Liturgical Anthropology

The Christian religion is a multifaceted faith with myriad implications on society, economics, philosophy, etc. I think that to utilize our faith in a way that benefits those around us is a meaningful extension of our beliefs, an extension I would argue is necessitated by the words of Jesus. This real world application of the teachings of Jesus has led to extensive theorizing on social structures, systems of governance, etc.

So too have many of the teachings and ordinances of Christ been extrapolated into rich and complex theological constructs. The institution of the Lord’s Supper for instance has, millennia later, birthed ideas such as transubstantiation, sacramental union, and Eucharistic Adoration. This is not a commentary on the existence or nature of these ideas, simply to note how a very simple act of Christ has led to volumes of material pondering the mechanisms, implications, and requirements of the ritual.

Complexity is something that Christianity does well. But, in some cases, we face the danger of becoming lost in the labyrinthine corridors and monumental implications of our faith, and become too earthly good to be of any heavenly use.

First and foremost, the Christian faith as taught by Jesus was and is a spirituality. It is a mode of existence with the goal of a unitive spiritual life with God, our Father/Mother/Parent, our Source, the Well-Spring of reality. It is a spiritual practice, consisting of the pursuit of the ethereal in the mundane, of the divine in the commonplace, seeking God in every corner of our journey of life.

When the systems and constructs of the faith muddle or confuse, revert back to the most elemental nature of our beliefs, delve inward in search of the spark of the Godhead that animates our souls, because Christianity is mystic discipline. It loses its momentum when framed as anything else.

Liturgical Anthropology

Thoughts