Liturgical Posture

I suggested in Against Christianity that worship can be understood as a sequence of postures: We kneel for confession, stand for absolution and service and to hear the word, sit enthroned to eat and drink in God’s presence, then stand to walk out for ministry.

It occurs to me that this sequence of postures has a Christological foundation: Jesus “bowed low” in the incarnation; stood to serve throughout His ministry; and now is seated at the right hand of the Father. It also appears that we can see a similar sequence in many areas of life; the sequence matches, in a general fashion, the sequence of priest, king, prophet that James Jordan has explored in detail. Liturgy is bodily discipline and training, and in following this sequence, we are being trained to live in a Christlike fashion.