Thursday, March 1, 2012

Pray the Mass the Way of the Church or Else. . .

While there are apparently few boundaries for Lutherans when it comes to what happens on Sunday morning, other communions are not so tolerant.  An Illinois bishop has confirmed that a Roman Catholic priest was fired because he "simply would not and could not pray the prayers of the Mass" under a new translation that went into effect last year.  In a rare letter of explanation about an internal personnel dispute, Bishop Edward Braxton of Belleville, Ill., publicly responded to the firing of the Rev. William Rowe, who has been pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Carmel, Ill., for 18 years.  It is worth noting that this problem has been agitating for more than a half dozen years and five years ago the Bishop warned the priest: "It will not be acceptable for any priest or any parish to refrain from using the new prayers due to their personal preference."

Read it all here.....

For those in Lutheranism, let me say up front I am not advocating such practice among us nor would I ever suggest we need a liturgical police to exert the reigns of confession and order  -- boundaries that should come willingly and out of a sense of love and duty to your neighbor in the church.  I cannot help but wonder why it is that for us "personal preference" has achieved something like a first amendment right to do as one pleases on Sunday morning.  Whatever happened to St. Paul who could glory in his freedom but nonetheless sought to restrain his liberty for the sake of the brothers and to prevent offense.  It seems the only offenders today are those, like me, who suggest that not everything a Lutheran Pastor or parish does on Sunday morning is "Lutheran" because they, as "Lutherans" do it.

We as Lutherans live within the boundaries of a recognizable liturgical practice that is consonant with our confessional identity.  Oh, to be sure, we have the liberty to make as elaborate or as simple as possible the ceremonial of the liturgy and one cannot argue with those who follow the book but without most restrained ritual.  And, yes, we can debate reservation and other practices.  To be sure, we can all venture our opinions on the best hymns or "songs" for worship and one cannot make arbitrary rules on the basis of either aesthetic or personal preference.  But that is hardly the issue here.

Watch the YouTube videos from so called Lutheran congregations like LakePointe in Arkansas and you will find simply a sermon without any liturgy (much less the Lord's Supper) and yet this congregation is often lauded as what we all should be (if we would just grow up).  Indeed, the Pastor was a featured speaker at the most recent LCEF conference.  Such parishes are a scandal not only to the LCMS but to Lutheranism and to the Confession for which so many lived and died.  We have take a lively heritage and living legacy and sacrificed it to the altar of personal taste -- all in order to worship a God of statistics and earthly success indicators.  And we have forgotten the call to faithfulness.

No, I am not in favor of a liturgical police or episcopal authority to summarily remove offenders who violate the script but neither can I sit back and suggest that what we have today is good for anyone except division and conflict, and, of course, the almighty adiaphora invoked to worship the god of personal taste how I choose...

5 comments:

Christopher D. Hall said...

Yep. And Yep. Nice post, and thanks for the link to the story.

I wonder what would happen, though, if some district president came into some "Pointe-y" congregation and said, "You're not using doctrinally pure agendas and hymn books and you have one year to change before you and your pastor is removed from the synod for violating the synodical constitution."

Sure, its unpastoral, and unwise and un-everything. As a district VP I would never have the gall, but I am weak and cowardly too.

But...this entitlement ethos has completely invaded the LCMS along with everything else.

Ok. I should have saved this for my own blog instead of blogging in your combox. Sorry. :)

Christopher Gillespie said...

Yeah, I posted a comment over at Hatebook about your post and there's been a fiery discussion. No LCMS indication on their site, very little indicating a Sacramental life being central to the faith, and more. Ugly business, even if entered into with good intentions.

Christopher D. Hall said...

I am shocked and disappointed. A few of those responses sound very out of character. It is weird.

Anonymous said...

We could use some liturgical police in the LCMS. Otherwise, this is all talk. The DP's need to enforce and supervise according to their position. What a mess.

Chris said...

If there were some liturgical conformity in the LCMS, maybe the LCMS would not be losing people every year especially to the Roman church and Orthodox Church.

Leitouriga adiaphora non est. It is not something you tweek; it doesn't need it. Messing with the liturgy is a reflection of one's ego. This isn't about freedom; it's about restraining pastor's egos from doing whatever they want. It's a power trip, nothing more.

Maybe you don't need a liturgical police but what the LCMS DOES need are two seminaries that teach and display by example the glories of the Liturgy.