Improvisation

When Christians gather together to worship, whether two or three or two or three thousand, they are quickly reminded or become aware that they are in the presence of God.  The ability to name the presence of God develops skills that stand in the tradition stretching from wrestling Jacob to the broken bread of the Emmaus road.  By naming the presence of God the community develops the skill of wonder, the virtue of humility, and the notion of God’s glory and faithfulness, in a tradition that stretches from the pillar of cloud to the Great Commission.  At much the same time they become aware of the presence of one another.  By committing themselves to meet regularly together Christians practice the skills of politics, the nonviolent resolution of conflicting goods in corporate life, the virtue of constancy, and the notion of the body of Christ.  More gradually, they become aware of those who are not gathering together – those who are absent.  This is how the community develops the practices of pastoral care and evangelism, the skill of memory for those missing, the virtue of love for the lost, and the notion of the communion of saints.

When Christians listen for God’s word in Scripture, they learn to listen for God’s word in every conversation.  They develop the skill of storytelling, of finding their place and role in the story, of recognising beginnings and endings, of seeing the author at work; and also the skill of listening, of realising how much more there is to discover, of fitting their own small story into the larger story of God.  They practice the virtue of prophetic hope, the conviction that God has acted before to save his people and will act again to set them free.  They learn the notions of revelation, of truth, of communal discernment, of authory, history, and tradition.

When Christians intercede together, thus putting themselves in place of others suffering before God, Christians develop the skill of distinguishing pain from sin, suffering from evil, need from want.  They practice the virtues of patience and persistence – and of prudence, for they learn only to request what they can cope with receiving.  They learn the notions of providence and the kingdom of God, and what it means to have an advocate before the Father.

When Christians come naked and humble before God in baptism, they learn to come naked and humble before God in death.  They develop the skill of naming their own sin, of identifying their participation in human and global fear and finitude, of handing that sin over in penitence, of spiritual disciplines of preparation such as frequent prayer, knowledge of Scripture, and fasting.  They practice the virtue of courage, in anticipating their own death, and faith, in committing themselves to the one who judges justly.  They learn the notions of adoption by the Father, justification through the Son, new birth in the Spirit, liberation from slavery, the resurrection of the body, and vocation to a life of prayer and service.  They realise that salvation is a gift to be received, not a reward to be earned.

By having to share the peace before sharing the bread, Christians learn that reconciliation is as necessary to their lives as their daily bread.  They develop the skills of admonition and truth-telling, of not letting the sun go down on their anger, of forgiveness and working at relationships.  They practice the virtues of mercy and forbearance, of humility and honesty, of patience and courage.  They learn the notion of forgiveness, of the body and its members, of the ultimate unity of grace and truth.

By sharing bread with one another around the Lord’s Table, Christians learn to live in peace with those with whom they share other tables – breakfast, shop-floor, office, checkout.  They develop the skills of distribution, of the poor sharing their bread with the rich, and the rich with the poor.  They develop the skills of equality, of the valued place of differently abled, differently gendered and oriented people, those of assorted races and classes and medical, criminal and social histories.  They develop the practices of giving and receiving, of handing over the firstfruits of labour and receiving back the firstfruits of the resurrection.  They develop the skills of participating in the life of heaven, in realising their simple actions anticipate God’s eternal destiny.  They practice the virtues of justice, generosity, and hope.  They learn the notions of regular dependence on God’s abiding providence, of the coming kingdom, of sacrifice and holiness.

Finally, when Christians are sent back out into the world they learn what it means to be salt and light, to be distinct yet among.  They develop the practices of service and partnership, of seeking out the ways of God in the most benighted corners of the world.  They learn the disciplines and techniques of cooperating with people of very different principles and stories, of resolving conflict without violence and standing beside the weak and afflicted.  They practice the virtues of justice, peacemaking, temperance, and love.  They learn the notions of mission, proclamation, incarnation, and kingdom.

Thus in worship Christians seek in the power of the Spirit to be conformed to the image of Christ.

Samuel Wells, Improvisation: the drama of Christian ethics. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2004; pp 82-84