Fall is upon us, which means the holiday season is coming. During this time of year, I’m reminded how the Spirit of God works through the practice of ritual. Very soon people in our culture will be entering into seasonal rituals that foster gatherings among friends and family, help us express thanksgiving for the gifts God has given us, and generally open our eyes to what God is up to among us. What rituals surrounding the harvest, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even just the season of fall do you look forward to each year? In what ways do those rituals bring you closer to family, friends, and God Himself?
Rituals are important in a world that loves spontaneity. Oftentimes we locate the Holy Spirit’s presence in spontaneous events. That song that popped up on the radio right when I needed to hear it, that’s when God’s Spirit spoke to me. That insight that sprang to my mind during a time of study or prayer, that was the voice of God’s Spirit. That friend who showed up at just the right time, or that inspirational message I heard at just the right moment, those are the times the Spirit is alive and active. And to be sure, biblically speaking, there are ample reasons to use spontaneity as an identifier of God’s Spirit among us. As Jesus says, “the Spirit blows where it chooses. You do not know where it comes from or where it goes” (John 3:8). But Jesus never says that the Holy Spirit is only alive and active in that which is spontaneous.
For Jesus and His Jewish brothers and sister, God’s Spirit was also deeply alive and active in ritual. Celebrating the annual Passover festival told the story of salvation over and over again to a people who constantly needed to remember, “God saves.” Regular Jewish prayers in the morning (Shacharit) and prayers after sunset (Arvit) kept the Jewish people mindful of the presence of God as the sun rose and set on each day. Spontaneity might shock us into an awareness of God’s presence in an important moment, but ritual helps keep our hearts and minds attuned to God’s presence in all moments, especially those that are mundane, “normal,” and not-so-spontaneous.
As a culture, we’re good at creating annual rituals that draw us deeper into God’s activity among us during specific moments (celebrations around Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.), but how good are we at creating daily and weekly rituals that attune us to God’s presence in and near us all the time?
As we enter into seasonal rituals that draw us deeper into life with God and those we love, it might be a good time to wonder about developing daily and weekly rituals that do this good work on an even more regular basis. How do we shape our lives to encounter connective moments with God in the fabric of our mundane, daily lives? How do we attune our hearts and minds not so much to recognize the Spirit’s presence in that which is spontaneous and rare, but also that which is planned, known, and expected? You can be sure God is present in all of it. In this season of rituals, may we use our annual rituals to invite us deeper into the story of God and help us be aware of how God is active in our lives and communities. And, may we be curious about what daily rituals might be birthed from the annual. How can ritual maintain awareness in us of how God is always active in and around us?
