Strangely Warmed

The communion service John Wesley sent to Methodists in America in 1784 began with the Lord's prayer and a collect, followed by a liturgical recitation of the Ten Commandments. Wesley adapted the Methodist service from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer . The Ten Commandments had a prominent place in Anglican worship almost from the beginning. The Decalogue first appeared in the liturgy for communion in the 1552 Book of Common Prayer . You can still see the commandments posted in old Episcopal churches that have kept their antique architecture. The 1979 Book of Common Prayer retains the liturgical Decalogue in the section on the Eucharist, and a version can also be found in the United Methodist Book of Worship . Needless to say, this, like much of our rich liturgical tradition, has fallen out of use in United Methodist churches. I commend the commandments for liturgical use, especially in Lent.

Back in 2014, Taylor Burton-Edwards wrote an interesting article about John Wesley's rejection of the season of Lent. In the prayer book Wesley adapted from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer for use among American Methodists, he changed the names of the Sundays in Lent to Sundays after Christmas. Palm Sunday became "the Sunday next before Easter." Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday were completely omitted. The only thing Wesley had to say by way of explanation was this: Most of the holy-days (so-called) are omitted, as at present answering no valuable end. Burton-Edwards conjectures, and this makes sense to me, that the disciplined Wesleyan way already contained elements of Lent as permanent practices. The General Rules required fasting and deeds of mercy. The bands practiced confession, forgiveness and prayer. Love feasts featured testimonies of lives changed through Christ. Watch nights and covenant renewal services focused on honest self-examination and renewed co...