Liturgy of the Common Man ~ The Cants of our Congress

Greetings Dear Reader,

For those of you unfamiliar with liturgy, part of the definition is that there are cants and responses.  The word “cant” has mostly a negative meaning outside of church services.  The idea of the cant in liturgy is different.  It is where we get the word cantor, who is someone that proclaims the phrases to which the congregation responds.

The most well-known example is this:

Cantor or Leader: “The Lord be with you.”

Congregation: “And also with you.”

We have a liturgy of communication in our liturgy of the common man as well.  There are the phrases that we utter to each other that keep communication between people at a safe level requiring little real engagement.  We praise Friday and disparage Monday.  We talk about “the game” and our approval or disapproval of the outcome.  The weather is either good or bad depending on whether it fits our plans and preferences. 

There is always the “How are you” and “Fine” part of the daily service.  We repeat this cant and response without even thinking about it.  I stole a response from Dave Ramsey that causes people to listen and even gives me a clue about who they are depending on the response.  My response to the “How are you” cant is “Better than I deserve.”  I use it primarily to remind myself that everything about my life is a blessing from the Father.  I am not getting what I deserve because I walk in the grace and mercy of Christ.

Instead of engaging with each other we have developed a liturgy that keeps us from having to be genuine and vulnerable.  We are designed to care about how others are doing.  There are not supposed to be canned responses to our lives.  If we are going to really live, we must show love to others in every interaction.  I can hear Louie Armstrong singing, “I see friends shaking hands, saying ‘how do you do’; what they’re really saying is ‘I love you.’”  We have lost the freedom to really express our love for each other in the liturgy of the common man.

Liturgy is not wrong but it can become rote and unfeeling unless we fully engage in the conversations we have.  Let us go back to the common service opening.  We do not always engage with the statement, “The Lord be with you.”  We must.  We need to do so.  Someone is expressing the desire that the very God of the Universe be with us.  We wish the same in response.  There is nothing more vital to any human.

It is our obligation to invest love in every encounter.  My liturgy must be uncommon in its level of love and care.  It should reflect the level of engagement with others that should be common.  The only way that we can take on the burden of caring for others is to truly communicate with others.

If I am going to be a true follower of Christ, I must emulate his commitment to really speaking to the hearts and spirits of others.  I must be genuine in my communication and temper it so that it draws others to do the same.  If you wish to try this, Dear Reader, feel free to try it with me.  I want to hear you and see who you really are.  In the meantime, I genuinely wish that the Lord be with you.

Take On Me – A-ha (unplugged)

Original Version Here

We're talking away
Though I don't know what I'm to say
I'll say it anyway
Today's another day to find you
Shying away
I'll be coming for your love, OK?

Take on me (take on me)
Take me on (take on me)
I'll be gone
In a day or two

So needless to say,
I'm odds and ends
But I'll be stumbling away
Slowly learning that life is ok
Say after me
It's no better to be safe than sorry

Take on me (take on me)
Take me on (take on me)
I'll be gone
In a day or two

Oh, things that you say
Is it a life or just to play my worries away
You're all the things I've got to remember
You're shying away
I'll be coming for you anyway

Take on me
Take me on
I'll be gone
In a day
(Take on me)
Take me on (take on me)
I'll be gone (take on me)
(Take on me)

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon                   

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

Facebook        Twitter        

Medium   Instagram 

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/