Li

This semester, I am taking Chinese philosopohy.  What's a a Chinese philosophy class without a study of Confucianism?  In Confucianism, two of the most important concepts are the concepts of ren and li.  Ren is translated roughly into human kindness or compassion and it is that which essentially makes humans human rather than animals.  For anyone that knows much about Aristotle, reason played a similar role in setting us apart in his philosophy.  Li is the expression and practice of ren.  Faith without actions being dead would capture the concept of ren without li.  There must be some practical expression of ren.  Furthermore, li develops ren; it helps it to grow.  It is like practicing an instrument.  Ren is very much seen as a skill and li as seen as the methods by which it is developed.  These methods are considered rituals.  They might be more formal ritual such as weddings or funerals or even less formal, common rituals such as appropriate behavior in given settings.


Confucian values don't seem to mesh very well with American values, especially when it comes to the concept of li.  I wonder if we couldn't learn a few things from Confucius.  Even if our culture refused to look at some of the values found in Confucian philosophy, I wonder if it might benefit the church to look into some of these values and consider the benefits of them, specifically li.  What do I mean by this?


In American culture, breaking away from traditions tends to be valued.  Recently in the church, formalized religion has increasingly grown devalued and is something people are growing suspicious of.  In fact, many Christians are choosing to not use the word religion at all; it seems to have a negative connotation anymore.  Now it's all about the relationship with Jesus- Christianity isn't a religion; it's a relationship.  I was caught up on that bandwago for awhile, too.  Then I did Beth Moore's James Bible study.  In one of the video sessions, she explored the term religion and pointed out that religion merely means devotion to God.  This is a good thing and something we should have!  Somewhere along the line, expression of our faith through ritual received a negative connotation, and I think that it may have something to do with our culture devaluing ritual and tradition. 


So, what reasons are there to suggest that we should value ritualized expressions of faith?  One of the biggest reasons I can find is that God seems to.  In the Old Testament, we see God establish various festivals that the Israelites to remember.  This was to be engrained in their culture and was one of the ways they were to be set apart- not that they had festivals, but what the festivals entailed.  The festivals were a way of remembering God and what He had done for them.  The Israelites had a tendency to forget that and things didn't go well for them when that happened.  Even in the New Testament Jesus commands us to eat the bread and drink of the wine that remind us of His body and blood as often as we will in rememberance of Him.  It's a ritual that allows us to express our faith and serves as a reminder of Christ's sacrifice.


This has been on my heart the last few days as Ash Wednesday has approached.  With my schedule, it would have been difficult to make it to an Ash Wednesday service on time if I went to school.  I have a limited number of classes I can miss, so I wanted to try to go to school and take my chances with making it to an Ash Wednesday service.  However, I also knew there was a chance the train might be running late, I would be tired, and might just end up going home instead.  I didn't grow up going to Ash Wednesday services and part of me thought that it's not about the ritual stuff like services anyways and God will understand.  But the other part of me wondered if I was missing something.  If maybe the ritual stuff meant more than I had realized.  If maybe it was important.


 The fact is, it served the purpose of preparing my heart for Easter.  In our culture, we tend to think of ritual as going through the motions.  But it was a much needed time of reflection.  It was a break from the everyday craziness to refocus on Christ and what's important.  It was purposeful.  It was a break from the motions of everyday life.  It was a deliberate attempt to grow my faith and to express my faith.  In a world that doesn't stop, it caused me to choose to blend in or to be set apart by saying that a church service is more important than anything going on at school that day because what Christ did on the cross is the most important thing in all of life ever.  It re-enforced what I've been studying every week in Acts in my life group- that once a week ritual of studying the Bible with other Christians my age.  As my pastor put ashes on my forehead and said, "From dust you came, to dust you will return.  Repent and believe the Gospel," I was reminded that that was essentially what the first Christians preached.  So simple and so beautiful!  And so much more so after studying it week after week!


Ash Wednesday also ushers in Lent and the ritual of giving something up in order to be reminded of Christ's death and reseurrection.  It's a ritual that has changed my life when I've been faithful to it.  I'm a little nervous about that ritual this year.  I believe God has given me a gift when it comes to writing and that has been affirmed by people in the church.  However, I am my worst critic and it often prevents me from doing a lot of writing.  This year for Lent, I am doing a combination of giving something up/adding something in.  I am giving up my fear of not writing well and adding in a blog post every day (except Sundays, since I get those off!).  So, if you've made it this far, pray for me in completing that goal and pray that it changes me.  I think Confucius may have been on to something, but I don't think he was the only one who had it figured out.


End Note:  None of this is to say that it should end at the ritual stuff.  The Bible is very clear on that and I think making it all about the ritual is part of what has left a bad taste in peoples' mouths about the ritual aspect.  It's merely meant to make a case in favor of the ritual, as I think the baby got thrown out with the bath water.