It’s scary, isn’t it. Jesus said that “The Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath” and back that kind of thinking up many times in His public life, but it seems to get lost. Some of the trends scare me because they move away from the Gospel Jesus’ wishes. I do sometimes wonder how many actually read what Jesus actually said and what He promoted, how he objected to all the crushing laws that people, not God, have made. If I didn’t have faith…
I think that Jesus’ words are being taken out of context. That usually and, unfortuntately, happens when people try to use the Gospel to jusrity quirky stuff that gets inserted into the Mass.
Jesus wasn’t addressing the cultic worship of God in his condemnation of the Pharisees. He was being critical of the 600+ rules and regulations that were added apart from the ritual mandates for sacrificial worship. In a way, it was understandable as to why these were added. The people were trying to do their best to obey the Lord so as to keep from being punished (being sent into exile, being conquered, etc). However, there was such a thing as going too far.
In fact, if anything, Jesus, as God, defended the integrity of Temple worship when He cleansed His Father’s House. The money changers and the animal vendors converted sacred space and turned it into a marketplace because they set up shop in the Court of the Gentiles, which was the place reserved for non-Jews to worship God. If anything, He was vehemently opposed to eccleisal abuse.
As far as organic changes are concerned, you have to differentiate between organic and creative. Organic takes its cue from the Tradition of the Church, as handed down by the Apostles, as received from Christ, Himself. Creative means that someone is trying to make the Mass more interesting, with little regard for Tradition. In other words, these folks are basing themselves on trends and idiosyncracies rather than what the Church holds.
