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The liturgy - Outstanding expression of faith
A. C. Rijk

The conciliar constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium states that the liturgy "is the outstanding means :by which the faithful can express in thbitv lives, and manifest to others, the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church". Indeed, the life and beliefs of the faithful find expression in the Liturgy. Through various forms of exterior activity -- readings, prayers, gestures and actions -- the interior life of the Church becomes -.visible. The basic content of the faith, the intimate relationship between God and his people and the strivings of man to find ways to express his deep religious feelings are all clearly revealed in the liturgy, In a word, the liturgy is the concrete manifestation of man's kinship with God, In a certain manner all life is liturgy. The sacred action that bears this name should never be divorced from the other areas of human life; on the contrary,it is essentially linked with the whole life of man and each is influenced by the other.

Participation by the whole community in public worship is very much in the foreground today. More and more the liturgy is becoming a really communal act. Thus is brought into relief the desire expressed in the Conciliar document that, in the liturgy, the faithful show forth the authentic nature of the Church.

The history of the liturgy is as old as the history of the people of God. The Exodus from Egypt was put in a liturgical perspective when expressed as a call to the people to the explicit service of the true God. Moses said to the king of Egypt, "Let us go a three-days' journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God" (Ex, 3:18), Holy Scripture uses the word gahal (assembly) to describe the people of God, This was later translated into Greek by ekklesia and is familiar to Christians today in the Latin ecclesia (cf. Deut. 4:10, 9:10, 18:16, Ex. 19:16-20, Acts 5:11, 7:38, etc). Qahal has a meaning that is essentially liturgical. It expresses the people's vocation to adore and glorify God through all that they are and do. The people of God is a liturgical people.

Though-1 its fundamental structure was fixed in biblical times, _the liturgy has been subject to many influences in the course of centuries because it grows and changes with the people as they travel through history. The great transformations that come about in society influence it. Aberrations in the thought and attitudes of the faithful have also affected the liturgy, and it is for this reason that it is always in need of reformation and must constant return to its true source to purify itself.

As the relationship between Christians and Jews has been bedeviled by many false ideas, lack of comprehension and esteem, it is easily understandable that the liturgy bears traces of such a history. This is all the more dangerous because, in the education of the faithful, the liturgy plays such an important part and will do so more and more, This role cannot easily be underestimated,In order to change a mentality and create .a climate of understanding and love, revision and purification of the liturgy are indispensable. So far the liturgical movement has not been sufficiently conscious of the ecumenical nature of the relationship between Christians and Jews and of its profoundly biblical roots. May this reform, promulgated by the Second Vatican Council, and now being accomplished, appreciate the concerns and satisfy the legitimate desires of al who are called "a chosen race; a royal priesthood; a holy nation, God's own people" (Ex. 19:5-5, Is. 43:20-41, I Peter 2:9).