As my godfather told me, unlike the typical evangelical church service, Sunday morning is not about converting people. Following the customs of the early church, it is primarily for those who already believe. The Sunday morning Divine Liturgy is a time of prayers and praise (and a short sermon) that revolve completely around the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus and His presence with us and within us in the Eucharist.
Sunday is a Eucharistic Banquet, not an outreach program, which could certainly rile any good evangelical’s feathers.
“Why the inward focus?” they might ask,
“What about all of those lost souls?”
To that I would say there are six and a half days for evangelism. Why is it wrong to spend a couple of hours each Sunday praising our Savior and praying for the salvation of the world?
May the peace and love that overflows from a life transformed in Christ be all of the witnessing that is necessary for us.
Not that there isn’t room for discussion or even a friendly, light debate, but in the end, I find a life transformed and beautified to be much more compelling than a slick sermon or a well-rehearsed argument.
“Acquire the Spirit of Peace, and a thousand around you will be saved.” ~St Seraphim of Sarov
The Orthodox Road, a blog