These certainly are strange times that we’re living in – no leaving the house, no going to church, no using more than 4 squares of toilet paper per “trip”. But despite all the craziness, one thing that does not change – and will NEVER change – is the following commandment (#4 out of the big 10):
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8
With that in mind, below is something I put together for our church family here at STSA. While some churches are back to praying Liturgies and others are streaming for their congregation, we are currently unable to do either. So instead, we are encouraging our members to have a time for Liturgical prayer in their homes.
Of course, nothing can replace being in church together on a Sunday morning and experiencing the fullness of Liturgical worship. But just because we can’t have the fullness of the Divine Liturgy, doesn’t mean that we have to forsake the experience altogether. As a wise man once said “If, when going into some great garden, I cannot eat all the fruits, would you wish that I go away from it completely hungry?” (St. Cyril of Jerusalem).
So with that, below are my thoughts on how to get started Liturgical praying at home.
The world has changed but God hasn’t and neither has our need to worship Him COMMUNALLY and LITURGICALLY.
But for many, the difficulty lies in where to begin. We may have attended Liturgy many times, but we’re now realizing how much we have been relying on others to do the heavy lifting with the prayers and hymns. What do we do now that we’re on our own?
I believe God has laid a golden opportunity in front of us. He’s giving us a chance to move from a passive spectator into an active participant in our Liturgical worship – a skill which will not only help you through this time at home, but will also be a tremendous boost to your Sunday experience when we do return to church.
We can/must still find a way to consecrate our Sunday mornings and experience God through some form of communal, liturgical prayer.
Because while we can’t take communion right now, we can certainly still connect with God. We can’t see Him in the gifts of bread and wine, but we can still hear Him through His Word. We can’t come together as one family to praise our risen King, but we can still lift up our own voices and sing those same praises with our little families, because we know that God abides in our hearts and in our homes, just as much as He does in our church.
Here are some tips to help you get started.
1) SET A SPECIFIC PLACE AND TIME
Just as we normally plan to meet God at a set time and a set place on Sunday mornings, do the same at home. During Holy Week, we all saw the value of having a set schedule and creating an environment free from distraction and clutter. The same still holds true. Set the time from the night before and be sure to rid the environment of all clutter or distraction beforehand.
2) DOWNLOAD THE LITURGY PRAYERS
Each week, we are creating a powerpoint file with an abbreviated version of the prayers to use at home (see www.STSA.church). Be sure to download the file in advance and familiarize yourself with various components.
It includes some prayers to be recited as a group, readings to be done by one person, and hymns to be sung by all (visual cues are included to help you know the difference). The file also comes complete with recordings of the hymns that you can play and sing along with if needed.
3) LOOK TO ADD, NOT CUT
If we’re honest, we usually approach Liturgy with a minimalist mindset: “do we have to do this piece? Can’t we cut this out? We can save 5 minutes if we skip this.” And while I understand why we do it (even priests do it sometimes 😊), now is NOT the time to be a minimalist.
Now is the time to do the opposite. It’s not the time to ask “what can we CUT?” but rather “what can we ADD?” What can we add to make our home experience more like our church experience?
So I invite you to think of what aspects of Liturgical worship you can add in to the set prayers that are in the PowerPoint file. If you love the doxologies and praises during Matins, maybe you could add those in. If you love the communion hymns like Very Early Sunday Morning , maybe you could add that. If you feel a sense of connection when we bow down and kneel in silence, then maybe you could add that in.
The point is that you should do as much as you can to incorporate elements of the church experience into your homes. It will never be the same of course, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some aspects. Remember the quote from the opening paragraph?
4) HOLD OFF ON BREAKFAST
I know, I know: “why should we fast if we’re not taking communion?” But the point of this entire document is that there are certain elements to aid one in connecting with God. Singing hymns is one of them. Reciting prayers is another. Fasting is also on that list.
We don’t just fast to take communion; we fast to empty our stomachs and our minds so that we can approach God with a true hunger – figurative and literal. Trust me, eating that juicy bacon and those fluffy pancakes and then trying to recite the hymns and Liturgical prayers just doesn’t feel right. So give fasting a try and see if that helps.
5) JOIN A GROUP
Our Sunday worship is not just Liturgical, it is also COMMUNAL. And that communal piece cannot be neglected (see Matthew 18:20 and Hebrews 10:24).
So for those who live alone, consider coordinating with a small group of friends (4-8 would be ideal) to do the prayers together. Each group should have a leader to assign different parts to each participant - no passive spectators!
God willing, this time will pass and we’ll be back at church soon enough once again. But the question is “what will our spiritual lives and our liturgical habits look like when we get there?”
“‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.”
Deuteronomy 5:12-14