What is the liturgy and why is it important in the Church?

Liturgy is a term that often encounters unrest or confusion among Christians. For many, it carries a negative connotation, triggering old memories of hyper-conservative churches with very strict rules and services. For others, it is a term heard often, but it has no meaning.

Liturgy is an important term and idea for all Christians to understand, and in this article we will explore what liturgy actually is and why it is still important in the church.

What does "liturgy" mean?
The term liturgy belongs to the order of events of a religious function. Churches described as "liturgical" have very rigid and predictable worship services that follow a rigid pattern of events / activities. Often parishioners will be provided with a document establishing the order of service so that everyone is aware of what is happening and what is forthcoming.

If you are familiar with the term liturgy, this is probably what comes to mind when you hear this term. Perhaps you attended such a church as a child, perhaps a Catholic church, an Orthodox church, or some form of highly conservative Protestant church. Many, though not all, find this variety of church experiences dry, impersonal, and boring.

If many do not prefer this form of worship, why does it still exist? What is the value of a rigorous liturgy in a worship service?

For some ecclesiastical groups, the reason for a highly liturgical ecclesial service derives from a high value of tradition. Priority is given to doing church services as they always have been, rather than trying to adapt worship services to changing times. The goal is to ensure quality and consistency in church experiences. The thought is: why change church services now when our method of organizing a service has worked for centuries?

This line of thinking is not to be laughed at. While it may seem dry and boring to newcomers, to those who have been around for years, it's a time-tested tradition. The rigorous liturgy allows one to mentally prepare and engage in a loved and trustworthy spiritual experience. While some believers see variety as the salt of worship, others view consistency and trustworthiness as a gateway to a profound experience with Jesus Christ.

What does liturgical worship mean in the Catholic Church?
The liturgy is central and fundamental for worship in the Catholic Church. A Catholic mass is centered on tradition, and the means by which the tradition is maintained is by observing and respecting a rigorous and consistent liturgy.

If you go to a Catholic mass, you will find that if you come back again in six months, the worship service will be very similar in order and atmosphere. This is very intentional and is more common in all religious groups than one might initially think.

Is the liturgy only in the Catholic Church?
A common misconception about the liturgy is that Catholic churches are the only churches that have a liturgy. This is not true. Each church has a liturgy. While your church may not seem as rigid as a Catholic mass, your church services are likely to follow a reliable order of events as well. If you attend an evangelical church, your church service is likely to follow a consistent pattern like this: worship; greeting; prayer / reading; sermon; worship; blessing.

It is also likely that this order of events will rarely be diverted. While it may not seem dry and impersonal, most churches are very consistent in their general order of operations. This is your church liturgy and it's a good thing.

The liturgy is important in the church because structure is important in worship. While spontaneity may be helpful in facilitating spiritual experiences, complete uncertainty may not be. If you are a Christian who attends church regularly, you can probably predict the structure of your local church service with great accuracy. When you go to church on Sunday morning, you can mentally prepare your mind and heart for what you are about to experience. You can anticipate how the Holy Spirit will move in your congregation. This is a direct advantage of the liturgy.

Is liturgical worship biblical or artificial?
The short answer to the previous question is yes. Liturgy is both biblical and man-made. There is certainly a biblical precedent for a rigorous and consistent liturgy when it comes to worship meetings. However, there is no specific prescription of a liturgy in the New Testament that dictates the worship services of Christian churches.

Indeed, the biblical precedent for the liturgy is not found in the New Testament at all, but rather in the early books of the Bible. Leviticus (you know, that book that everyone tells you to skip) contains very specific and focused instructions on how God's people were to worship him, mainly through the ordinance of the sacrificial system.

The laws relating to the sacrificial system are very specific and the reason why is not because God is a controlling dictator who demands that we jump through hoops to please him. Rather, God is a holy and sovereign God who fully deserves worship and praise of the highest degree, and His commands for worship reflect His holiness and righteousness.

Leviticus 20:26 provides this context for the purpose of these laws: "You must be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have separated you from the nations to be mine." Our way of worshiping should reflect God's holiness, and using an effective liturgy helps glorify God in the best possible way through our worship services.

Although Leviticus provided the Jewish people with strict operations for worship, there are no specific commandments for worship in the New Testament. Therefore, Christians have the freedom to adapt different forms of worship according to theological emphasis, preference and cultural agreement. In this way, the liturgy is biblical, because of the precedent established by God himself in the Old Testament, and it is also man-made, because the forms of liturgy we know today are not prescribed in Scripture.

What the scriptural liturgy can look like for individual believers
While the liturgy is important for worship meetings such as a Catholic mass or Sunday service, the liturgy is also beneficial to the individual routine of Christians today. Many Christians struggle with their daily devotional routine, and a common reason is that the “routine” aspect leaves a lot to be desired. There is often little rhyme or reason and great spontaneity in devotional times, and this can lead to a tepid journey of faith.

So how can the liturgy be applied to improve our devotional time?

The simplest way to use the liturgy for your personal time with God is to implement a simple structure. This can be very strict or relatively relaxed depending on your personality and preference. However, adding a simple structure to your time with God can help you stay motivated to continue with your routine, as well as give you directions when you may not be 'in the mood' to spend time with God.

Your personal liturgy can be as simple as prayer> scripture reading> prayer. It can also include spiritual disciplines such as fasting, meditation, lectio divina, journaling, and musical worship.

The beauty of a personal liturgy is that it can be completely customized to your personality and relationship with God. The goal of this process is to facilitate intimacy with God, not to promote dry and impersonal Bible reading habits. In the same way that church services should reflect God's holiness and sovereignty, our personal time with God should reflect God's love, intimacy, and devotion.

The term "liturgy" often encounters negative reactions among Christians today, and this is a shame. While "hyper-liturgical" churches are not the best solution for many Christians, it is important to recognize the universality of the liturgy among Christian churches, even if some liturgies are not so central.

Not only can the liturgy facilitate worship in honor of God among congregations of believers, it can also be a game changer for individual believers and their devotional routines. The liturgy is a means of knowing God and worshiping him better, and it is vital for the health and vitality of the Church today.