Last night my wife Leslie and I went to a memorial service for a friend of her Mother. It was held at Christ Church, an American Anglican church in Plano. Many things reminded me of the Lutheran Church, and Anglican Churches I have visited in England.
We read from the Common Book of Prayer, recited both the Lord's Prayer and the Apostle's Creed, and we knelt to receive communion. The Christ candle was up front displaying the Alpha and Omega greek letters and a Cross. Candles were burning, and it was very hushed and reverent.
I don't find God missing in such services regardless of the repetition. In fact, so much Biblical truth is dispensed during a traditional service that the Homily (sermon) needs to be very good to impart something meaningful. Last night it was very good. I actually like traditional services and modern ones; God is in both because he promises to be wherever 2 or more are gathered in his name.
This morning I will get dressed and drive to my Church, a converted computer parts manufacturing building, to worship in a much more contemporary style, where the bulk of Biblical truth is dispensed in a sermon, not in a liturgy. Is this contemporary form of worship better? I don't think the question should revolve around a preconceived notion of spiritual quality. If it did, many of us would become Quality Assurance inspectors, placing our stamp of approval on services that meet our standards, rejecting those that don't.
God does not want us to be so narrow and limited. Think of Elisha who, after calling down fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice and winning a great victory over Idolatry, went into the wilderness to meet God. The Almighty did not meet him in the earthquake, nor in the mighty wind, nor in the fire, but in the still small voice. Elisha didn't met God at the temple that time, because God is not confined to the Jewish temple any more than he is confined to our places of worship.
So, let's practice finding him in the unlikely places.
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