Christ Alone

Augsburg Confession Article XXVI

Here is the link to this week’s article: https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/of-the-distinction-of-meats/

In the early centuries of the church, all kinds of traditions developed, many of which continue to this day. These traditions include the church calendar, seasons of fasting and seasons of feasting, the order of scripture lessons for use in public worship, the use of vestments, fixed prayers for use on special days, and other similar customs.

At the time of the Reformation, the church placed a great deal of emphasis on observing such traditions, but many people lacked an understanding of the meaning behind them. For example, there is a long-standing traditions of abstaining from meat during the forty days of Lent. This tradition does not come from Scripture. It is simply a custom that developed as a way to prepare for Easter. This can be a very meaningful practice. Yet at the time of the reformation, many people believed that their salvation depended on keeping such observances. This contradicts the clear teaching of scripture that salvation is by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). Paul warns in the book of Galatians that those who rely on works for salvation have fallen away from grace (Gal. 5:2-4).

So the reformers emphasized that such traditions are not necessary. You are free to fast or not to fast. You are free to commemorate the feast days or not to do so. You are free to use pre-written prayers or to pray in a freer fashion. (Personally, I do both!)

At the same time, the reformers saw value in a lot of traditions. For the most part, Lutherans retained the order of the mass. They also kept the liturgical calendar. However, they noticed that there were so many festivals and saints days that it was burdensome to follow, that it distracted people from their vocations, and that people were often abusing the sacrament. So, instead of celebrating Mass every day, the Lutherans held public Communion only on Sundays and festivals such as Christmas and Easter. They removed a number of saints days from the calendar, and emphasized the fact that it is no sin to have simpler rites and ceremonies.

Tradition is a bit of a double-edged sword. It can serve a useful, didactic purpose, but it can also become burdensome or meaningless. When not understood properly, traditions can even become a harmful distraction from the free gift of grace offered in Christ Jesus.

Most Lutheran churches are very traditional. However, the Lutheran Brethren as a denomination is typically not, because of our unique history. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Lutheran state church in Norway had become bound by traditionalism — emphasizing liturgy and ceremony more than a living faith in Jesus. Many people were baptized, attended church, and got confirmed without ever understanding the gospel or coming to saving faith. Lay preachers such as Hans Nielson Hauge began to hold Bible studies and prayer meetings in homes and to call people to repentance and faith.

The founders of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren were heavily influenced by this revival movement, and as a result, the LB historically has been less liturgical than other Lutherans. Our pastors don’t wear vestments, and many of our churches do not follow the lectionary. Yet this also should not be understood as a law.

The challenge of the church in every generation is to communicate the gospel of Christ in language that will communicate to people. In our own day, many younger Christians (including myself) are deeply interested in historic church traditions and liturgy, as they find it beautiful and moving.

In our congregation, I have attempted to ground our worship in historic practice, while at the same time utilizing the best of contemporary forms.

Christ Alone

Augsburg Confession Article XXIV

Here is the link to this week’s article: https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/of-the-mass/

This article speaks to the church’s worship. While the Roman church had erred in many ways, there was nothing intrinsically wrong with the traditional order of service.

The early Lutherans were careful to preserve the traditional Mass, reforming only what was necessary. Perhaps the biggest change was that they began singing hymns in the vernacular. Luther and his colleagues wrote hymns in German, publishing the first hymnal in 1524. Over time, the Lutheran church would become renowned for its music. Lutheran composers, such as Michael Praetorius and J.S. Bach would have a major impact on the development of western musical forms.

The other major issue dealt with in this article is abuses of the Mass. At the time of the reformation, it was common for priests to say Mass for a fee: it was thought that just by celebrating Mass, the priest could vicariously remove sins. Further, although Mass was said daily, most laypersons received communion infrequently, if at all.

Because of the abuses associated with daily Communion, the Lutheran reformers returned to an earlier practice of having Holy Communion only on holy days (Sundays and Festival days), or it could be served on request (for example, when an individual is unable to attend the Sunday service). This is probably similar to the practice of the early church.

Much later (probably in the 19th century), many Lutherans moved from weekly to monthly or even quarterly communion. There were a number of reasons for this. Many congregations in North America lacked ordained pastors, so they only celebrated communion when a pastor could visit. Among pietistic Lutherans, there was a strong emphasis on receiving worthily; many feared receiving the Lord’s Supper without a period of personal preparation. Additionally, Lutherans have been influenced by other Protestant groups who place less emphasis on the Lord’s Supper.

At this point, monthly communion is a long-standing tradition, but perhaps it is worth re-examining our reasons.

If you’re interested in studying this issue further, here’s a helpful primer (and the source of some info in this post): https://steadfastlutherans.org/blog/2015/01/communion-every-sunday-surprise-surprise/#:~:text=But%20suddenly%2C%20in%20the%2019th,only%20four%20times%20a%20year.