Theology of Christian worship
This article was published in Theologia vitae 2/2008, p.129-139.
Annotation:
Theology of Christian worship touches the center of liturgical practice of Christian Churches and contemporary liturgical debates. Is our worship uniting, or is it dividing? This study shows liturgical tensions as clashes of changing cultures but also much deeper as basic differences in our understanding of worship. Especially, in Protestant churches we meet people understanding worship more as a time of common studying of Scriptures and following instructions for life. This attitude is typical for people adherent to the paradigm of modernism. Others understand worship more in terms of emotions and expressed love to God. They operate on paradigm of postmodernism. Our understanding of worship should cover both and keep “lex orandi, lex crendendi” together. Our liturgy doesn’t end up while leaving the worship service. “Liturgy after the liturgy” goes on throughout our life in secular society. Liturgy can be understood as “faith in motion” covering God’s activity and human response. Worshiping God must not loose dimension of reverence, celebration, eschatology and ethical transformation influencing our everyday life. Theology separated from liturgy degenerates.