Worship is a form of reverence expressed by people with common religious beliefs, values, and practices. There are many religions in the world with diverse ways of worship. They include Christianity, Islam, Taoism, Buddhism, among others. Christianity is the largest religion of the world being observed by the most inhabitants of the world (Editors, 2017) . Even within Christianity, there are many denominations with different beliefs on how Christianity should be practiced, for example, Catholics, Pentecostal churches, Baptists, and Jewish worship. Each of these is unique especially in the way they express worship. This essay seeks to compare the community service worship among the Catholics and the Messianic Jews.
Among the Catholics, community service is more or less a predefined universal protocol that is followed all over the world with little or no deviations. The official form of worship in Catholicism is the Holy Mass. It is perceived to be the most important form of worship conducted on any day but mainly on Sunday, the official day of rest among the Catholics. The congregation meets in church on an agreed time depending on the locality. Men and women are expected to be dressed modestly, but there are few restrictions on the dressing code provided it is socially acceptable. Men and women, as well as children, mix up during mass. There are no specific sitting positions for either men or women. The Mass is divided into two major parts, the Bible readings and the Holy Eucharist (The structure and meaning of the Mass) . It includes prayers, sacrifices, eating of the sacrament, hymns, as well as symbols. It lasts a few hours after which the church members are allowed to disassemble and go home.
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On the other hand, Jewish community worship is officially conducted on Saturday, the day they believe is the day of rest (Zavada, 2018) . They believe that worship incorporates refraining from regular work, conducting business activities and gathering in the synagogues the whole day to express their devotion to God. Dressing modestly is considered crucial, whereby men wear suits and a tie while women are expected to wear free flowing dresses and a veil during the service as a form of respect to God. During the service, the men sit separately from women in the belief that lustful thoughts may arise in case the two were to mix during worship. Jewish community service, just like Catholicism, involves prayers, singing and dancing as well as reading the Bible and relating bible teachings to the contemporary world.
Catholic service starts with a procession of the priest and the altar servants usually from the back to the altar at the front. The congregation stands at this point, and once the priest reaches the altar, he bows and kisses the altar, (The structure and meaning of the Mass) . A repentant prayer is said by all, acknowledging their sins and seeking forgiveness from God. The Gloria, a hymn to adore God, is sang, followed by a unique prayer for that specific day, which is usually predetermined by the church. This prayer is directed to the Holy Trinity, the father, son, and the Holy Spirit. Catholic worship involves many gestures especially sitting, standing and kneeling. During the readings for the day and the gospel reading, the congregation stands then sits to listen as the deacon explains the readings and how they apply to the day to day lives. The second part of the mass is marked with a collection of monetary offertory in baskets. The collection is ceremoniously brought at the altar along with grape wine, host, and water. The wine and some water are put into a chalice then lifted as a symbol of an offering to God. The host is also lifted. The priest washes his hands, and during the consecration of the bread and the wine, the congregation kneels for the first time, during which it is believed that the wine and the bread become the blood and the body of Jesus Christ. After this, the congregation shakes hands as a sign of peace as they sing, then they are served with the Holy Communion after the priest and the altar servants (The structure and meaning of the Mass) . This is unlike the Jewish worship, in which there is no regular eating of bread and drinking the blood of Jesus Christ. This is done only on the Passover, a specific day on the Jewish calendar. There are no exceptional rituals on a normal Jewish worship day (Zavada, 2018).
During the Mass, there are three readings done on Sundays during which the congregation sings the response psalm. The first reading is derived from a book in the Old Testament while the second reading is usually from the Pauline letters for the better part of the year. The third reading is always from one of the Gospels. It is only during the Easter that the first reading comes from the book of Acts. This is unlike the Jewish service during which scriptural readings are made quarterly a year by the congregation leaders and can be derived from any of the books in the bible. The number of readings varies from one synagogue to another.
An ordered mass characterizes Catholicism whereby hymns are sung at certain points during the mass; for instance, during the entrance of the priest and the altar servants and the serving of the consecrated host to the congregation. There is minimal vigorous dancing and singing. The closing song may involve dancing and usually not by the whole congregation, but a group of maybe the youth who perform at the front. In Jewish worship, active dancing and singing predominate the initial part of the service. A vocalist leads in singing local songs well known to the congregation followed by worship songs that are not associated with dancing. Messianic Jews believe that singing is a form of sacrifice and if offered in the right manner, it attracts the presence and protection of God through the Holy Spirit.
Occasionally, Catholic worship is marked with certain ceremonies such as baptism, weddings, funerals, confession of sins, smearing of ashes, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ during Christmas and his death during Easter. Baptism is usually by sprinkling within the church building and in front of the congregation. Baptism is done on children as well as adults. Jews do not believe in celebrating the birth of Jesus as they claim there is no scriptural backing for such a celebration. They perform baptism by immersion in a river only to adults who have repented their sins. They also celebrate the feasts recorded in the book of Leviticus 23. They do this on specific days according to the Jewish calendar. One of these is the Yom Kippur, a fasting day which they believe to be the holiest day when people are rid off their sins if they repent (Zavada, 2018). They dedicate their children at the synagogue.
The head of the Catholic Church is usually the Pope at Rome. However, each Parish is headed by a bishop. The priests and the deacons work closely with the bishop as assistants. This is unlike the Jewish faith whereby there is no earthly figure to represent the head of the church. They believe that Jesus is the head of the church. The priests, pastors, elders, and deacons are considered the biblical church leaders. An overseer may head several synagogues serving the oversight role. In both Catholicism and Jewish worship, women are not allowed to take leadership roles.
Attending a Jewish service as a visitor is considered important and is a sign of expansion of the church. The visitors are appreciated, recognized and are prayed for so that they may continue in the faith. This is unlike in Catholic services whereby visitors are rarely recognized during the mass.
In conclusion, it is clear that worship varies in different denominations even within the same religion. There are also subtle differences from one locality to another in the same denomination. These diversities arise from the different understanding and interpretations of the scriptural readings among people.
References
Editors, H. (2017, October 13). Christianity . Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/religion/history-of-christianity
The structure and meaning of the Mass . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.usccb.org/about/public-affairs/backgrounders/structure-and-meaning-of-the-mass-backgrounder.cfm
Zavada, J. (2018, February 16). Beliefs and practices of Messianic Jews . Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/beliefs-and-practices-of-messianic-jews-700971
