Liturgy: “Un-Built Furniture Needs No Instructions”

If we love the Son, we must keep his word. Un-built furniture needs no instructions, but Jesus is building a political capital through us. In order to build, instructions must be followed and our reverence to the Boss is paid in our labor.

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What is the King’s Liturgy? King’s Liturgy defines our experience together as a Christian community. It outlines the rhythms we celebrate with the Church at large: Scripture readings, Sabbath habits, and celebration of Holy Days and historical events.

This week’s Scripture readings: 
Psalm 67
Acts 16:9-15
John 5:1-9
John 14:23-29
Revelation 21:10, 22:1-22:5

This week’s liturgy is contributed by Dru Johnson, Assistant Professor of Religious and Theological studies:

If anyone loves me, he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.

What else is there to say? One of the greatest sins of the American church is the intentional distance we put between ourselves and doing what we know to be God’s instruction. It’s not too hard, it’s not difficult to understand, but it requires us to do something.

The Gnosticism that tempts all also tempts The King’s College greater than most. We love ideas—BIG IDEAS. Ideas in our heads seem to us like objects to manipulate. Ideas are our prey. Like kittens pretending to be lions with their spindled-yarn gazelles, we bat them around on the safe couches of our minds. But we’ve got it all backwards. Ideas cannot be trued by merely thinking it through.

But what must we do? We must follow the instruction of our Master. Our love of Him is vindicated by our actions (as Jesus’ brother once wrote to the church). If we love the Son, we must keep his word. Un-built furniture needs no instructions, but Jesus is building a political capital through us. In order to build, instructions must be followed and our reverence to the Boss is paid in our labor.

Many of you know the dictum I learned and passed along to you, especially when you asked me questions about the Bible that seemed unknowable to me:
I am not bothered (much) by that in the Bible which I do not understand. I am terribly bothered by that which is clear to me, yet I fail to do.

Be bothered by Jesus’ words above—
“Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.”
be very bothered. Let these words un-situate you from your comfy mental couches.


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