Heritage and Truth

 

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!