The First Liturgy
Or a conversation between God and fallen man.
Many people have a wrong understanding of worship. Instead of seeing it as God’s gift to people it is misunderstood to be something done to make God happy. This misunderstanding often reveals itself when people say ‘I don’t want to believe in a god who demands my worship ..etc’.
Worship is pleasing to God to be sure, but what is misunderstood is that God initiates worship with people from the beginning as a gracious means to invite and draw people in broken relationship with Him back into right relationship with Himself. It is an invitation to the hiding, an opportunity to lay things bare to the heavy laden, a conversation to those in broken silence, a joyous meal to those out of fellowship, and an outward life of purpose to those trapped inward. This is the flow of worship from the call to worship, to the confession of sin, then with open ears to the word proclaimed, to joyful receiving at the Lord’s table, from there sent out to work in the world with the benediction.
Below is an article I wrote last year reflecting on the conversation God had with Adam and Eve after they sinned and were left hiding in the garden. Though this conversation is normally viewed negatively it is also at the same time a gift to the man and woman.
The First Liturgy
The fruit was eaten by the man and the woman. They both realised they were naked. They covered themselves in leaves. Then they heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden. They hid.
This is the situation man and woman find themselves in. It has not changed since the first day. Sin has come into the relationship between God and his people and as a result the relationship is broken. God’s people are ashamed and hide from their maker. They busy themselves with their works trying to cover themselves. It is a mess.
As sin entered the world through a conversation with the devil, it is no mistake then that God’s first act towards restoring that relationship is through a conversation with his people.
A brief look at the conversation reveals a simple progression or order.
(Vs7-8 - Man is hiding clothed in leaves)
Vs9 - God calls the man
Vs11 - God asks and Man confesses (blames)
Vs14-19 - God speaks to them
Vs 21 - God clothes them
Vs22 - Lest they eat of the tree of life
Vs23 - Man sent out to work the land(Implied, man leaves clothed in God given garments)
If we described this dialogue in liturgical terms, before us we have a Call to Worship, a Confession, a Sermon, a Eucharist, and a Benediction.1 It is a dialogue with a purpose, it takes sinful people covering themselves with their own works hiding from God to people clothed in God given garments leaving his presence to work in the world. The simple flow follows a traditional order of worship and in this way helps us understand the purpose of worship, that is, to allow people to come into God’s presence and renew their relationship with Him. A person coming from a charismatic background will often look at a traditional worship service and wonder why there is so much standing and sitting and kneeling. Many comment at just how much there is for them to do during the service. They are not in a place where they can kick back with a cup of coffee and a bible in each hand. Instead, they are active parts of a conversation between God and his people.2
The first call to worship comes from God himself and is a gift to sinners hiding from Him. They are called to leave their hiding and come into his presence. It is easy to miss the signifiance of this when we hear the Call read from a psalm each Sunday. Nonetheless we are each given a great gift, God’s call has come to us as sinners inviting us to come into his presence.3
The confession follows the call, this too is God led. He asks them questions giving them an opportunity to confess their sin. Sadly the man and woman spend less time confessing and more time blaming; the man his wife and the wife the serpent. We can not blame others for our sins. We are all responsible for our actions and even reactions to others. It is easy for a pastor to blame his church, and a church to blame sinners within their midst, yet we must all learn to confess our sin before the Lord together. At that moment we are all on the same playing field. None stands above, none stands below, we all kneel before the Lord in confession of our sins. It is now that we are ready to hear the word of the Lord.
The sermon follows the confession. God speaks to the devil, then to the woman, and then to the man. The curses are spoken and in their midst we are given the first promise of a saviour, one who would be bruised but crush the head of the serpent. Hebrews 2:14-15 speaks of the work of Christ in this way, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”
Through confession the man and woman have been laid bare and received the word of the Lord. The Lord does not leave them this way but covers them, not again in their own works, but this time in the skins of an animal. God kills an animal which is the first sacrifice pointing us towards Christ. No clothing we make is able to cover our sins. No great deed we do can merit God’s acceptance. Only the Son is pleasing to the Father. We must be covered by Him, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
The tree of life is withheld. Why is it withheld? So they do not live forever in their corrupt state. In other words it is withheld for their good. It is an act of discipline to be sure, yet it is an act for their eternal good. Church discipline is never a popular concept yet it is a needed act. When a church exercises discipline it is not a mean thing, it is a God thing. It is done for the sinner’s eternal good. It is the church’s responsibility to withhold communion (excommuning) from believers living in unrepentance. It is done so that the person may be led to repentance. It is an act of love.
After this God sends the man and woman out of the garden. The man is to work the land. The benediction follows communion in a liturgy. We are sent out with God’s blessing to work in the world as agents of his kingdom. The liturgy teaches us how to bless the nations. God invited us into his house, cleansed us, spoke to us, fed us, and led us out blessed. Is this not a model for hospititality? The liturgy teaches us how to restore relations with people. We need to invite them over, confess and communicate, perferably while sharing a meal. If a husband and wife wish to draw near to each other, what should they do? They should open their hearts, listen to the other person and talk, and then the way is open for them to join with each other.
Adam and Eve begun this conversation clothed in their own works, hiding in shame. They leave clothed in God given garments with a promise of a future Saviour.
Worship is important, the way we worship is important. It is a dialogue between God and man, it is a gift to sinful people, an invitation into renewed fellowship with their creator through Jesus Christ. Our worship shapes our relationship not only with God but also with the world around us. Every worship service has some order observed week in and week out. God’s simple conversation with Adam and Eve provides us with purpose and shape for our planning.
Of course this is not a complete liturgy. The tree of life was held back from them. Though they were in God’s presence they could not return. The road back was through knife and fire. Who could ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may enter his gates? Who could survive the knife and consuming fire? The story is written, the path is set, we need a greater Adam to pass through death, rise again, ascend into the sanctuary of the Lord granting access to his Presence and to the tree of life. Praise be to God, Christ is dead and risen! The way is open! Let us draw near to God through Him!4 Let us rejoice eating in his presence with his people!
I am following Alan Ludwig (Lutheran) and Peter Leithart (Presbyterian) in seeing a basic liturgical shape within the story. See the beginning of Ludwig’s article avaiable at:
http://www.ctsfw.net/media/pdfs/LudwigLiturgicalShapeoftheOTGospel.pdf
The church’s worship during the middle-ages seemed sadly to become a kind of performance of the priests with the people watching on as spectators. Sadly this error has crept back in with worship services today that more or less resemble concerts or trips to theatres.
Christ died for sinners is a gospel truth filled with comfort. A general call allows a particular application, in the same way as a general sign on a bus saying ‘priority seating’ allows any particular disabled person to sit there. The seat is open, for sinners it says, will you rest in Christ?
Hebrews 10:19-22
This is genius!
Thank you - I'd never thought of this in liturgical terms.
One point that surprised was your reading of the garments of skin as foreshadowing the clothing of glory - perhaps even putting on Christ, or the wedding garment. As far as I'm aware, the fathers (certainly Gregory of Nyssa, Ephrem, Johnny Damascus) saw the skins in a far more negative light: the fruit of the first killing of an animal and so signs of death and animality. Where Adam and Eve had been clothed in God's grace, they substituted this for corruptible matter. The allegory you make could still work, though, because it shows that the physical body itself is also the stuff of redemption, and so avoids the risk of soul-body dualism. Death becomes a vehicle for eternal life through the Cross, and even our animal corporeality will be transfigured by the Resurrection.