Traditions - a podcast by Christopher Stephens

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If traditions were a sword they would be a double edged sword. In the church they can cut in two ways. There are those ways in which they can hurt and those ways in which they help. I always recall the story of the white table cloth. I was told a boot a church that had an issue. When they would have communion there was a white table cloth on top, until there was a't. When the church came together on this day for communion people lost their minds! I know it sounds foolish but let's look at both sides.

You may be thinking that a tablecloth being removed shouldn't be a big issue but it was. And it hurt people! Something that they believed to be right was changed without their permission! No one explained they just changed things. Anger of course is a natural response along with confusion. This tradition ended up hurting the body and causing unity to disappear.

But when you look on the other side of this tradition it cuts in a much different way. I recently had someone explain church traditions to me in this way. They explained that traditions are a means of passing on or continuing our beliefs. This table. cloth represented how sacred, holy, special, and important Communion was. This tablecloth reminded folks of the importance of what was about to take place. 

Today we are engaging in a lot of traditional methods of our past From the bell telling the church that worship is about to begin to the use of song books and actually reading scripture from our Bibles instead of a screen! These things aren't always a cause for pain and strife but pass on important aspects of faith. Let us continue to remember the traditions of the past for the right reasons and find ways to pass on our beliefs.

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