Lutheran Worship Is a Reflection of Lutheran Theology (3 of 7)
By: A.L. Barry
The ancient church had a
saying: “The law of prayer is the law of belief.” In other words, how you pray is
a reflection of what you believe. How a congregation conducts its worship
service is a reflection of its theological convictions. Therefore, Lutheran
worship must always be a clear reflection of Lutheran theology. This is a very
important point.
When Martin Luther did the
work God had given him to do in reforming the church, he did not throw out the
historic liturgical worship of the church. His reforms were cautious and careful.
Luther took the church’s historic liturgical worship and removed the Roman
Catholic errors that had crept into it. He brought the Gospel to the forefront and
got rid of what conflicted with the Gospel. He did not discard the historic
liturgy. Luther’s concern was that the Gospel predominate and be the center of
Lutheran worship. But unlike other reformers of the sixteenth century, Luther
did not believe that the best way to preserve the Gospel in the church was by
cutting off the church’s connection to its historic liturgical practices.
Luther recognized the great value of the church’s liturgical worship.
While it is certainly true
that we can and should borrow what is good from many traditions, Lutheran
worship reflects the historic patterns of worship the church has known for
thousands of years. Sometimes we hear people say that because the Reformation
occurred in Germany, Lutheran worship is “German.” This is really quite untrue.
Our Lutheran worship is in line with the historic worship of the church of the
ages. We need to recognize that our worship reflects traditions that are
Palestinian, African, East Asian, Greek, Italian, French, Spanish, German and
so forth. The historic Christian worship service is rooted in thousands of
years of tradition and reflects the contributions of many ethnic groups. In
this way, Lutheran worship transcends contemporary culture and does not bind us
to any one culture.
But again, let me return to
our thesis: Lutheran worship must always reflect Lutheran theology. What does
this mean for our worship services? It means that we will not go out of our way
to discard the treasures of the Christian liturgical tradition, for we
recognize that these are good forms that transcend time and culture. Because
Lutheran worship reflects Lutheran theology, we notice a strong emphasis on the
proclamation of God’s Word, in both spoken and sung form. We notice a high
regard for our Lord’s presence in His Sacraments, with a particularly high
regard for the Lord’s Supper. Lutheran
worship is shaped and molded by our firm belief that God the Holy Spirit is
present and active in Word and Sacrament, creating a people for God and continually
renewing the people of God.
But let us examine the flip
side of this thesis. If Lutheran worship is a reflection of Lutheran theology,
what do you think might happen if we were, for example, to begin to conduct our
worship services in a manner similar to what one might find in a Baptist
church, a Pentecostal church, or a non-denominational Evangelical church? Do
you think it is reasonable to assume that if Lutherans worship like Baptists,
it will probably not be too long before they believe as Baptists do? Or, if
Lutherans worship like Charismatics, how long will it be before we embrace the
doctrine and practices of the Charismatic movement? If we Lutherans recognize our
roots and why we worship the way we do, it will probably also be true that we
will wish to remain with that basic pattern of worship. As we contemplate changes
in this pattern, we exercise restraint, care and caution, for we recognize that
genuine Lutheran worship is a reflection of genuine Lutheran theology.
A Presentation to the Real Life Worship Conference
Sponsored by the LCMS Commission on Worship
Denver, Colorado
February 1998
Lutheran Worship: 2000 and Beyond
Seven Theses on Worship
CLICK HERE to join in the conversation on Facebook.
CLICK HERE to follow on Twitter.
CLICK HERE to follow on Twitter.
Comments