremiah 31:15. Some Biblical prophecies were hard to make sense out of until they were fulfilled. What does that mean in regards to how we handle seemingly contradictory scripture passages?

Joseph and Mary

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 2 – The Kingdom Revealed – Chapter 11 – The Kingdom Enters

Joseph and Mary

[Bible references: Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-18; Luke 1:26-56; 2:1-20, 41-51]

Jesus was born to an apparently ordinary, non-descript couple, Joseph, and Mary. There was nothing outside the ordinary about Mary except that, unlike Zechariah, she believed and accepted the words of the angel, Gabriel, and the miracle was to come upon her. Joseph was only an ordinary tekton[1] (stone mason or carpenter), but he also accepted the words of the angel and received Mary as his wife. The responsibility that this humble couple accepted was full of unknowns for this was no ordinary boy that they were supposed to raise. The unknown hardships they would endure included 1) a trip from Galilee to Bethlehem while Mary was heavily pregnant, [2] 2) giving birth in first floor of a house overflowing with guests and needing to use a feeding trough as a crib[3] 3) and then a trip to Egypt where they stayed for an extended period while the life of Jesus was in danger from Herod, 4) then when Herod died, back to Bethlehem only to find Herod’s son, Archelaus, in charge so they fled past Jerusalem to Nazareth. Joseph and Mary also witnessed several supernatural events around the birth of Jesus: the appearance of shepherds who witnessed the angelic announcement, the prophetic announcements of Simeon and Anna when they brought Jesus to be circumcised[4], the appearance of Magi from the east. Outside those events, Mary and Joseph seemed to have ordinary lives as shown by the reaction they had when twelve-year-old Jesus was accidentally left behind during a family trip to Jerusalem.

[1] Galatty, Robby, “Was Jesus a Carpenter or a Stonemason?” The Christian Post 29 Apr 2017 www.christianpost.com/news/jesus-carpenter-or-stonemason-181531.

[2] Jesus Trail Tours, “Hiking the Nativity Trail from Nazareth to Bethlehem” Jesus Trail Tours jesustrail.com/blog/hiking-the-nativity-trail-from-nazareth-to-bethlehem

[3] Paul, Ian. “Jesus was not born in a stable, says theologian” 23 Dec 2014 The Guardian www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/23/jesus-christ-not-born-in-stable-theologian-new-testament

[4] Bible Project “The Jewish Exile – How it made the Bible” Bible Project 1 Feb 2018 bibleproject.com/podcast/jewish-exile-how-it-made-bible/

Observe

Read Luke 2:41-51. After Mary and Joseph left 12-year-old Jesus behind during a family trip to Jerusalem, what didn’t they understand about Jesus’ answer?