Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.

• 1 Corinthians 14:16-17

Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk.

• 1 Samuel 1:13

Sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

• Psalm 96:1-3

“It is also plain that the public prayers are not to be couched in Greek among the Latins, nor in Latin among the French or English (as hitherto has been everywhere practised), but in the vulgar tongue, so that all present may understand them, since they ought to be used for the edification of the whole Church, which cannot be in the least degree benefited by a sound not understood. Those who are not moved by any reason of humanity or charity, ought at least to be somewhat moved by the authority of Paul, whose words are by no means ambiguous:”

• John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Volume 2

Calvin is not talking about being vulgar.  He is talking about the common language of the listeners to the prayers, sermons, etc.

My wife was raised Catholic and was looking for a new church home when we started dating.  She grew up in a Latin-speaking Catholic church.  Calvin goes on to write about how he felt many of the popes that insisted on services in Latin might not have understood what they were hearing, and if you wanted the original language, that would be Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

My wife admitted that she had no idea what was being said, but she thought it was a beautiful language.  Then again, my wife spoke two or three languages fluently when we first married and she learned German conversationally in the three years that we lived there.

But beauty was not Paul’s focus.  Our prayers and sermons should be edifying to those listening.  It is the audience that is worshipping.  So, how can the audience say ‘Amen’ to something they did not understand.

Of course, Paul was cautioning the Corinthian church in not getting caught up in speaking in tongues.  He insisted that if someone spoke in tongues, there must be an interpreter so that the others will be edified.  Calvin expanded on the context for practicality.

But what I also see in churches these days are elements of the worship service that seem to be for the highly educated.  You hire a pastor with a doctorate because the pastor has a great deal of knowledge, but when the sermon requires a masters’ degree to understand it, is the church getting their money’s worth?

I would not dare confront such a pastor, but if I did, I might suggest that they do not have to include their entire doctorate education in each sermon.  Preaching from the heart in common language because you love those who are listening is a much better formula.

If you like these Tuesday morning essays about philosophy and other “heavy topics,” but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Tuesday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.