Article XXII - Of the Rites and Ceremonies of Churches
It is not necessary that rites and ceremonies should in all
places be the same, or exactly alike; for they have been always different, and
may be changed according to the diversity of countries, times, and men's
manners, so that nothing be ordained against God's Word. Whosoever, through his
private judgment, willingly and purposely doth openly break the rites and
ceremonies of the church to which he
belongs, which are not repugnant to the Word of God, and are ordained and
approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly, that others may fear
to do the like, as one that offendeth against the common order of the church,
and woundeth the consciences of weak brethren.
Every particular church may ordain, change, or abolish rites
and ceremonies, so that all things may be done to edification.
Does the end justify the means?
In this case, yeah.
The first rite or ceremony recorded in
scripture was Cain’s and Abel’s ritual sacrifice in Genesis 4. The text of verses 3-7 indicates that the
sacrifices were scheduled not spontaneous.
The selection of sacramental elements wasn’t arbitrary but based on clear
principles. Each brother brought
something of personal value that
represented the best of their respective endeavors. But we know very little of the particulars.
Was there an altar? What did it look
like? What did they say? How did they deliver their offerings? Did they start a fire or wait for fire to
fall from Heaven? Exactly how did both
men know whose offering had been accepted and whose hadn’t?
The Bible doesn’t provide a script for
the first religious ceremony in human history.
We don’t even get much of an outline.
We don’t know the means. But we know that means didn’t matter.
God rejected Cain’s offering, but not
because of Cain’s offering. Under the Mosaic law, offerings of grains and
vegetables were acceptable (Leviticus 2; 23:10-14). The problem wasn’t Cain’s offering. The
problem was Cain.
So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you
angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be
accepted?...” (Genesis 4:6,7)
The Lord didn’t rebuke Cain for the
order of service or the contents of the offering. Cain didn’t do the ritual wrong. Cain was wrong when he did the ritual.
The issue was the end not the means. And so
it has been in every rite and ceremony since.
Cain was so upset that his little
brother seemed to have gotten more points for style than he did, that he never
addressed the spiritual end to which God was pointing.
“If you do well, will you not be
accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule
over it.” (Genesis 4: 7)
The purpose of every ritual in church is
to focus attention on an eternal truth, a spiritual transition that has or is
supposed to take place.
By the time of Isaiah, the Jewish
nations were experts at ritual. In Judah
they had the Temple and the Levitical priesthood. In
Samaria-Israel there was a competitively elaborate state-sponsored liturgy. But in the first chapter of Isaiah, God rejected
their rites.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings
of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or
of lambs or goats… Bring no more futile sacrifices. Incense is an abomination to Me, the New
Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies…” (Isaiah 1: 11, 13)
In verse 12, God asked basically, “Who
told you to do all this stuff?”
If you were a duly-ordained priest
listening to Isaiah, you probably would’ve replied, “God told us.”
Didn’t He?
Isn’t the wording in our Book of Ritual
based on the Word of God? Aren’t the
elaborations and simplifications of our order of worship Divinely inspired?
Maybe.
Maybe not. But that’s not the
point. Those aren’t even the right
questions.
Israel had the proper words, robes, and
rituals. God rejected it all because their ceremonies weren’t bout with
spiritual change. They were performing religious rites but the
rites didn’t make them get right.
I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred
meeting… Your hands are full of blood. (Isaiah 1:13, 15)
When it comes to rites and ceremonies,
every church must ask what God asked in Isaiah 1: 11, “To what purpose is
the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?”
What is the purpose of this
ritual? What is the end?
God wanted Cain to leave the sacrifice
service reflecting on himself. God’s
stated purpose was for Adam’s oldest boy to overcome (“rule over”) the sin
lurking at the door of his heart.
God wanted the same for Israel.
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves
clean. Put away the evil of your doings
from before My eyes. Cease to do evil.
Learn to do good…” (Isaiah 1: 16, 17)
The same end applies to Christians
today.
Ritual should make us consider
ourselves and our relationship with God.
Article of Religion #22 says “Every
particular church may ordain, change, or abolish rites and ceremonies, so that
all things may be done to edification.”
The Lord put it this way, “Come now,
and let us reason together. Though
your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; (Isaiah 1:18)
If your church does communion with
Kool-aid and animal crackers but it leads the congregation to consider their
lives against the broken body and shed blood of
Jesus, then your ritual has fulfilled its purpose.
If your congregation uses a 1200 year
old baptismal liturgy handwritten by the original St. Francis and immerses
every candidate in a pool of water drawn from the Jordan River itself, but all
you think about is how pretty the program sounds, then you might as well be
mud-wrestling.
The Lord says, “When you spread out
your hands, I will hide My eyes from you.
Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are
full of blood.” (Isaiah 1: 15)
“Maintaining our traditions” is an
INVALID reason for continuing a ritual as it’s been done. “Cultural relevance”
is an equally INVALID reason to change.
If the best way to achieve God’s given
end is to change a ritual, change it. If
the best way to fulfill the spiritual purpose of a church ceremony is to keep saying
the same thing, then hold onto it.
The end justifies the means.
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community
organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership
development.
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II
is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield,
Alabama; executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking
Organization (SAYNO); and director of
rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
#Awordtothewise
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P O Box 132
Fairfield, Al 35064
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