What is a rite?

Answer

A rite is a ceremonial action performed in an approved manner and following a specified form. Often, rites are religious in nature, but not always—clubs, guilds, and fraternities may have initiation rites for new members, for example. Rites are usually based on long-standing traditions, which, in church rites, people often consider to be sacred. The word rite is related to the word ritual.

In the Old Testament, various rites were commanded as part of the Mosaic Law. The Day of Atonement required a complicated series of rites to be performed (Leviticus 16). God specified the minutiae of the ceremony: the high priest laid aside his official garments, bathed himself, and put on a garment of white linen. He then offered a bull as a sin offering for himself and the priests. He took a censer of live coals from the altar of incense and took it into the Holy of Holies. He sprinkled the blood of the bull on the mercy seat and on the floor before the Ark of the Covenant. Returning to the courtyard, the high priest cast lots over two live goats. He killed one goat as a sin offering for the nation and took the blood from that offering through the veil and sprinkled it as before to make atonement for the Holy of Holies. He went back outside, placed his hands on the head of the live goat, and confessed the sins of the people. He then sent the live goat—the scapegoat—into the wilderness. The high priest then bathed again, changed clothes, and offered one burnt offering for himself and one for the people with the fat of the sin offering. The flesh of the bull and the goat were then burned outside the camp. Other regulations are also specified.

The author of Hebrews points out some of the many rites observed under the Mosaic Covenant: “The first covenant had regulations for worship” «Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. », (Hebrews 9:1). However, those rituals were merely “external regulations applying until the time of the new order” (verse 10). The Scriptures are clear that Christ, “the mediator of a new covenant” (verse 15), has fulfilled the Law with all its rituals and regulations « Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. », (Matthew 5:17). The blood of bulls and goats could never remove our sins «For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. », (Hebrews 10:4), but “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (verse 10).

To varying degrees, churches today adhere to religious traditions and rituals. Catholic churches emphasize the sacraments and a ceremonial faith. Liturgical Protestant churches also follow prescribed ceremonies and observe various rituals. Non-liturgical churches practice ordinances (usually baptism and the Lord’s Supper) but minimize other church traditions. Regardless of how informal their ceremonies are, all churches tend to establish patterns and develop specific ways of doing things. Even churches that reject formal, traditional rituals will eventually establish their own “rituals” based on their habits.

The crucial point to remember is that rites and rituals cannot substitute genuine worship of God. “A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24). A ritual performed in a church may carry profound meaning, or it may be nothing more than a cold, empty routine. It may

It can be advantageous in bringing a humble worshipper closer to God, or it may keep a distant heart at a distance. The distinction lies in the heart. Some rituals may be beneficial, but is it possible to worship the Lord without rituals? Certainly. Should we permit rituals to supplant a personal connection with God? Absolutely not.