I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you. 1 Corinthians 11:2
Tradition—holy tradition—is a good thing. Holy tradition is the way the teaching was passed down and preserved in the very early church, before the writings of the apostles were widespread.
Holy tradition should also be thought of as the stream of living water flowing out from Pentecost into all the church in the years and centuries following.
This is true despite the fact that the Church—like Israel of old—has oftentimes failed in her calling and mission. Nevertheless, the water remains pure at the Source; it ever flows both to quench the thirst and to flood the heart of those who take seriously the calling and mission–to speak out and live out the message of God’s love to the world.
