All that exists is God’s gift to man, and it all exists to make God known to man, to make man’s life communion with God. It is divine love made food, made life for man. God blesses everything He creates, and, in biblical language, this means that He makes all creation the sign and means of His presence and wisdom, love and revelation. (For the Life of the World) Continue reading Anglican Spiritual Formation: Worship
Originally published by Resonance: A Theological Journal in Vol 4.3 on “The Trinity.” Trinitarian worship has often been described as “to the Father, through the Son, and by/in the Spirit.”[1] While this is true, very little has been articulated as to how this reality is envisioned and enacted liturgically. This essay will seek to examine the … Continue reading On Trinitarian Worship
Originally published in Resonance: A Theological Journal for their issue on the Trinity. “Alleluia, Alleluia. Let us go forth into the world rejoicing in the power of the Spirt. Thanks be to God. Alleluia, Alleluia.”[1] These words, or something very similar, are exclaimed on Sunday mornings throughout the world as the gathered faithful are dismissed from … Continue reading Liturgy as Missio Dei
Originally published by Resonance: A Theological Journal in Vol 3.4 “Sabbath.” For the Christian, it is a routine struggle to tell time accurately and appropriately. We live in a fast-paced, high-tech, sound-bit driven, communicate in 140-characters or less, advertising-saturated world. Between smart phones, tablets, smart watches, and smart televisions, it is near impossible to remain … Continue reading Sabbath and Liturgical Time
This is the first installment of a new series entitled Language Lessons. The goal here is to take terms/phrases/words from liturgical theology and explore their meaning, especially when the meaning given publicly is often wrong or incomplete. Alternatively titled: Is it really the work of the people? Doubly-alternatively titled: liturgy for the life of the world. Yes, that … Continue reading Language Lessons: Leitourgia
It is likely that you’ll hear a variation of the following words at an Anglican Church on Sunday morning, “Please be seated to be instructed from the Word of God.” It’s clear that the Bible is going to be read aloud for the purpose of teaching and formation, but who assigns the lessons? Is it left up to the whims and fancies of the priest or is there some standard by which our lessons are selected? Continue reading What is the Sunday Lectionary?
Perhaps most obvious is the verse from Psalm 95 when the psalmist urges the assembly, “O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” (Psalm 95:6). There is an inherent connection between kneeling and worshipping: that which we do with our bodies is as expressive as our words, if not more so. Continue reading Why Do We Kneel in Prayer?
This post was originally published on my former blog, The Liturgical Theologian. You can find and read it here. A troubling (to me) blog post has been going around over the last few weeks regarding the Reformation and the Eucharist. Dr. Kelly Pigott, a blogger on the Patheos Progressive Christian channel, has argued that the … Continue reading We Are Not Worthy: A Response to Kelly Pigott
The Eucharistic life is not for the faint of heart. We go back to the Altar weekly to partake of Christ’s self-oblation that we might receive spiritual nourishment and encouragement for the pilgrimage. Continue reading The Eucharistic Life
This post was originally published on my former blog, “The Liturgical Theologian” and it can be found here. As we approach Reformation Day within the Protestant corners of the one holy catholic and apostolic church there is a tendency to romanticize the true nature of the various reformations to the point that the baby is … Continue reading The Real Legacy of the English Reformation
