QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON ORTHODOX WORSHIP PART THREE 7. “INEFFABLE” IS ANOTHER OF THE NOT-SO-COMMON WORDS THE ORTHODOX CHURCH USES TO DESCRIBE GOD. HOW ABOUT THE MEANING OF THIS ONE? Orthodox theology teaches that God is so far beyond human words that sometimes the only way to describe Him is to say what He is not. “Ineffable” is one example. It means that something is impossible to express or describe in words. Two other words we’ve talked about— “uncircumscribed” and “unapproachable”—also describe God by saying what He is not. 8. ARE ORTHODOX WORSHIP SERVICES RELATED TO THE BIBLE? Not just related to the Bible, but completely based on it in language and in imagery. The words are often directly from the Bible—the Psalms, for example, are chanted in full or in part during every service. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are liberally quoted. Lamentations 3:41 gives us the words “Let us lift up our hearts”—these are said by the priest as part of the Anaphora. In Philippians 2:5-7 we read that Christ, “though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant.” Saint Basil’s Liturgy uses these words, sometimes translated a little differently, in the Prayer of Commemoration. As we’ve seen, Exodus describes the form and manner of worship in Old Testament times. The Book of Revelation describes that form and manner in the Kingdom of God. Orthodox worship is solidly based on these descriptions. We remember and honor the worship of our Old Testament ancestors. We anticipate taking part in the worship of the Kingdom. 9. BOTH THE PRIEST AND THE CONGREGATION, IN ORTHODOX SERVICES, REFER TO THEMSELVES AS “UNWORTHY.” ARE WE SO WORTHLESS IN GOD’S EYES? It’s really important to remember that we are infinitely precious in God’s eyes—He sent His Son to die for us, and His Son did so willingly! To be unworthy is completely different from being “worthless.” Calling ourselves unworthy is a way of saying that we have received a gift we have no way of earning—the gift of eternal life. Since we can’t earn it, it’s truly a gift, and God loves us so much that He deems us worthy of it. He’s the only One who can do so.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 03:42:43 +0000
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