Robert Webber reminds us of the importance of time in worship. Chronos is ordinary time. The regular moments of every day that sequentially move us from minute to minute, day to day, and year to year. Kairos is a different measure of time. "Kairos is time that marks a crisis or a turning point in history" (Worship is a Verb 156). These moments of time are the interjections of God's work in the world. Scripture speaks of various moments in time that have been Kairos moments for God's people. The God-moments forever transform God's people and mark their journey.
Webber writes, "Like the Hebrews, Christians also have a kairos moment which informs and gives meaning to historical sequence. It is the Christ-event - the birth, life, death, resurretion, ascension, and promised return of the Savior. As Christians, we confess that all time has a center. And that center is Jesus Christ himself who has redeemed all things... From this center, this kairos event in history, the meaning and significance of all time radiates. It is through the remembrance of the Christ-event in worship that we are able to sanctify all time. Therefore, time in worship now becomes a means through which we can enter into the service of the King... by recapitulating the kairos event, [we] can mystically and symbolically represent time as redeemed and proclaim the birth, life, death, resurrection, coming of the Holy Spirit, and return of Christ" (156).
Sabbath is not chronos but kairos time. It is a crisis moment or turning point in our lives, a place for God's interjection into our normal time and routine. Sabbath provides space for those God-moments that form us as God's people. It is an opportunity for our lives to be transformed from the pharaoh-driven world to the Exodus rest of God's salvation. Kairos time still impacts and orders our chronos time. It charts a course and directs our path. Sabbath centers our lives upon Christ, who is the Lord of the Sabbath. In so doing, we are directed to enter the chronos of life as holy people made in the image of God. Sabbath, especially in our commercial and commodity laden culture, may well be a salvific event for us and for the Church as we recognize our value is found in Christ not commercialism.
Showing posts with label Robert Webber. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robert Webber. Show all posts
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Verbal and Symbolic Communication in Worship
Robert Webber's book Worship is a Verb describes the communication the occurs in worship. Webber believes that there are two forms of communication: verbal and symbolic. Both of these modes of communication are well represented within Scripture. This two-fold process of communication is also noted in scientific studies. Webber writes, "I have been surprised to discover that recent studies in neuropsychology and communication theory affirm these two forms of communication as valid and significant means of passing information, values, and perspectives" (89). If Sabbath living is about passing information, values, and perspectives to ourselves and others, then we may need to incorporate both verbal and symbolic communication. Doing this will allow us to worship holistically.
"We now know that the left hemisphere the brain specializes in verbal skills, while the right side of the brain centers on nonverbal and inductive skills such as the spatial and poetic impluses of the person. The left side of the brain is more word oriented and orderly while the right side of the brain is more symbolic and creative. Now, we function from both the left and right sides of the brain, but some of us function more from one side than the other. This is why for some people the communication of words is more effective while for others the communication of symbols is more powerful... since all people are capable of communication through both methods, improvement of both the verbal and the symbolic methods of communicating Christ in our worship experience is desirable. It is also important for us to remember that communication in words and symbols is two-way. While God communicates to us through words and symbols, we also respond and communicate with him through words and symbols. Worship as an act of communication contains the ingredients of speech, symbol, dialogue, interaction, and relationship" (89-90).
The primary distinction between verbal and symbolic communication lies in the terms transmission communication and cultural communication. Transmission deals with verbal communication. It is about transmitting information from one source to another. Information is passed along, analyzed, and learned. Cultural communication deals with symbols. It is worship that is done and acted out. These can be nonverbal ways of communication (i.e. kneeling, communion, creating art). Together, both forms of communication can impact the mind, will, and heart of the individual. I say this because what we fill our minds with becomes what we act out and what we act out becomes our very character. Worship when approached through both verbal and symbolic communication not only informs us but transforms us. As such, there is a need for us to incorporate both into our worship.
This is undoubtedly true for Sabbath practice and living as well. Sabbath is about communication with God. It is opening up space for God to speak to us and for us to respond. As with all relationships, we communicate on both levels. We transmit information about ourselves to the other party. But, we also use nonverbal, symbolic language to communicate: we hug to show affection, we nod to show we are listening, we smile, we clap, we fold our arms. Objects can even take on special significance in representing our relationship (i.e. a gift, keepsake, or event). Why should Sabbath be any different? What sorts of practices can emerge out of both verbal and symbolic communication as a way of relating to God and growing in Him? Moreover, what practices can we institute in our families that will also engage them in Sabbath together as was the custom in Jewish and early Christian homes? As mentioned in other posts, worship cannot remain simply an intellectual affair if it is to be character shaping, both personally and socially.
"We now know that the left hemisphere the brain specializes in verbal skills, while the right side of the brain centers on nonverbal and inductive skills such as the spatial and poetic impluses of the person. The left side of the brain is more word oriented and orderly while the right side of the brain is more symbolic and creative. Now, we function from both the left and right sides of the brain, but some of us function more from one side than the other. This is why for some people the communication of words is more effective while for others the communication of symbols is more powerful... since all people are capable of communication through both methods, improvement of both the verbal and the symbolic methods of communicating Christ in our worship experience is desirable. It is also important for us to remember that communication in words and symbols is two-way. While God communicates to us through words and symbols, we also respond and communicate with him through words and symbols. Worship as an act of communication contains the ingredients of speech, symbol, dialogue, interaction, and relationship" (89-90).
The primary distinction between verbal and symbolic communication lies in the terms transmission communication and cultural communication. Transmission deals with verbal communication. It is about transmitting information from one source to another. Information is passed along, analyzed, and learned. Cultural communication deals with symbols. It is worship that is done and acted out. These can be nonverbal ways of communication (i.e. kneeling, communion, creating art). Together, both forms of communication can impact the mind, will, and heart of the individual. I say this because what we fill our minds with becomes what we act out and what we act out becomes our very character. Worship when approached through both verbal and symbolic communication not only informs us but transforms us. As such, there is a need for us to incorporate both into our worship.
This is undoubtedly true for Sabbath practice and living as well. Sabbath is about communication with God. It is opening up space for God to speak to us and for us to respond. As with all relationships, we communicate on both levels. We transmit information about ourselves to the other party. But, we also use nonverbal, symbolic language to communicate: we hug to show affection, we nod to show we are listening, we smile, we clap, we fold our arms. Objects can even take on special significance in representing our relationship (i.e. a gift, keepsake, or event). Why should Sabbath be any different? What sorts of practices can emerge out of both verbal and symbolic communication as a way of relating to God and growing in Him? Moreover, what practices can we institute in our families that will also engage them in Sabbath together as was the custom in Jewish and early Christian homes? As mentioned in other posts, worship cannot remain simply an intellectual affair if it is to be character shaping, both personally and socially.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Secularization of the Sabbath: Stony Soil
Robert Webber writes, "In these celebrations we rehearse our... identity and meaning, and we find the story of our lives in the larger story... These times of celebration and festivity... bring a stop to my world, to my frantic scurrying around, and to the orderliness of my daily routine. I am refeshed, restored, and renewed through laughter and play. Friendships are renewed, relationships restored, and ties to friends and family are deepened... For me, worship is in many ways like these festivities because it brings the past into the present by the telling and acting out the work of Christ. It contains all the elements of festivity: coming together, story, symbol, memory, sharing, relationship, good will, giving, receiving... Worship connects me with the past, gives meaning to the present, and inspires hope for the future as my soul and spirit become blended again into the drama of Christ's life, death, and resurrection" (Worship is a Verb 29).
Although Webber is describing worship, I do think there is a natural connection with Sabbath living. For one, Sabbath is worship. It is holy to the Lord. But, it is not a ceasing of activity but a focusing of our energies upon God alone. Sabbath is both personal and social. It restores and renews our relationship with God, but it also deepens our relationships with one another by re-filling the well from which we draw, re-cultivating the soul to reap a harvest of love. It is celebration and festivity, not merely dull lounging around without purpose. Yes, it is rest, but it is a focused rest that helps us sort out and maintain what is of primary importance. However, Webber realizes that worship in our culture is often typified by cold indifference. Our secularization has in many ways impacted our ability to worship.
Webber notes, "Secularization must be understood as something more than violence, permissive sex, and political corruption. It is a shift in the way we see and understand thigns. There was a time when the idea of mystery was more a part of our thinking than it is now. God was in his heavens - high, holy, and lifted up. In worship there was a sense of awe and reverence in the presence of the One who was wholly Other. But now we have either reasoned God out of existence or so reduced him to clichés and formulas that the mystery has disappeared. Our approach to God is intellectual and scientific on one extreme and excessively "buddy-buddy" on the other; both are sorely lacking in imagination" (30).
This brings up similar issues from Walter Brueggemann's book A Mandate to Difference and James K. A. Smith's book Desiring the Kingdom. Like Webber, they believe that a lack of imagination has seriously hampered the ability of Christians to fully, genuinely worship. Sabbath restores our imagination by not merely removing us from reality, but by re-introducing us to true reality, God's reality. It re-orients us to God's way in God's world. This requires imagination, the hope of a future. Secularization, Webber claims, is the primary opponent to this goal. "Liberals turned worship into a time for ethical reflection on the love of God, while conservatives concentrated on an intellectual defense of the gospel. In both cases church leaders gave in to secularism and allowed it to defile worship. Consequantly, celebration through storytelling and symbolic action was put aside for a verbal approach to worship" (30-31). The question we must ask is: What is true worship?
Webber continues, "Secularism has also affected worship through its distorted understanding of human personality. Since secularism lacks a supernatural view of the person, it seeks to define personhood apart from the biblical concept that we are created in the image of God. Instead, to the secularists, persons are defined in terms of economics, thought, or production... Worship that is principally geared toward dispensing intellectual information or pressing for results - massive church memberships or decisions - has already capitulated to the secular attitude. It reduces human personality to a brain or a product, and worship deteriorates into nothing more than information for the mind or a product for the producer. Secularization calls into question those elements that lie at the very heart of Hebrew and Christian worship. Biblical worship is rooted in an event which is to be lived, not proven. The purpose of worship is not to prove the Christ it celebrates, but to bring the worshiper so in tune with God's reconciliation through Christ that his deathand resurrection become a lived experience... When our life story is brought up into the story of Christ's life, death, and resurrection, it then gains meaning and purpose" (31).
Sabbath cannot ultimately remain an intellectual construct and endeavor. If it is to have real depth and genuine transformation follow, it must be a lived reality. Sabbath is not merely a day but a lifestyle. It is not a fad of culture, but a practice of the life of Christ in and through our own lives. It is the restoration of human personhood. Our value goes much farther than our intellectual capabilities, our jobs and positions, or our productivity capacity. Sabbath can be just as prone to secularization and malpractice. However, transformation happens when we keep the Sabbath to embody the Christ event in our lives and in our world.
Although Webber is describing worship, I do think there is a natural connection with Sabbath living. For one, Sabbath is worship. It is holy to the Lord. But, it is not a ceasing of activity but a focusing of our energies upon God alone. Sabbath is both personal and social. It restores and renews our relationship with God, but it also deepens our relationships with one another by re-filling the well from which we draw, re-cultivating the soul to reap a harvest of love. It is celebration and festivity, not merely dull lounging around without purpose. Yes, it is rest, but it is a focused rest that helps us sort out and maintain what is of primary importance. However, Webber realizes that worship in our culture is often typified by cold indifference. Our secularization has in many ways impacted our ability to worship.
Webber notes, "Secularization must be understood as something more than violence, permissive sex, and political corruption. It is a shift in the way we see and understand thigns. There was a time when the idea of mystery was more a part of our thinking than it is now. God was in his heavens - high, holy, and lifted up. In worship there was a sense of awe and reverence in the presence of the One who was wholly Other. But now we have either reasoned God out of existence or so reduced him to clichés and formulas that the mystery has disappeared. Our approach to God is intellectual and scientific on one extreme and excessively "buddy-buddy" on the other; both are sorely lacking in imagination" (30).
This brings up similar issues from Walter Brueggemann's book A Mandate to Difference and James K. A. Smith's book Desiring the Kingdom. Like Webber, they believe that a lack of imagination has seriously hampered the ability of Christians to fully, genuinely worship. Sabbath restores our imagination by not merely removing us from reality, but by re-introducing us to true reality, God's reality. It re-orients us to God's way in God's world. This requires imagination, the hope of a future. Secularization, Webber claims, is the primary opponent to this goal. "Liberals turned worship into a time for ethical reflection on the love of God, while conservatives concentrated on an intellectual defense of the gospel. In both cases church leaders gave in to secularism and allowed it to defile worship. Consequantly, celebration through storytelling and symbolic action was put aside for a verbal approach to worship" (30-31). The question we must ask is: What is true worship?
Webber continues, "Secularism has also affected worship through its distorted understanding of human personality. Since secularism lacks a supernatural view of the person, it seeks to define personhood apart from the biblical concept that we are created in the image of God. Instead, to the secularists, persons are defined in terms of economics, thought, or production... Worship that is principally geared toward dispensing intellectual information or pressing for results - massive church memberships or decisions - has already capitulated to the secular attitude. It reduces human personality to a brain or a product, and worship deteriorates into nothing more than information for the mind or a product for the producer. Secularization calls into question those elements that lie at the very heart of Hebrew and Christian worship. Biblical worship is rooted in an event which is to be lived, not proven. The purpose of worship is not to prove the Christ it celebrates, but to bring the worshiper so in tune with God's reconciliation through Christ that his deathand resurrection become a lived experience... When our life story is brought up into the story of Christ's life, death, and resurrection, it then gains meaning and purpose" (31).
Sabbath cannot ultimately remain an intellectual construct and endeavor. If it is to have real depth and genuine transformation follow, it must be a lived reality. Sabbath is not merely a day but a lifestyle. It is not a fad of culture, but a practice of the life of Christ in and through our own lives. It is the restoration of human personhood. Our value goes much farther than our intellectual capabilities, our jobs and positions, or our productivity capacity. Sabbath can be just as prone to secularization and malpractice. However, transformation happens when we keep the Sabbath to embody the Christ event in our lives and in our world.
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