⛪ Ibada — Sehemu ya 10: Mazingira na Ishara⛪ Worship — Unit 10: Atmosphere & Symbols

I. Chumba cha Ibada KinahubiriI. The Room Preaches

Yote tuliyojifunza yanakutana katika wazo moja: chumba cha ibada kinahubiri. Mpangilio wa patakatifu hufundisha teolojia kabla neno moja halijasemwa. Ingia katika nyumba yoyote ya ibada na utazame kilichosimama katikati — kitu hicho kinahubiri kile ambacho watu wanaamini. Mimbari, meza, birika la ubatizo, madirisha, ishara — vyote hivyo vinafundisha. Chumba chote ni ukiri uliotengenezwa kwa mbao, mawe, na vioo vya rangi, nacho huwaunda watu wanaoabudu ndani yake, juma baada ya juma, iwe wanatambua au hawatambui.Everything we have studied comes together in a single idea: the room preaches. The arrangement of a sanctuary teaches theology before a single word is spoken. Walk into any house of worship and look at what stands at the center, that object preaches what the people believe. The pulpit, the table, the baptistry, the windows, the symbols, all of them teach. The whole room is a confession made of wood and stone and colored glass, and it forms the people who worship in it, week after week, whether they notice or not.

Fikiria tofauti kubwa: vyumba viwili vinavyohubiri injili mbili. Katika kanisa la Kikatoliki madhabahu husimama mbele na katikati, Ekaristi ikiwa tendo kuu, na mimbari imewekwa pembeni. Chumba kinasema: wokovu huja kupitia sakramenti; njoo uipokee. Katika patakatifu pa Kiprotestanti mimbari iko katikati na imeinuliwa, na meza ya Ushirika iko chini yake. Chumba kinasema: wokovu huja kupitia Neno linalohubiriwa; njoo ulisikie. Hakuna chumba kati ya hivi kilichotokea kwa bahati. Samani zenyewe zinahubiri mahali ambapo kila mapokeo yanaamini wokovu unapatikana.Consider the great contrast, two rooms preaching two gospels. In a Catholic church the altar stands front and center, with the Eucharist as the central act, and the pulpit set off to the side. The room says: salvation comes through the sacrament; come and receive it. In a Protestant sanctuary the pulpit is centered and elevated, with the communion table below it. The room says: salvation comes through the preached Word; come and hear it. Neither room is accidental. The furniture itself preaches where each tradition believes salvation is found.

II. Kila Mapokeo Hukuza Hisia ya KweliII. Each Tradition Cultivates a True Feeling

Hapa kuna kweli itakayokufanya mchungaji mwenye hekima zaidi: kila mapokeo makubwa hukuza hisia ya kweli ambayo ibada inapaswa kuwa nayo. Ibada ya Kikatoliki hukuza kicho. Madirisha ya vioo vya rangi, dari ndefu zilizopinda kama matao, kinanda kikubwa cha mabomba — vyote huinua macho na kuzilemea hisia, vikizaa hasa hisia ile Isaya anayoieleza alipomwona Bwana ameketi juu, ameinuliwa sana. Ibada ya Waorthodoksi wa Mashariki hukuza fumbo, ukuta wa sanamu takatifu (iconostasis) ukiificha madhabahu, uvumba, na Liturujia ya Kimungu ndefu inayoimbwa kwa ukariri, vikileta hisia ya mbingu kushuka duniani. Ibada ya Waorthodoksi wa Kikopti hukuza ustahimilivu na uchaji, kwa liturujia zenye umri wa karne kumi na sita na zaidi ya siku mia mbili za kufunga kwa mwaka.Here is a truth that will make you a wiser pastor: each great tradition cultivates a true feeling that worship should include. Catholic worship cultivates awe. The stained glass windows, the high vaulted ceilings, the pipe organ, all lift the eye and overwhelm the senses, producing exactly the feeling Isaiah describes when he saw the Lord high and lifted up. Eastern Orthodox worship cultivates mystery, with the iconostasis screening the altar, the incense, and the long chanted Divine Liturgy creating a sense of heaven come to earth. Coptic Orthodox worship cultivates endurance and reverence, with liturgies sixteen centuries old and more than two hundred days of fasting in the year.

Mapokeo ya Kiprotestanti nayo kila moja hukuza jambo la kweli. Wareformed hukuza akili, kwa mimbari iliyo katikati na mahubiri ya makini yaliyofikiriwa vizuri, wakiiheshimu nusu ya "kweli" ya Yohana 4:24. Mapokeo ya Kilutheri husawazisha neno na sakramenti, yakishikilia vyote viwili pamoja badala ya kuchagua kimoja. Mapokeo ya Kianglikana hukuza uzuri na utaratibu kupitia Kitabu cha Sala za Pamoja (Book of Common Prayer). Mapokeo ya kikarismatiki na ya Kipentekoste hukuza furaha, kwa mikono iliyoinuliwa na sifa za papo hapo, yakirithi Zaburi 100 na Daudi akicheza mbele ya sanduku. Na Wakristo wa Kiinjili hukuza umakini juu ya Neno linalohubiriwa. Kila moja ya hisia hizi ni ya kibiblia mahali fulani. Mwabudu aliyekomaa hujifunza kutoka kwa zote, na hatari katika kila mapokeo ni kudhani kwamba sehemu tunayoijua ndiyo jumla yote.The Protestant traditions each cultivate something true as well. The Reformed cultivate the mind, with the centered pulpit and the careful, reasoned sermon, honoring the truth-half of John 4:24. The Lutheran tradition balances word and sacrament, holding both together rather than choosing one. The Anglican tradition cultivates beauty and order through the Book of Common Prayer. The charismatic and Pentecostal traditions cultivate joy, with raised hands and spontaneous praise, inheriting Psalm 100 and David dancing before the ark. And evangelicals cultivate focus on the preached Word. Every one of these feelings is biblical somewhere. The mature worshipper learns from them all, and the danger in every tradition is to mistake the part we know for the whole.

III. Kanisa la Watu Weusi na Neno Kutoka MagerezaniIII. The Black Church and a Word from the Prisons

Mapokeo moja yanastahili kuangaliwa kwa namna ya pekee, kanisa la Watu Weusi, ambalo lina ushiriki wa kusanyiko katika kiwango cha juu kuliko mahali popote. Kusanyiko humwitikia mhubiri kwa sauti, likimtia moyo kwa Amina na "Hubiri!" na "Sema!", hivi kwamba mhubiri na watu wako katika mazungumzo hai. Mahubiri mara nyingi hubeba mdundo wa kuimba, sauti ikipanda na kushuka kama muziki. Kuna furaha na udugu, ibada iliyofuliwa katika mateso lakini inayofurika kwa shangwe.One tradition deserves special attention, the Black church, which has congregational participation at the highest level found anywhere. The congregation calls out to the preacher, urging him on with Amens and "Preach!" and "Tell it!", so that preacher and people are in living dialogue. The preaching often carries a sing-song cadence, the voice rising and falling like music. There is joy and brotherhood, worship forged in suffering yet overflowing with gladness.

Maelezo ya Wayne: Nilihudumu kama Kasisi wa Gereza, Msaidizi wa Mkuu wa Gereza, na Naibu Mkuu wa Gereza katika mfumo wa magereza wa Louisiana, nami niliketi katika ibada za Watu Weusi huko juma baada ya juma, mwaka baada ya mwaka. Lazima nikuambie, sikuwahi kuona mahali pengine kile nilichokiona katika makanisa madogo ya magereza yale. Wanaume waliokuwa wamepoteza kila kitu ambacho dunia inakiona cha thamani, wanaume wasiokuwa na kitu kilichobaki ila maisha yao, waliabudu kwa nguvu zao zote. Waliimba, waliomba, walimwitikia mhubiri, na baadhi ya wahubiri hao walikuwa na mdundo wa kuimba uliopita chochote ninachoweza kuandika ukurasani. Kulikuwa na furaha katika vyumba vile ambayo bado siwezi kuieleza kikamilifu, na udugu kati ya wanaume waliovunjika ulionyenyekeza. Nilijifunza mengi zaidi kuhusu ibada kutoka kwa wanaume wale kuliko kutoka katika patakatifu nyingi nzuri. Huwezi kulisahau jambo hilo.Wayne's note: I served as Chaplain, Assistant Warden, and Deputy Warden in the Louisiana prison system, and I sat in Black worship services there week after week, year after year. I have to tell you, I never saw anywhere else what I saw in those prison chapels. Men who had lost everything the world counts valuable, men with nothing left but their lives, worshipped with all their might. They sang, they prayed, they answered the preacher, and some of those preachers had a sing-song cadence that was beyond anything I can put on a page. There was a joy in those rooms I still cannot fully explain, and a brotherhood among broken men that humbled me. I learned more about worship from those men than from many a fine sanctuary. You do not forget it.

IV. Ishara Nne za Chumba cha Kanisa Linalobatiza WaaminiIV. The Four Symbols of the Believer's-Baptism Room

Sasa tazama chumba cha kawaida cha kanisa linalobatiza waamini. Kina ishara kuu nne, na mahali pa kila moja panafundisha. Kwanza, mimbari, iliyoinuliwa na iliyo katikati, kwa sababu Neno linalohubiriwa ndilo kiini. Pili, meza ya Ushirika, iliyo katikati lakini chini ya mimbari, ikitangaza kwamba Neno limeinuliwa juu ya sakramenti. Tatu, birika la ubatizo, lililo wazi na katikati, kwa sababu ubatizo ni ukiri wa hadharani. Nne, Biblia iliyo wazi juu ya meza ya Ushirika, ikitangaza kwamba hata Meza ya Bwana inaeleweka kupitia Maandiko. Zisome hizo nne pamoja na chumba kinakiri Maandiko peke yake: Neno juu ya sakramenti, ubatizo hadharani, Biblia iliyo wazi juu ya vyote.Now look at a typical believer's-baptism church room. It has four main symbols, and each placement teaches. First, the pulpit, elevated and centered, because the preached Word is central. Second, the communion table, centered but below the pulpit, declaring that the Word is elevated above the sacrament. Third, the baptistry, prominent and central, because baptism is a public confession. Fourth, an open Bible on the communion table, declaring that even the Lord's Supper is understood through Scripture. Read those four together and the room confesses Scripture alone: the Word above the sacrament, baptism public, the Bible open over all.

Kwa hiyo mchungaji lazima ajue chumba chake kinasema nini, kwa sababu samani huwafundisha watu kila juma, hata kwa ukimya. Ikiwa meza iko chini ya mimbari, watu hujifunza kulithamini Neno kuliko vyote. Ikiwa meza iko mbele ya mimbari kama madhabahu, hujifunza kuithamini sakramenti. Chumba kinafundisha wakati mchungaji hasemi. Kwa hiyo panga mahali pa ibada kwa makusudi, ili chumba kihubiri kile unachokusudia kihubiri.So the pastor must know what his room is saying, because the furniture teaches the people every week, even in silence. If the table sits below the pulpit, the people learn to value the Word above all. If the table sits in front of the pulpit as an altar, they learn to value the sacrament. The room is teaching when the pastor is not speaking. Therefore arrange the place of worship deliberately, so that the room preaches what you mean it to preach.

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