Imitating Saints, Not Celebrities

What is the natural state of man, and where should we set expectations for ourselves? And what should we expect of our fellow beings? What should the standards be that we have for ourselves? In religious services in various religious institutions there are those who minister the flock, and then there’s the flock. So you have the one who leads the service and the ones who partake in the service. But in different areas different things happen. In a small Arab village where there is no hired imam, the people in the village may take turns leading the prayer. So, each one becomes a prayer leader. In the Jewish communities in Brooklyn, ten people are required to have a sufficient amount to have formal prayers; and very often they take turns in leading the prayers. In the Quaker community, if you’ve ever been to a Quaker service, nobody leads the service. People speak when they have the inclination or the call to do so, and there’s no formal hierarchical ministry. The Catholic church on the other hand has a very formal hierarchical ministry, where congregants are even told that you have to go through the priest or the minister to reach the point you’re trying to reach.

So, what is the expectation that’s placed on us? Are we supposed to be good congregants and show up to a congregational service once a week or every morning, and then we’ve fulfilled our obligation? Is our obligation a passive sort of showing up, and then somebody else takes care of the rest of it for us. Well, it’s been made pretty clear that we are supposed to be involved in what we’re doing. We are supposed to be as involved as any congregation leader. We are supposed to be involved in direct communication or at least an attempt at direct communication with our Lord. We need to be involved in our salvation. We cannot depend on anybody else to do it for us.

This means that there has to a certain committent in our relationship with God, a certain committent in our relationship with our way, a certain surrender to the way that we do things, a certain surrender to our obligations. And somehow we have to get into that mode.