Importance: 10%
The Big Idea
This distinction is not as helpful in practice as it seemed when I first read about it from Smith and wrote it out. The idea that liturgy is rhythm and that liturgy is doing the redeemed world right (from Marriott) are much more compelling and useful definitions of liturgy.
If we are seeking to shape the desires of our people through embodied practices. The next question becomes: What practices are we after? Are we trying to tell people how to brush their teeth or make toast?
While those practices do shape us to a certain extent, they are not quite the practices we are after. James K. A. Smith introduces a helpful hierarchy to understand different kinds of practices.
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Rituals - Everyone has rituals. Habits that happen regularly like: putting gas in the car, reading the news, etc. Anything we do regularly counts as a ritual.
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Practices - Out of our rituals there are a number of regular activities that rise to the level of being a practice. Athletes and musicians practice to become better at their craft. So too, our practices are aimed toward a particular goal. For example we go to work for the goal of making money.
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Liturgies - The most specific kind of regular activity is liturgy. Like practices, liturgies are aimed toward an end goal. They are more specific however and are aimed at the end goal of fulfilling our identity and vision of the good life.
Liturgies are the most potent of practices. They define who we are and where we are headed. Therefore we seek to shape the liturgies of our people.