Worship, Re-enactments, and the Uniqueness of Christ

Christian people have been worshipping our Lord for a long time. From Old Testament worship that included the sacrifice of four-footed lambs and choirs made up of skillful singers from the tribe of Levi (I Chron 15:16-22), to New Testament worship that included head coverings (I Cor 11) and some form of speaking in tongues (with interpretation – I Cor 14), to mystical medieval worship and the rich sermons and Genevan Psalms of the Reformation, worship through the ages has reflected a growing and deepening understanding of God and his ways.

In the Old Testament, worship was carefully prescribed. The sacrifices were specifically defined, carefully timed, and punctuated with sufficient history as to frighten any who would take them lightly. The death of Aaron’s priestly sons because they offered “unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command” (Lev 10:1) makes the point clearly. The annual festivals of Israel, which Christ Church has studied before and which we will review this year during the annual redemption calendar, make another point. That point is that all of Israel’s worship pointed forward to, and found its meaning in, Jesus the Messiah. Jesus didn’t just validate Jewish feasts by attending them or keeping them. Jesus gave the feasts their meaning. In the Hebrew language, the feasts were “miqra qodesh”—“rehearsals” of the coming Messiah. The point of all of them was that Messiah Jesus was unique, the focal point of redemptive history. He was the light that cast the shadows and forms back through history to the ancient people. Once he came, the festivals lose their meaning. We study them to learn of him.

Through the centuries, there has been an interesting tweak on these things. A major strain in Christian worship has been occasional ceremonies that “re-enact” moments in Christ’s life. Who could be against such things? After all, they celebrate Christ, right?

Such “re-enactment” practices have been so common that all have become accustomed to:

  • Palm Sunday re-enactments of the entry into the city of Jerusalem (either in the ancient city itself, or replicated elsewhere, or echoed more modestly by children waving palm branches in our morning services – usually with no clue of the meaning of what they do)
  • Maundy Thursday re-enactments of Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet
  • Good Friday re-enactments of the crucifixion (“stations of the cross” physically enacted in some places, artistically celebrated in others; in Latin America and the Philippines, actual crucifixions of volunteer devotees; parading a life-sized crucifix “giving something up” for Lent, a form of self-denial in honor of his
  • Easter sunrise services, attempting to re-enact what cannot actually be done by (at least) being up at dawn
  • The Lord’s Supper understood as a “re-sacrificing” of Christ, the meal thus explained as a re-enactment of his death

While the history of these practices is long and liturgically rich, such re-enactments can easily confuse God’s people and become theological distortions. The simple reason is that the redemptive activities of Jesus the Messiah are unique, once-and-for-all. They cannot be copied with any redemptive value. Trying to do so wanders, inevitably, into superstition – the belief that mimicking what he did will somehow benefit us today. Ultimately, faith is not necessary for mimicry.

Palm Sunday, for example, is often misunderstood to be a ‘triumphal’ and victorious celebration. Yet it is often forgotten that Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was misunderstood by the crowd. The king who came did so for the explicit purpose of submitting to examinations by those charged with testing the Passover lamb. The king who entered his own city would be crucified days later to the demands of a mob that had just heralded him. And the kingdom of which he preached would not deliver Israel from the Romans by force, but would deliver from sin and death only by the death of the king.

I encourage you to reflect, these holy days, on what is unique about Christ. Meditate on the irreducibly unique events in his life and ministry. Worship him precisely because you cannot copy him, cannot possibly know how he felt or really know what he went through. Worship him because stands alone, unique as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

John