At church this morning, I had an interesting discussion. The lady
who was supposed to lead the liturgy part of the service today is away
at a basketball game (which, if I'm not mistaken, is the state
championship), and so somebody else (whom I'll call Joel) was asked to
take her place. Joel was telling me that he'll be leading the liturgy,
but he went on to say that he's humble about it. I was a little
surprised that he was making such a big deal about leading the liturgy,
so I said to him, "Well, it's the liturgy. You go up there, and you
read it!" I think that I came across as more tactful when I said those
words than my comments may appear in written form.
I'm
personally the type who just goes up to the front and reads the
liturgy, without worrying about whether I'm spiritually worthy or
sufficiently humble. Maybe that's because I'm eager for the liturgy to
be over so that I can return to my seat. I'm focused on the task at
hand. Plus, deep down, I don't think that leading the liturgy is
something that should make me overly proud. It does not exactly tax my
skills or talents! I just get up there and read.
But
some people at my church are afraid of leading the liturgy. They fear
that they'll make a mistake and be judged for it. I suppose that I could
make a mistake. Come to think of it, I one time did: the Pastor
Emeritus was leading the service, and I didn't know that I was supposed
to introduce the service; rather, I thought that he was supposed to
introduce it, and then I'd do my part. But I wasn't judged for my
mistake, as far as I know. And, even if I was, I don't know about it.
Maybe I could head up to the front and trip, but that doesn't worry me a
great deal. Plus, people at my church are nice people, so I doubt that
they'd be too hard on me were I to trip!
While I myself don't
take leading the liturgy as seriously as Joel does, I do admire his
seriousness and his desire to be humble. Joel recognizes that the
liturgy is a sacred event. It's a time when we read prayers and hear
words of assurance. Granted, that can become a rote act. Some people
may read those words without paying much attention to them. But the
liturgy can be a time of personal growth, as we confess our faults and
receive God's assurance.
I suppose that, where I struggle with
pride, it's in the area of preaching and making comments in my Bible
study group. That's where I need to be humble.