Liturgy as Drama

The purpose of this essay is to explore the case for understanding liturgy as a kind of drama. By “liturgy” here I mean religious action in contrast to religious contemplation. The contrast is an especially interesting one, because it cuts across some historically important differences between Christian traditions of worship, and in particular between Catholic and Reformed. The Catholic service of Benediction, for example, seems very far from the austere Calvinist service in which the sermon occupies central place. Yet the two share the same fundamental character in being contemplative, the first by the mystical contemplation of the Blessed Sacrament before the altar, and the second by the intellectual contemplation of the word of God. It hardly needs to be said that deep theological differences lie behind these alternative forms of Christian worship. Yet their essentially contemplative nature means that both allot the worshiper the largely passive role of recipient.

In this respect, however far apart otherwise, both are to be contrasted with forms of worship in which things are done and not merely apprehended. These include acts of purification, investiture, and sacrifice, all of them instances of “making holy,” which is precisely what the etymology of the word “sacrifice” implies. The activity of “making holy” is central to a great many religions, but this essay will be concerned only with the sacramental activities of the Christian religion—such as baptizing, uniting in marriage, and ordaining to ministry—and above all its central and most enduring practice: celebrating Mass, the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion. I shall take the last of these to encapsulate the essence of liturgical action, and for convenience I shall use the relatively neutral term “Communion” to refer to it.