An Old, Old Liturgy

SUN., OCT. 31, 1993, 5:35 AM
MICHAEL’S, FELTON

Last evening you experienced, again, a form of the old, old liturgy which is basic to the Orthodox tradition. This morning you shall try to worship in this way again, for an even longer time. Be assured that I shall be with you, o son, for I do love the icons, the incense, the singing in this formalized way, and the almost endless repetition.

Does this expression of approval by Me, the Holy Spirit, mean that you, the father and grandfather of this family, should try to turn your spirit toward this tradition and respond to it as they do? Not a bit of it. I do want you to resolve, at least for comfort, the issue of the Holy Eucharist. Their tradition (at least their interpretation of it) says that you may not partake of this Holy Meal, the culmination of the worship service. Today I do not want you to feel excluded. Just know that you are part of My Body, irrespective of this tradition. Watch those who are part of this Body and appreciate their devotion to Me, even as it is expressed in strange ways… strange to you.

And yes, this does lead back to this thorny issue of My love for diversity. This congregation is mostly converts to this faith… except for the children and youth, who have been raised in it. They shall seem comfortable with it, and I again assure you that it is a good tradition… but only one of many. I like the old, old, and I also like the new, and innovative. I like your middle-of-the-spectrum style, and I approve of your comfort in it… and even of the humor and fun that you inject, when you have the opportunity.

For I do approve of this broad spectrum of worship styles. And I do urge some of My servants to feel and proclaim that their style is the best, and that those which are unlike it are not desirable, even wrong. This Body of Mine is mystically One, but actually it also is competitive, one part with another. One portion hears Me emphasizing the need for repetition and faithfulness to tradition… tradition that is old, old. Other portions hear Me call for more spontaneous expression of worship, with music that is at least more contemporary. I see the One as made up of often disparate traditions…and I do love this… and I continue to encourage it.

Part of the maintenance of any tradition is the exclusion of alternatives. I say “part,” for certainly the main reason for the continuation of any practice is that it is satisfying and need-fulfilling. Yet, in your culture, and some others, there is competition with tradition and among traditions. With the possibility that a tradition could be changed, diluted, or even lost comes the desire to defend it… and this gives rise to opposing other ways and excluding those who practice these, in order to maintain the strength and power of what you have.

I expressed something like this, as Jesus, when I proclaimed that I came not to bring peace, but a sword. I also said that I would turn relative against relative, even as these proclamations were not the main thrust of My message. I do seem to divide here in the earth, even as I see all of Creation as one.