tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post3293440470820098429..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: The glory of the bronze age. . .Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-13559780079993231702018-08-13T19:39:59.054-05:002018-08-13T19:39:59.054-05:00We refuse to be guided by those who are offended b...We refuse to be guided by those who are offended by our church customs. We adhere to them all the more firmly when someone wants to cause us to have a guilty conscience on account of them. . . . It is truly distressing that many of our fellow Christians find the difference between Lutheranism and Roman Catholicism in outward things. It is a pity and dreadful cowardice when a person sacrifices the good ancient church customs to please the deluded American denominations just so they won’t accuse us of being Roman Catholic! Indeed! Am I to be afraid of a Methodist, who perverts the saving Word, or be ashamed in the matter of my good cause, and not rather rejoice that they can tell by our ceremonies that I do not belong to them? We are not insisting that there be uniformity in perception or feeling or taste among all believing Christians-neither dare anyone demand that all be minded as he. Nevertheless, it remains true that the Lutheran liturgy distinguishes Lutheran worship from the worship of other churches to such an extent that the houses of worship of the latter look like lecture halls in which the hearers are merely addressed or instructed, while our churches are in truth houses of prayer in which Christians serve the great God publicly before the world. . . . Someone may ask, “What would be the use of uniformity of ceremonies? We answer, “What is the use of a flag on the battlefield? Even though a soldier cannot defeat the enemy with it, he nevertheless sees by the flag where he belongs. We ought not to refuse to walk in the footsteps of our fathers.” (Walther, Essays for the Church [1992], I:194)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-1326269669773295922018-08-09T13:30:46.482-05:002018-08-09T13:30:46.482-05:00Most Lutherans remember a coincidence in the LCMS ...Most Lutherans remember a coincidence in the LCMS between the arrival of higher ceremony in the 1980s with declining membership numbers. No one seemed starved for more liturgy. In fact, this was the decade in which contemporary worship took off to become what it is today, about 50% of LCMS worship. Membership is still declining.<br /><br />The arrival of restored liturgy and decline may be coincidental since the decline actually began in the 1970s and is certainly common to churches that were not involved in liturgical renewal.<br /><br />One could speculate about whether people were starved for more liturgy as a reason for liturgical renewal. People may not be hungry for something they have not had.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-60614353487255562852018-08-09T11:08:36.320-05:002018-08-09T11:08:36.320-05:00Vestments hide the man and identify the divine off...Vestments hide the man and identify the divine office of public ministry. A chasuble is a vestment historically associated with public celebration of the Lord's Supper. Lutherans' approach to ceremonial reform was conservative, so chasubles were retained, even though others abandoned them due to their association with the Roman sacrificial understanding of the communion rite. So it's not just about humility, but also the office. <br /><br />Most Lutherans remember a coincidence in the LCMS between the arrival of higher ceremony in the 1980s with declining membership numbers. No one seemed starved for more liturgy. In fact, this was the decade in which contemporary worship took off to become what it is today, about 50% of LCMS worship. Membership is still declining.<br /><br />There are numerous non-Lutheran articles on the history of worship, and all point out the result of 20th century liturgical reform is greater uniformity of clergy vestments, usually the alb and stole. Catholics, Methodist, Lutheran clergy now look remarkably the same. Did 16th cent. confessional Protestants wear clergy collars and black shirts and coats? No. Calvin wore religious gloves. Transylvanian Saxons wore cassocks with long surplices. Danes wore cassocks with a ruff. Most American Lutherans today probably view all of these, including the EKD's penguin-like black cassock with white bands, as quaint and strange.<br /><br />Pieper famously said that the number of times a congregation celebrates communion is like a spiritual thermometer of that congregation. Infrequent reception of communion was the norm until recently in Catholicism, Protestantism, and Lutheranism. Should it be the summit of worship, though Luther and the confessions never speak this way? Yes. Along with the sermon. And the reading of the Word. And the general confession and absolution. These are the means by which the Holy Spirit creates and strengthens faith in the church.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-1048977188123821362018-08-08T15:45:23.334-05:002018-08-08T15:45:23.334-05:00Check out the Bad Vestments blog for examples of h...Check out the <a href="http://badvestments.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow"><i>Bad Vestments</i></a> blog for examples of how badly vestments reflect the office or are an extension of a pastor's personality.Carl Vehsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00348831096001668813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-20243023990372829622018-08-08T11:06:37.484-05:002018-08-08T11:06:37.484-05:00So a polo or tee shirt and jeans with holes does n...So a polo or tee shirt and jeans with holes does not say "Look at me I am really cool" or a fine suit and tie does not say "Look at me I am so sophisticated" or whatever is in between? Vestments are not an extension of a pastor's personality the way clothing is but a reflection of his office. Not all vestments are flashy and some are downright dull. You seem to be more concerned about Rome than Lutheran history and practice. Red, by the way, is a historic liturgical color, not used very often, by the way, but if it is, does that mean the altar screams "look at me I am really dressed up to keep me humble," too? Vestments cover up the pastor with the office in a way that street clothing, no matter what style, does not. You may not like that, but that is the truth.Pastor Petershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-41894888263129628872018-08-08T09:52:05.539-05:002018-08-08T09:52:05.539-05:00Vestments are not to draw attention to the pastor....Vestments are not to draw attention to the pastor. <br />So a red chasuble screams out to the congregation <br />"Look at me, I am really dressed up to keep me humble"<br />We are living in the Glitter Age of vestments as we <br />try to imitate the Roman Catholic Church.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-41662439334330922832018-08-08T08:00:02.776-05:002018-08-08T08:00:02.776-05:00Dividing LCMS history is interesting for points of...Dividing LCMS history is interesting for points of comparison and it would be curious to look at the stone age for some insights. Are we to assume we are now living in the iron age of the LCMS? Thanks for putting perspective on our doctrine and practice as we strive to be faithful to our confessions in doctrine and practice for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com