Liturgy: “Political Parties Are Not the Body of Christ”
Even now as I embark on year seven of calling this place “home,” I am still constantly reminded of His faithfulness in those early days. I can look back even now and remember instances where He was working, even when my mind was so clouded because I was unhappy. In spite of this, I saw Him actively answer really big and bold prayers, both by me and for those who constantly prayed for me.
What is the King’s Liturgy? King’s Liturgy defines our experience together as a Christian community. It outlines the rhythms we celebrate with the Church at large: Scripture readings, Sabbath habits, and celebration of Holy Days and historical events.
This Week’s Lectionary Readings
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Psalm 119:137-144
2 Thessalonians 1:1-14, 11-12
This week’s liturgy is contributed by an anonymous professor:
The Christian Calendar is a marvelous thing. Every year it leads adherents through the life of Christ and the major feast days of the church. For me, mid-autumn is right behind the two most important events of the Christian year: Easter and Christmas. As an Anglican, I’m musing on three things right now. We just celebrated the Feast Day of England’s greatest Christian King, Alfred the Great, on 26 October. As All Saints’ Day approaches on 1 November, I’m also thinking about famous martyrs and those Christians in my own orbit that have recently died. The third commemoration, however, has become increasingly complicated for me. I’ll be quietly celebrating Reformation Day on 31 October as I reflect on the possibilities for Christian unity in an increasingly Post-Christian West.
Unity seems difficult in a current environment where most Christians no longer share habits like the Christian Calendar. Many Christians right now could not care less about dead kings and martyrs, getting far more animated about the national election around the corner. The current cycle has prompted Christians to attack one another in unseemly ways. On the one hand, we should understand this as a legacy of the tragedy of the Reformation, and the East-West Schism that preceded it, which ultimately stem from the fall. On the other hand we should be dreadfully wary of it, regardless of our own denominational background. Yet wariness eludes us. The worst part about current infighting is that a number of these attacks have become public, with Christians battering Christians for the benefit of a neopagan audience that appreciates the division. This has even been true here at King’s, among students, faculty, and staff. There’s nothing wrong with moral discussions about who is or who isn’t a suitable leader for any institution, but a line is crossed when Christians drag each other through the cesspit for dime-a-dozen politicians that appear to care nothing for Christian values and even less for Christ.
Divisiveness and factionalism seemed to be the sort of thing Paul was concerned about, especially for the Corinthians (see, e.g. 1 Corinthians 1, 6, 11). Paul saves some of his most scathing criticisms for the Corinthian church, yet he also reproves them for abandoning the true meaning of love, especially for one another. The Corinthians had their factions just like humans always do, but they made things worse by exhibiting their factionalism to the pagans, particularly in legal disputes. Paul forcefully condemned this. He seemed to think that when we seek consensus about fellowship, orthodoxy, and ethics within the church community, especially face-to-face, we’re more likely to be guided by the love he talks about in 1 Corinthians 13.
When Christians assail one another in public, whether it’s a 1st-century lawsuit or a 21st-century election, they shame the community of the church and the love of the gospel it should reflect to the outside world. Temporal, political squabbles must not divide Christian communities. Peter and Paul described Christians as “exiles” and “foreigners” on earth because “our citizenship is in heaven” (1 Peter 1, 2; Philippians 3:20). Christ explained to Pilate that “My Kingdom is not of this world,” yet I get the sense that if many American Christians were transported to 1st century Judea, they would have cared more about Pilate’s political platform than the message of Christ.
Regardless of what happens in early November, Christ will remain our true king. Let us not then corrupt this moment by abandoning our fellow citizens in his kingdom. Instead, let us remember that we all exist for his glory, and we exist for one another, “to the building up of the body of Christ.”