To my beloved saints in Christ,
Peace be with you! I’ve recently been contemplating the significance of liturgy. Every Sunday when I praise the Lord together with you, the liturgy of our worship serves as a thermometer. This external order helps to regulate the internal order of my life. A few years ago, I was a liberal. Church liturgy made me uncomfortable. I equated “free” worship with “self-directed” worship, believing that genuine freedom meant acting solely of my own volition, from my own desires. One day, Elder Xue shared something with the choir. He said the biggest challenge we faced in singing hymns was that our singing styles were too heavily influenced by pop music, which hindered our ability to blend our voices into a single sound. On the surface, it was our singing that lacked unity, but under the surface, it was the internal order of our lives.
Pop music emphasizes the expression of unique personal experiences. Everyone has their own flair, their own style. Public worship, however, is a process of finding true freedom through the discipline of self-denial. When you worship God alone, you cannot easily detect your own self-centeredness, for you are the presiding minister, the preacher, and the congregation all at once. Your worship may seem deeply moving, but only because you are in complete control. Consequently, it becomes difficult to discern whether your emotions stem from genuine surrender before God or from your own personal worship style. This is precisely why the saints need public worship.
The original meaning of the word liturgy is “the work of the people”—the collective acts of worship performed when we gather on the Lord’s Day. Humans and animals alike experience birth, mating, and death. For humans, however, merely experiencing these things is not enough—we must also express them. Liturgical worship is the outward expression of the soul toward her King. Why does a bride walk slowly down the aisle? Why do we dim the lights when blowing out birthday candles? It is not because we are hesitant or sad. It is because the joy and dignity of life in these moments demand expression.
Nothing demands more meticulous, solemn, and collective expression than the worship of God. True freedom in worship is when the voices of a dozen choir singers blend into one multifaceted yet unified sound; when every singer breathes as though the Holy Spirit is breathing through all of them simultaneously; when each person sets aside his own personal style, renouncing self-centeredness, and through mutual service, collaboration, submission, and care sings a hymn together in one accord. In that moment, every choir member can declare with tears of joy: “I am finally free!”
Without worshiping alongside others, we remain ignorant of the cruciform nature of worship. When a husband and wife join hands in prayer, praise, and Scripture reading; when a mother and child worship God together at the dinner table or on the sofa, overcoming generational gaps, surrendering their personal autonomy, and drawing near to God and to each other through the Holy Spirit—then they, too, can declare: “We are finally free!”
It is only in working together that we can truly worship in community. When you and your fellow laborers have been so worn by ministering together that you no longer resemble yourselves but Christ—then you, too, can declare: “I am finally free!”
Brothers and sisters, I truly thank God for you and for myself. For true freedom can only be experienced in Christ, within the Church, among the saints. Therefore, remember this: if you must argue, argue with your brothers and sisters in Christ, for disputes with unbelievers are ultimately unprofitable. Some may say that liturgy is lifeless. But I would argue that refusing to reconcile with your brother or sister before taking communion, becoming absorbed in your own world of emotional fervor—that is lifeless. In such a world, even your joy carries the stench of death. It is not liturgical worship that needs to die—it is you who needs to come alive as a worshiper of the Lord Jesus. Corporate worship devoid of liturgy is impoverished worship. It may seem emotionally powerful on the surface, but it is merely individualism en masse. Faith does not sing solo—it joins the choir of the cosmos.
Your servant, singing praises to the Lord alongside you,
Wang Yi
March 25, 2010
