Agape,
Someone once told me that the
greatest form of education is not based on FYI but rather how to live out what
we learn. So in learning through FYI, how can humans live out their own education
or in this case, theology? Now when I say theology I am not referring to the
study of God but instead how can our relationship with Christ be a living form
of “theology” to others. We all struggle with this type of life if we are
trying to live it out. Our secular world demands that we forget God and focus
on the present. Technology has come to dominate society, and in doing so has
turned our culture into a fast food type of life where everything can be
accessed with a click of a button. This can be a great challenge to Christians
all over the world if we live the fast food life. People have developed
approaches to combat this problem. The two most prominent ways I have come to
know, is either completely abandoning the technology or simply embracing it in
all walks of life. But having started to examine and understand theology on an
intellectual level I have come to realize that it is not about abandoning it or
embracing it but instead it is about looking at the beauty that God, having
created it, had a purpose for such an invention. Everything in creation has its
beauty in nature, but because of our corrupt nature it becomes defiled.
Drinking, talking to girls, gossiping, etc. all developed out of our corrupt
nature. Now I am not saying these things are good by means of the imagination
but rather we took the good attributes and made them bad. How do we overcome
this?
We have to embrace each other
through all the gifts that Christ has given us. One way we can do this is through
Agape, one of the Greek words for love. All that we do, we must do in love of
others and more importantly, for the love of God. Albert Einstein famously once
said “a life lived for others is a life worthwhile”. The selfishness of
humanity has become a great travesty of the 21st century. We have to
begin to shake of the norms of society and start training the mind to embrace
what God has planted in us through His Holy Spirit. We must respect our
surroundings and find the beauty in all that surrounds us. Instead of looking
at people and talking down to them let us look and be thankful and look up to
heaven. Living agape (unconditional love), is the hardest thing one can try to
live out but that is only because our minds are not focused to live out this
lifestyle. When we commit sin for the first time we are afraid because our
nature is not used to it. Adam and Eve hid from God when they realized what
they had done was wrong. We do the same with God. Living agape can be achieved
if we keep working on it through our daily interactions with other humans. Your
next question might be then is how do I live agape if I have never experienced
it? Well this comes through living out ones theology.
Living your theology does not
mean going to school and learning about God and the history of the church etc.
Living your theology means partaking in the liturgical life of the church. The
assembly of the church and the unity of the community in coming together to
celebrate liturgy is one form of living out your theology. The organism of the
church is constituted in the people of the community. When one member is
disjointed then the unity of the church starts to become disunity. Prayer life
then begins to increase in the heart of the believer increasing ones lived
theology. This is how the organism of the liturgical life operates within the
heart of the believer and through the liturgical life one then can become to
understand who God is and what his purpose is in one’s life. Things within the
community like bible study or youth group gatherings will not become FYI
sessions but rather a lived experience within the heart of the believer. But if
we continue to rely on modern concepts of worship and we begin to lose the
tradition of the church then the fire will begin to diminish gradually from
within.
Think further at
the whole idea of liturgy that has been revealed to us. There are strange
things within this tradition of the liturgy such as “God is great”. Does God
need to be told such a thing? The obvious answer is of course not. Another way
He has revealed himself to us is through friendship and how he is the
bridegroom and we are the bride. We are baptized in Christ. What is important
in these relationships? Affection and love; the same attributes we show to each
other. Our prayers are an affection of love to our creator. There is knowledge
of God that can be had outside of the church. The church being the bride of
Christ, show us the fuller knowledge of God and with this respect we start to
grow an intimate knowledge of Him. We are all called to have this deeper
intimate relationship with Him personally. This is not for saint’s monks or
clergy but for everyone and this is the greatest aspect for the relationship
with God. We are all called to be saints according to the Apostle in the first
chapter of Romans.
Why way of conclusion God does not need
us to say “you are great”. God loves us and he wants us to love him back. This
is liturgy. God loves us and he wants us to love him back and this is shown in
the services with what we do. This is the expression of our faith. The
definition of liturgy has been spoken of as the work of the people. Liturgy in
the ancient world was considered as public work. In doing so the early church
realizes that the liturgical life was community. Let’s not forget our roots
within the tradition of the church. Agape can be lived out through the ultimate
form of worship; the liturgy.
Agape.
Therefore
the Eucharist is not only the "most important” of all the offices, it is
also source and goal of the entire liturgical life of the Church. Any
liturgical theology not having the Eucharist as the foundation of its whole
structure is basically defective.
Father
Alexander Schmemann, Introduction to Liturgical Theology, pg.24.
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