Liturgy – it’s *not* the work of the people
by maggi dawn
There is a prevalent popular saying that liturgy is “the work of the people” – based, it is claimed, on the meaning of the original Greek word. But the current popular application of the word is often used to reinforce the idea that worship should be planned and executed by the people, according to their own taste, without any regard to liturgical tradition, doctrinal concerns, or church order.
This may sound like one of those moments when the etymology of an ancient word brings about a radical re-think of how we enact our faith. But when it comes to this particular pop-phrase on liturgy, it’s application is not nearly radical enough, and its translation isn’t accurate enough. “Litourgeia” did certainly connect “work” and “the people”, but its meaning is lost if we use it merely to demand that the congregation gets to design their own worship.
What did litourgeia really mean? A litourgeia, in Greek usage, typically referred to a piece of work initiated by patronage for the purposes of the public good. So, for instance, if a wealthy person or group of people wanted to sponsor something for a town, they might initiate the building of a town hall – the work was initiated by some people who had the means to make it happen, and executed by others who had the skills and expertise to deliver the structure, but the result was something that existed for the benefit of all the people – and really, that meant all. It meant public – so that its benefits were available to everyone.
Anyone who knows my work knows that I am fully subscribed to including the community in the design and performance of liturgy. But that is with the caveat that such work takes place in the context of exploring the history, riches, expertise, theological wisdom and scriptural foundation of our faith. To say “liturgy is the work of the people” as an argument for doing away with tradition entirely, or for the unskilled to design worship, or more particularly to reinforce the idea that worship is something we do to satisfy our own tastes, or as a mandate to shift the balance of power inside the four walls of the Church, we have missed the point entirely. The really radical stuff begins when we understand that a liturgy – a work of worship – is supposed to be a work supported by proper expertise, and to have public benefits, not just personal satisfaction.
Back in 2011 I wrote in an article,
“… liturgy might legitimately be said to be work that is first for God, that also transforms our world and benefits people. But liturgy isn’t mine or yours. And it isn’t a mandate for “the people” to do whatever they like in church, regardless of tradition or order. In short, it’s not about me….
…the work of the people” is easily misused to imply that anyone and everyone has the right to have worship be the way they like it. And while I’m absolutely subscribed to inclusivity in worship, the second you cross that line to say “worship is about me”, worship disintegrates into an unholy mess. It’s not about me, or about you. It’s not the work of the people, it’s work in service of God that benefits the people. It’s FOR the people, but not OF them.”
I still think so.
Where three or two assemble for the purposes of supplication, some form must necessarily be accepted if they are to pray in unison. When the disciples came to Jesus begging him that he would teach them how to pray, he gave them, not twelve several forms, though doubtless James’s special needs differed from John’s and Simon’s from Jude’s—he gave them, not twelve, but one. “When ye pray,” was his answer, “say Our Father.” That was the beginning of Christian Common Prayer. Because we are men we worship, because we are fellow-men our worship must have form.
W.R. Huntington, A Short History of the Book of Common Prayer (1893)
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‘-urgy’ is not a commonly used suffix, but there’s a helpful parallel in the word ‘metallurgy’: not the work of metal, but the working of metal. I think of liturgy as being the working of people – the shaping and forming of them, through regular habits of worship and prayer.
But given how poorly most lay people understand the worship they engage with, it’s probably not enough for this generation to say, ‘sit back and be worked like metal’. Unlike metal, people learn from taking part in creating an activity as well as from receiving it. Inclusivity is one step: I have learnt to pray better by leading intercessions; to understand Paul better by having to read him aloud to others in church. But it can’t end there: I also need to learn how to shape myself by shaping liturgy itself.
When priests and church leaders understand these two things, it enables them to become a little more creative and deliberate about their role in worship; and also about their role in involving people. Their role is developmental as well as presidential. They should remember that there is always a mini-eschaton (end-time) coming up for their community – namely, the next interregnum, a time when lay people absolutely do have to shape their own worship or at least govern it.
If liturgy is the working of the people, that may happen not just during worship, but in any preparation for, or reflection on, worship. And if people are to learn to do that, priests need to learn how to ‘work the people’ in other ways and at other times. They are faced with this challenge: how do you bring a group of lay people together to prepare worship in a way that isn’t just a bun-fight about everyone’s individual preferences? There are ways, not even very difficult ways to do it, but a bit of ‘hierurgy’ (working of the priesthood) might be called for to prepare them for that important task!
This isn’t an idle fantasy or a nice add-on: the liturgy is the most important thing the church community does – more than keeping the roof on, more than visiting the sick – because it’s the only unique offer of the church; the only thing that no-one else can do and only we can do. Stanley Hauerwas says (I recollect, not having the book in my house) in Resident Aliens, that the people get the priest they deserve, and the priest gets the people s/he deserves. In other words, it’s a joint effort and we have to present to each other the expectation that they other will be focussed on God.
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The people do the work of participating in a liturgy that is well planned by those who know what they are doing. Their participation is their “work.”
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