The author of another blog asked several of us a question. “What is the way to go to be the church Jesus is building: Sacramental, Attractional or Missional? And in what mixture? For what reasons?” I answered as follows:
In the last book of the Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle, the Pevensie children, after their death, are heading to Aslan’s country and have an odd realization. Though they have crossed out of Narnia, they find themselves in a Narnia which is more real than the Narnia in which they lived. It is Narnia, but more so. The professor, Lord Digory, then says:
“Listen, Peter. When Aslan said you could never go back to Narnia, he meant the Narnia you were thinking of. But that was not the real Narnia. That had a beginning and an end. It was only a shadow or a copy of the real Narnia which has always been here and always will be here: just as our own world, England and all, is only a shadow or copy of something in Aslan’s real world. . . . And of course it is different; as different as a real thing is from a shadow or as waking life is from a dream.”
Lewis catches here something of our approach to worship. In worship we ascend to the heavens, and in our worship we image here on earth the worship of heaven itself. We do realize that, “it is different; as different as a real thing is from a shadow.” But, it is a true shadow. It is in this context that we approach both the Mysteries (Sacraments) and the concept of Attractional. In other words, we are frankly and openly mystics and mystical. St. Paul says that the Church itself is a Mystery. We are the Mystery of God’s presence in this world. We are both the Body of Christ and sinners. In the same way worship is a mystery because we are both with God, participating in the heavenly worship, and yet here on earth. And finally, in the Mystery of the Eucharist we receive the strength and sustenance we need in order to continue walking with Him and in Him. It is bread and wine; it is Body and Blood. For us the house of God is like what Lucy Pevensie said near the end of The Last Battle, “‘I see,’ she said at last, thoughtfully. ‘I see now. This garden is like the stable. It is far bigger inside than it was outside.'” We see our worship as being far bigger inside than outside. We are not “sacramental” because the Church ought to be “sacramental.” We are “sacramental” because it is the only reality.
Because we look to image the heavenlies, we use incense (as in the Book of Revelation); we use vestments; we use liturgy. When we speak of a worship that attracts, we mean both a worship that attracts because an attender can sense the presence of heaven and also a worship that attracts because of its mystical beauty.
Finally, yes, the Church is called to be missional. Sadly, the Orthodox Church in the USA has had the problem of becoming something like an ethnic club in the last 100 years. But, in its history, the Orthodox Church was missional both in the sense of evangelism and various social outreach ministries. I would remind the readers that the “tail” of the State of Alaska is the point of farthest Russian Orthodox advance. The first Orthodox missionaries arrived in Alaska in 1794, and they were renowned not only for evangelism, but also for their strong advocacy in favor of the Inuit against the Russian merchants. But, as in the book, we must go in, in order to go out. For the Church to grow in this country, the people in this country need to see two things. First, they need to see a people whose worship is heaven on earth. Second, they need to see a people who can bring the practical love, grace, mercy, and justice of God to earth in practical ways.
[Author’s note: One of the folk who reads this blog, comments helpfully (and sometimes debates with me), Steve Martin, pointed out that there is a third thing for which people are looking, the preaching of the gospel. He is correct, it is not a matter of doing one or another thing. The people in this country need to see a people who do the above and then HEAR a people who explain to them what they are seeing in terms of the gospel, as St. Peter did in the Book of Acts when he spoke about the fulfillment of the Prophecy of Joel and promptly led several thousand to faith in Christ and Holy Baptism.]
“For the Church to grow in this country, the people in this country need to see two things. First, they need to see a people whose worship is heaven on earth. Second, they need to see a people who can bring the practical love, grace, mercy, and justice of God to earth in practical ways.”
They (people) need to see those things. But even more importantly they need to hear the gospel.
“For how can they hear if they do not have a preacher?”
Nice post. Thanks very much!
That is so true, Steve. Hmm, I may have to add a small edit at the bottom of the post.
Thanks Father Obregon, for the note about the gospel.