daily word - ceremony and ritual
Do you know the difference between ceremony and ritual? These words are often used interchangeably, but ceremonies are positive affirmations of the status quo, like parades, and rituals include a dark element. Do you see this in the sacraments of baptism and communion? Baptism is a ritual of burial, albeit in water rather than earth, but the Bible makes this plain, and communion is an invitation to identify with my death by drinking my blood and eating my flesh. If properly understood these are not things to engage in lightly.