It is mid-sixties CE, about 35 years after the crucifixion. We enter a small four-roomed Philippi house church. It is located in the Greek Macedon between Athens and Antioch. A couple dozen congregants meet here each Lord’s Day. This is a world without Internet, or even printing presses. Mail is delivered on foot, sometimes by the one charged with reading its contents. This gathering possesses only a single Pauline letter and a few fragments containing various sayings of Jesus. Just a handful of the attendees are literate. Even for them, there are challenges. These documents are written with all capitals. There are no separating spaces or punctuation marks. Chapter verse divisions will not be invented for another thousand years. To be able to read and understand these writings, one would almost have to already know what they say. Way-followers visit the local Jewish synagogue each Sabbath. There, they become familiar with the Jewish roots of the faith. Regular Bible readings are possible because this particular assembly carefully guards their precious hundred-year-old Torah scroll. I wonder why there are such limitations. The lector provides an answer. “Copying a medium sized documents requires the work of a skilled scribe.” In other words, copying Matthew’s gospel would cost thousands in modern currency. There is simply not the funds available. How do Way-followers get the background to understand their newly found faith? Memorization is key. Even in modern times, Muslim children are taught to recite the entire Quran by heart. Many of these young ones don’t even speak Arabic. Moderns are lucky to remember the times tables, a couple addresses, and a few phone numbers. With so much available online, memorization is a lost art. The Philippi order of service is very different from what I’m used to. It consists of liturgical prayers, hymns, responsive readings, and of course, the Lord’s Table. Every repetition engrains the basics into spirit and memory. Each gathering intentionally engages all five senses. Congregants look forward to visits by the local bishop, itinerate preachers, and eye-witness apostles. These frequent Philippi worship services to provide news and testimonies. Other than this, a short bishop approved 15-minute homily is presented by the local priest. Much of this tradition is preserved in Eastern Orthodox gatherings even now. Surprisingly, pieces of the early prayers, hymns, and responsive readings are scattered throughout the New Testament. The Lord’s prayer is one of these which most of us know well. Liturgical denominations recite this important invocation weekly to this day. A responsive reading (dated by scholars to months after the crucifixion) appears in Philippians 2. Paul didn’t make this up as he composed his letter. He writes what he received from the original disciples. His correspondence records this particularly important early Christian understanding of Jesus’ identity and why he came to Earth. Its Tyndale reconstruction follows. The congregational lector (L) reads each section and the congregation (C) responds. (L) Who, though he bore the stamp of the divine Image, (C) Did not use equality with God as a gain to be exploited; (L) But surrendered His rank, (C) And took the role of a servant; (L) Accepting a human-like guise, (C) And appearing on earth as the Man; (L) He humbled Himself, (C) In an obedience which went as far as to die. (L) For this, God raised Him to the highest honor, (C) And conferred upon Him the highest rank of all; (L) That, at Jesus' name, every knee should bow, (C) And every tongue should own that 'Jesus Christ is Lord'. Thanks for listening, Dan Harvey, author of Wrestling with Faith, secondlooknow.com
I often miss the liturgical. Cant we have a modern synthesis?