Is Christian “Ritual” Still Relevant? A Perspective from Its Realisation

Versi Bahasa Indonesia dari tulisan ini sudah lebih dulu dimuat di WarungSaTeKaMu.org dengan judul Menilik Relevansi “Ritual” Kristen dalam Realisasinya di Kehidupan Kita.

What came into your mind when you read the word “ritual” in the title? Was the imagery of a priest sacrificing a burnt offering on the altar? Or were you reminded of the Sunday service, every element of which is put in place in such an orderly flow? Or, you might have imagined your routine every morning before you start your day. The above imagery illustrates the three definitions of “ritual” according to Oxford Languages (you can Google “define ritual” if you want to read the definitions further). Why did I (have to) open by talking about definitions? I observe an expansion in the present meaning of “ritual”, where our daily routines which are not related at all to religious rites can be considered as a “ritual”. It seems that “ritual” practices have lost their sacredness in our time. But what does this view imply? When we talk about “ritual” practices, especially in the Christian context, we might unconsciously treat them as already norms in church life which don’t need further explanation beyond their execution. We may even feel that Christian “ritual” practices are no longer relevant in this age, hence we no longer need to practise them. Such practices are like accessories which adorn us well when worn but don’t add much value in essence. After exploring this view further, do you also see the underlying danger beneath it? There’s a reductionism which doesn’t even try to first comprehend the meaning behind the elements of a Christian “ritual” and instead hastily jumps to the conclusion. For me, this view ultimately fails to offer a satisfactory answer to whether Christian “rituals” are still relevant in our time.

From relevance to realisation

I initially wanted to discuss the relevance of two Christian “rituals”, which I narrowed down to baptism and holy communion (you can read my rationale here). However, after writing for a few weeks, I felt the answer I was preparing was equally unsatisfactory and risked falling into the same reductionism which I observed above. Thank God, through this “failure”, He led me to see that the expanded definition of “ritual” actually has a root hidden in His Word.

What does this mean? The word and practice of “ritual” in the religious context may seem to lose its sacredness (or at best have it reduced), but the perspective that our daily routine can be considered a “ritual” actually opens a door for us to witness to the world. But what are we to testify? That in reality there’s no divide between what the world usually calls “secular” and “sacred”, that every second and span of our life with all its mundanity and worldliness is part of the “ritual” which we sacrifice to the Lord.

By this point, you should be able to guess which Bible passage I want to talk about.

More than just an "offering"

Considering its place in the bigger picture of Paul’s letter to the churches in Rome, it should not surprise us that Romans 12:1–2 is one of the passages most often quoted as a sermon’s application. After explaining the foundational tenets of Christianity in the first 11 chapters of his letter, Paul shifts his focus to how followers of Christ can apply those tenets in both their communal and personal lives. Verses 1–2 capture the main principle of the applications that he outlines in the rest of his letter:

1 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

These two verses teach that we ought to align our lives with the will of the Lord because He has mercifully saved us by grace through the faith in His Son (ch. 4–7) from death and sin’s total depravity (ch. 1–3) dan adopted us into His family (ch. 8–11). But how can we live like that? We find the answer in verse 1: by “present[ing our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [our] spiritual worship.” Just from Paul’s choice of words you can see why I chose these verses to discuss Christian ”ritual”, but my rationale actually goes deeper than mere choice of words which matches the context of “ritual. Dr Andrew Spurgeon in his sermon in my church early last month showed that the word “sacrifice” in verse 1 is fundamentally similar to the one used for grain offerings in Leviticus 2. What is the significance of this diction? In the Old Testament, the grain offering is not offered to ask for forgiveness of sin from God, as we may have been understanding about offering all this time. Instead, grain offering is sacrificed on the altar after the burnt offering as a form of thanksgiving to God for His grace and mercy in fulfilling the Israelites’ needs, especially in their journey to enter the promised land. Seeing “sacrifice” in Romans 12:1–2 from the lens of grain offering in Leviticus 2 reminded me of a discussion which took place in my discipleship group a couple of months ago. We’re studying the book of Romans using the Inductive Bible Study (IBS) method and just wrapped up our study of chapter 1. Among the insights which I gleaned from this Bible study, I’m most impressed by verse 21, which teaches that humans in our total depravity due to sin don’t and can’t glorify nor give thanks to the Lord who deserves them all. Thus, the point of application which I remember the most from our study of Romans 1 is to continually glorify God and give thanks to Him as the adopted children whom He redeemed from the slavery of sin (8:12–17).

Our lives as living offerings of thanksgiving

These seemingly discrete, time-separated Bible studies eventually led me to see that our life which has been redeemed by Christ’s blood is essentially a “ritual” sacrifice, offered not as our attempt to bribe the Lord and work out salvation by our own strength but as our lifelong thanksgiving to He who has graciously saved us. Notice that the Lord has redeemed the entirety of our existence, not just parts of it, including our “bodies” which died because of sin but now live because of Christ (12:1) and our “mind” which desperately denied the Lord but now is renewed by Him so that we may discern His will, “what is good and acceptable and perfect” (12:2).

Since Christ as the true High Priest has fulfilled satisfactorily the ritual of forgiveness of sin which we fail to fulfil due to our total depravity because of sin (Hbr. 9:11–28), doesn’t it make sense that we, as the people whom He has redeemed, sacrifice the entirety of our existence as our “grain offering” to Him? Thus every word, thought, and action, including daily routines as well as the practices of baptism and holy communion, is our thanksgiving to Christ which glorifies Him for His sacrifice on the cross. There are many further applications and reflections which you can develop yourself from my sharing here. Dr Andrew Spurgeon himself ended his sermon in my church with four points of application: unselfishly exercise our spiritual gifts to serve others (12:3–8), unhypocritically love another (12:9–21), unconditionally submit to the rulers whom God appointed (13:1–14), and unwaveringly accept one another (14:1–15:13). I myself would like to highlight briefly an application whose importance I feel again since returning to full-time job: work-rest balance, which I have discussed at length here. Although my current job is a continuation of what I studied in my master’s programme, there are still many things that I’ve yet to fully grasp in my new field (I changed from environmental consultancy to sustainable finance). As a result, I’ve been working overtime in the office for the last 1.5 months to catch up on my projects. This busyness deepened my appreciation for the times of rest which the Lord provided, where I could take my time reflecting on the works which He was working powerfully through me in this new industry and attending to the needs of people around me. When we offer the entirety of our life as our thanksgiving unto God, surely there is His joy and peace to sustain us amid our suffering and busyness. In closing, are Christian “ritual” practices still relevant for us in the present? The answer that I have tried to convey indirectly through this writing is “Yes”, firmly and joyfully. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). The grace of Lord Jesus be with you who love Him with love incorruptible, soli Deo gloria.