Ritual for Ritual's sake becomes stale and meaningless.
In Warhammer 40k, this, I think, more than anything, becomes the reason that so many heresies become so prevalent so easily. It's one thing to go through the motions of worshiping the God Emperor, the Corpse God, the Carrion Lord, but quite another to believe in him.
Part of the power of real life ritual, Christian or not, is our intent and our being able to believe that something can happen. If we get caught up in the motions, if we get pre-occupied, then we fail to notice what is happening to us, and around us.
Eventually however, we pause to reflect, and we realize how important our rituals can be to us, whether we acknowledge them or not. We recognize how they may take us far from God, but do so in His name...or bring us to His feet, unable to glance upon Him.
Ritual. Is. Dangerous. For it has the power to build a faith or destroy it. Yet as one reflects upon even the most simple of ritual, never forget the mystery that resides within it. Even the simplest thing done for the glory of God, is no simple matter at all.
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2 comments:
And is it because it's so potentially powerful that people tend to retreat from it and just go through the motions, thus sucking the power out of it?
This is what always frustrated me about church; everyone was just going through the motions. They were there because it was an obligation - "Good Christians go to church every Sunday." It could have gone deeper than that, there was so much potential, but it never did.
I think it may be part of the reason, but I tend to go for "Good Christians go through the motions".
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