interactive confession

I was re-reading the discussion on relevance at Paradoxology and something that caused very little reaction from me yesterday when it happened suddenly caused an intense response. The response was to feedback to responsive reading for the third Sunday in a row. I was told that there were several people in the congregation that had been talking and had designated my friend to come talk to me about the responsive reading. They said they felt like they were stepping back into their Catholic and Episcopal pasts. They were bothered by memories of mindless written responses to priests lording his leadership over them.
I was told that they appreciated the unison reading of scripture and prayers, but the responsive aspect had a negative affect. So I responded by saying we’ll read next week’s responsive reading in unison. The message is the same. Why let something so silly get in the way of even a few congregation members? Even I have questioned seemingly meaningless methods of congregational readings. At school sometimes we go to ridiculous lengths to break the monotony of congregational readings. Pastor reads, congregation reads, balcony reads, left side of auditorium, women, men, people with red shirts, people with brown hair and blue eyes. I get so anxious worrying that I’m making a fool of myself by reading when I’m not supposed to, that I get nothing from the text. And there is the bottom line. “I mindlessly repeat the text that I’ve read a thousand times and it has no meaning to me at all anymore.”
Here is where the subject changes and I see a connection to my rant on entertainment, lightweight, superficial, application based, consumer oriented worship styles and the baggage that is dried liturgy and mindless doctrinal verbiage. This is as much an admission as an observation.
So we can no longer claim legitimate ownership of doctrine and faith expressed corporately because it requires us to interact with it – to be encouraged by meditating on its meaning and impact. We respond by abandoning it and seek something that soothes and comforts and encourages without the need for thought, meditation, and interaction. We are told what we believe, but have no desire to confess it. We are given 5 bullets and are told how to apply them to our lives this week. Everything is neatly packaged so as to be easily understood without the need for study, prayer, or meditation - all those things that David spoke of that empowered his relationship with a holy God. No one is ever asked to grapple with the mystery, the enigma, the paradox that is the God Who is spirit and the Word made flesh.
Is it the fault of the liturgy and methods that we grow cold? Or is it our tiring of the effort and engagement it takes to keep our faith warm and real? Is it ironic that grappling with our faith and confession of it grows cold while being spoon fed and told what we believe encourages us? Consumer comfort. Tell me where to put my investments, tell me how to treat my wife so that she will make ME happy, tell me how to make God relevant to my life. This is scary.
Imagine the rich depth of the liturgy and prayers expressing timeless faith and needs to someone who has only just been introduced. Countless emerging seekers are finding roots, refuge and respite in the assurance of the stated faith that is the liturgical tradition. People who have tired of, or rejected thoughtless, sign-on, buy-in, shallow, pre-fab, application based theology, are attracted to the mind engaging, heart challenging, faith strengthening ancient traditions.