Worship life: music, essence and forms
The Worship Service is an area of both rich blessing and high tension for the Church. This has happened many times, and still happens mainly when form and content, which are both important, get confused and one takes the place of the other. However, the Divine Service is a gateway to the mission of the Church, and the high point of congregational life - even though the life of a congregation is not defined solely by the service or the style of worship but it appears in different areas of its life. Therefore, it is always in need of attention, practice and care in whichever ways and means it is practised and celebrated.
In this essay, we reflect on the musical content and its importance in the Divine Service, and the use of Alternative Liturgical Services as a form of strengthening the Lutheran Church
Musical content
The musical content is normally one of the most sensitive topics connected to Divine Service. which needs attention, care and understanding in every way it is utilized. Two historical illustrations help us to understand how it has always been both an essential and controversial topic in the life of the Church.
One is connected to instruments in the Church. As strange as it may seem for our current Church settings, in the first millennium of the Church most of its leaders were against the use of musical instruments for Worship. The purists' view - that instruments of any kind were secular, "worldly", having no place inside the temple - prevailed. As a result, for the first thousand years, most vocal music in the Church had no accompaniment. [1]The organ itself, today a common instrument in the churches, took many centuries to be admitted to a public Service, after several prohibitions by popes and edicts of the Church.[2]
The second illustration comes from the 17th century. The Lutheran Church in Germany entered the discussion of adopting or not of a model of contemporary music of Italian influence, opera and Baroque polyphony. Pietists were against the use of this musical style in the Church, while most orthodox pastors saw no harm in making use of a new artistic form as a means of communicating the Gospel.[3]
This two examples connect to the fact that there is no sacred music by definition, that is, no type or style or musical instrument can be considered more pleasing to God than others. The fundamental rule for defining Christian music over the centuries has been its content.[4] This increases the responsibility of the Church in the choice and composition of lyrics and melodies, arrangements and instruments, because if the musical style does not have biblical order, the content to be shared needs to be anchored in the Word, as well as the necessary order and decency for public worship. Songs tend to stay in people's individual and collective memory much longer than, for example, sermons. This highlights the importance of using hymns and songs that are not only beautiful and enjoyable but correct in their Christian content.
One of the things we need to notice is that there is not always
right or wrong when it comes to the form (not the essence) of worship, but there is what is appropriate for the context and what is
not.[5]
The traditional versus contemporary antagonism can be a false dichotomy, and there are
other ways to approach it, for example when one utilizes intercultural music.[6]
Music is not a sacrament, but it is of fundamental importance as “a means of
communication. And being a means of communication, it is always a function of
something. Music in the Church is a functional art, it is not an end in itself, but it will
always be in the service of something.” [7] It is not just one more form of art, but the highest of them. At least for Martin Luther: “I do not like him who
despises music, as all fanatics do; for music is a gift and a gift from God,
not from men. It also drives away the devil and makes people happier; you
forget all anger, lack of chastity, pride and other vices. I place music, next after
Theology, and give it the highest honour.”[8] If that is true, the responsibility of the Church in using it increases. When Christian music is mishandled, it carries the danger of deceiving people
in their feelings and projections. Well understood and used, it is a powerful
means of sharing Christ in the Congregation and in the world.
Strengthening the Church with Alternative Liturgical Services.
The definition of Alternative Liturgical Services emanates from congregational practice: forms and practices of Service grounded in the tradition of the Christian Church throughout the centuries, while open to new artistic forms to communicate the Gospel that are adequate and well connected to a given context. As Orthodoxy is something defined and unified, Orthopraxy can open and varied. That is because thinking of forms in the Divine
Service is not always a matter of “or”, but rather, of “and”. The Church does
not need to give up its liturgical tradition, for it has stood the test of
time. And the Church does not need to give up being close to the context in
which it is inserted, since the secular tradition of the Church that we receive
is the result of metamorphoses in time, space and cultures in which it was
inserted.[9]
As Herman Sasse has pointed out, "the history of Church polity is similar to the history of the liturgy. The beginning of each was marked by diversity rather than unity"[10]. Therefore, the Lutheran Church has a rich heritage rooted in the Christian tradition, liturgy, reverence and diversity. Liturgical choices and practices were developed through the centuries and absorbed elements from people and culture of different times and places; they are not a doctrine of the Church. Therefore, historically and in the present the Church would be in keeping with its tradition as she would be providing alternative liturgical Christian Lutheran practices. This approach honours the Church history and tradition, helps to strengthen Her and resonates with the different aspects of the congregational work, which bring benefits and opportunities in her time and place. Here are five of them:
A. Acknowledging Cultural Relevance
The Gospel message is unchanging, but the methods through which it is communicated can vary, without taking reverence away. Investing in alternative forms of worship acknowledges the cultural context in which the Church exists and seeks to engage with individuals in a relatable manner. By recognizing the cultural shifts and applying its theological sound content to it, the Church invests in its potential of reaching out to diverse generations and backgrounds.
b. The Congregants
Alternative forms of liturgical Services often incorporate elements such as music, multimedia resources, and other components. These practices don't take reverence or respect away but foster them. They also help congregants who are less inclined to formal settings to have a lived experience of a different type of engagement with the worship experience. By utilizing alternative liturgical styles, the Church diversifies its ways of fostering congregational involvement, offering opportunities of commitment for individuals and families.
c. Bridging the Generational Gap
Traditional worship may resonate more with certain types of people and/or personality, but other types of congregants may struggle to engage with it. By incorporating elements of alternative liturgical Service, the Church can help to build an inter-generational environment, that is, one that connects all age groups. This may be a good way to foster connection among different generations to worship and learn together.
d. Everyday Life
Alternative liturgical Services have the potential to bring the Gospel message closer to the realities of everyday life for some kinds of people less used to formal environments and language. By working with sound Theology, the Church addresses challenges, and questions that individuals face, as long as the Church remains more Theological than cultural. This approach may contribute for congregants of different backgrounds and personalities to realize that the Divine Service is the unique place where God's Word and Sacraments are offered as gifts connected to their daily life.
e. Cultivating Engagement and Outreach
Embracing alternative liturgical worship does not mean compromising the theological integrity of the Christian-Lutheran tradition. Rather, it encourages the Church to communicate the timeless truths of the Gospel in a way that connects with Her time and place. This approach may open some doors for evangelism and outreach, extending the message of God's Grace and Love.
Alternative liturgical practices within the Lutheran tradition can be an excellent tool for strengthening the Worship life of the Church. She can engage with its times without compromising her unchanging teaching and witnessing of the Gospel. Our time is marked by constant change, and the Lutheran Church has the opportunity to approach today's uncertainties offering that which never changes - The Word of God. By doing so, the Church can foster a community that resonates with individuals of all generations, as she utilizes traditional, alternative, and other different forms of expression. Alternative Liturgical Worship in the Lutheran Church is one of the tools to bring the eternal Word of Hope and Redemption to a time and place in constant need of it: today.
The Worship Service, with its music, forms and content, is an area of both rich blessing and high tension for the Church. However, when the main assumption is that all involved have the same goal - Jesus -, tensions can be reduced and care with understanding will be increased in the congregations' daily life.
[1]Dowley, Tim. Christian Music, a global history . Fortress Press, 2011, p. 37. Interestingly, "the increasingly virulent clerical attacks on the use of instruments in worship are likely evidence of popular pressure on all sides to use them."
[2]Dowley, Tim. Op. cit., p.79
[3]MAYES, Robert. Controversial Church Music – then and now . In: LOGIA, A journal of Lutheran Theology . Epiphany 2011, Volume XX, number 1.
[4]Brum, Paulo CF Lutheran Hymnology: The Applicability of Lutheran Hymnology in the Brazilian Context . Master's dissertation presented to the Faculty of Theology of the Concordia Seminary in São Leopoldo, RS. December 2016, p.9
[5]BRUM, Paulo CF Biblical Basis for Proclamation of the
Gospel Through Music . São Leopoldo, 2015, p.71
[8] BRUM, Paulo CF Biblical Basis for Proclamation of the Gospel Through Music . São Leopoldo, 2015, p.71
[9]Andy Bartelt, in his article “Dialectical Negation. And Exegetical Both/And ” brings excellent insights into the possibility of Dialectical Negation ( both/and) in the translation and interpretation of the biblical text, with impact and reflections also on the liturgical and practical aspect of the Church. In: Concordia Journal, St. Louis, Winter 2021, Volume 47, number 1, p.19-28
[10]Sasse, Herman. Walter and Loehe: on the Church. Springfielder Volume: 35 Number: 3 in 1971, p.178
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