Rituals

Every morning, upon awaking, I begin a series of rehearsed activities. I brush my teeth in the same order, wash and dry in what, to me, seems the only logical way to do so, and comb my hair just as I have for, well, for years now (though some wish that weren’t the case!). This, to me, is nothing but my morning routine – familiar, effective, practical.

In the hospital, we have recently spent a good deal of time teaching the new medical students how to present a patient in a formal manner. The concise and orderly manner of stating an update, vital signs, physical exam findings, laboratory date, and finally the assessment and plan. It is effective communication, to be sure, but its strict order assures that nothing is forgotten. Because when things are forgotten, patients suffer. And so somewhere, now, we begin to assign a certain meaning to routine behavior. It helps us better understand what is going on.

The operating room takes this meaningful routine to its medically-logical extreme. Checklists are run, instruments are counted, the steps are articulated…and all the while a patient lays strapped to a table, his viscera exposed, his whole self reduced to flesh and bones. This routine, here, in this place, has bordered on the ritualistic.

Every Sunday in church we witness and partake in many rituals. Words are spoken in precise order, movements are calculated, and there is even some counting….and all the while a sacrifice on a table is taking place. But throughout it all I find myself asking, for whom are we performing these rituals?

If the answer is for God, then that answer is both terrifying and silly. Do we really think God would refuse to hear the prayers of the faithful because they were not accompanied by the perfect sequence of genuflecting? And if God is that particular, than I, for one, am in deep trouble.

Perhaps we do it for ourselves. Perhaps in performing rituals during worship we somehow ascribe a certain level of meaning that we, has humans, need to have. It doesn’t add meaning, in this case, but it helps us better understand all that is going on.

That’s all for now – I’m off to bed, with a new set of routines and rituals to undertake in the morning.