It would probably be safe to conclude that everyone agrees
that the church should have a concern for truth. Our history in the English-speaking world,
not to mention some modern-day yard sign battles, might indicate a divergence
about what that truth consists of, but that divergence actually highlights the
common understanding that the church is concerned with truth.
At one time, it was also commonly understood that the church
had a concern for heritage. Some might
see the term tradition, when referring to this heritage, as derogatory, but the
term as used in Scripture simply means that which has been handed down. It was used to refer to the teaching of the
apostles, as it was handed down to their students, and as they recorded it in
their writings, but it also referred to the heritage of the way they conducted
themselves as the church gathered.
In fact, the apostles had such reverence for what had been
handed down that they retained many practices from the synagogue as they began
to gather around preaching and the Sacraments after Pentecost. If your congregation follows a Church Year
(whether just Christmas and Easter or a fuller calendar), if you hear a series
of three readings on Sunday, or if you sing a canticle in the Communion liturgy
called the Sanctus, which begins with the words “Holy, holy, holy” from Isaiah
6, these are just a few examples where you witness elements which go back not
just to the apostles, but which they and Jesus would have experienced in the
synagogue during Jesus’ earthly ministry.
At the time of the Reformation, the question of how to handle
this heritage emerged. Some advocated
keeping what was handed down to them, only editing where necessary to remove
error that had arisen, while others chose to build new forms and orders, after
which later generations of those streams largely repeated the effort.
Advocates for constant novelty in the church often have good intentions,
seeking to avoid thoughtless repetition and encourage sincere expression, but
notice how unique this is in human experience.
Opening ceremonies of sporting events, the awarding of Olympic medals,
academic graduations, never face such accusations, but rather we largely
embrace what has been handed down because it teaches and assimilates those who
observe and engage in the event. How
much more appropriate when that tradition carries eternal truth to those who
participate!
