C,Pent 15 Proper 18

Hi folks! You might have notice today that I have not posted a sermon. This has been due to our parish having a weekend together, and I was able to sit with my wife and kids and sabbath in God's forgiveness and filling with the gospel. However I did lead a bible study on Saturday 8/09/07 on picking hymns/songs in worship. I have included it below. Next week 16/09/07 a sermon will be posted, then I will be on annual leave (Praise the Lord!) until October. My next sermon will be posted for the 14th of October, 20th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 23. Sorry for the inconvience to the lay readers out there. But I need a rest! God bless Friarpuk The following study is a hotch potch from myself, Logia, and things I heard from Daniel Preus at Marburg Queensland in July 2007

What decisions to make over choosing songs and hymns for God’s Divine Service to us.

PASTOR, COULDN’T WE JUST . . . ?

“Pastor, couldn’t we sing In the Garden at one of our worship services? It’s a real favourite that many of us have had since we were little.” “Pastor, couldn’t we let our young people write their own special creed for the service?” “Pastor, couldn’t we have our favourite Willie Nelson song sung at our wedding?” “Pastor, couldn’t we celebrate National Fast for the Hungry Sunday? It’s a wonderful group that I belong to and they have sent me a special worship service and prayer to be used next month.”

How does a pastor handle requests for extraordinary worship experiences? More than that, how does one evaluate the hymns, songs, and services which are used by Christians as they are gathered for the word of God?

Is it merely a matter of personal taste or is there something more?

Some members feel frustrated when their pastor turns down a request for a special worship service, song, or hymn. They don’t understand why the pastor is being so hard-headed and stubborn in refusing to allow certain hymns or worship material from various special-interest groups for festive services. Perhaps, they might think, it is his personality: The pastor is just a closed-minded, behind-the-times, ultra-conservative party-pooper, or even too Lutheran.

Perhaps. But there may be another explanation. It may be that the pastor is not just evaluating such requests by a different taste in music, but by an altogether different standard. As long as this standard remains invisible to those to whom the pastor is speaking, however, the people may think that the pastor is denying their requests merely on the basis of his personal whims and fancies.

While pastors ought to have been trained to have a keen eye for yeast and wolves, it may not be so easy to get the people to see them. And if people don’t see them, they may see their pastor as fighting against shadows and mythical ogres.

Unseen enemies, however, are not necessarily unreal enemies. It may be extremely difficult for members to believe a pastor’s cautions, especially when they “don’t see anything wrong with it,” or “don’t see how it would hurt anything.” Yet, by God’s grace, they may be led to trust their pastor as one who lovingly knows best—who is faithful to the word of God and has a sharp eye for what would be dangerous to them.

So what hidden things are pastors and God’s sheep called to watch out for?

Galatians 5:9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”

Matthew 7:15 Jesus tells us — “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

1 Timothy 4:16 Paul speaking to young pastor Timothy — Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

I remember taking my car to visit a member who was an auto-body specialist. With just a glance, he could see where the body of the car had been worked on—and where it was still dented. I looked and asked, “Where? I don’t see it!” Carefully, he showed me where to stand and what to look for. Sure enough: Those imperfections leapt out at me. He had a keen eye for imperfections. A pastor, too, is supposed to have a keen eye for the imperfections of beliefs which could prove hazardous to the faith of the people he serves— even if they don’t see it themselves. As the Spirit gathers, enlightens and sanctifies through the word preached and taught, they are shown where to stand and taught what to look for to make the invisible standards become visible so that yeast and wolves may be recognized for what they are.

What makes deception so deceptive is that one always thinks he or she is doing the right thing, when actually in error. That’s what deception is!

The following is an attempt to make the pastor’s scriptural evaluations visible. Demonstrate these means to the people and then let them evaluate their request on the basis of this standard. It may be that they will resist this method and any other because the desires of the heart can often outweigh a clear exposition of the themes of grace in Christ. Nothing short of the Spirit’s working through the means of grace can change that. At the very least, however, people may come to see that the pastor does have a standard that he follows—it’s not just a matter of personal tastes, or even religious rules. They may still accuse him of being a stick-in-the-mud, but at least he’s a stick-in-the-mud with clearly recognizable criteria.

Some guiding thoughts and questions along the way might be helpful.

Consider the following… that worship songs/hymns say something within the parameters of proclamation, praise, and confession:

1) Does the song/hymn proclaim, praise, and confess the Triune God?

2) Does this song/hymn proclaim and confess the issue of sin and our sinful condition?

Is the reality of sin and its deadly consequences adequately expressed or is our utter helplessness ignored or down played?

Does the text express our total inability to come to Christ or come to him? Or is some of our ability attributed to us?

3) Does this song/hymn proclaim and praise God for the forgiveness of sin in Christ Jesus?

Does the text present Jesus as a saviour dying for sinners or is Jesus just presented as some kind of companion or example?

4) Does the song/hymn proclaim, praise, and confess God’s work through the means of grace within the church?

Does the song/hymn encourage rest or Sabbath in the way Jesus has given us to receive the work of his death at the cross and resurrection from the grave? Is endurance in congregation worship encouraged?

5) Does the song/hymn properly proclaim and distinguish between the Law and the Gospel?

The law commands what man is obligated to do. It always condemns and accuses us sharply by showing our failures and inabilities. The gospel pronounces what God has done in Jesus Christ and continues to do through his presence in word and sacrament.

How is the Lord bringing about his work among us? Who is doing the verbs? If the subject of most of the verbs is man, then the material probably originates from a Reformed-Evangelical view of sanctification and is not appropriate for use among us.

6) Does the singing of the hymn/song encourage community singing, or individual concert style singing? How many persons present are required to make the song/hymn function properly?

As a person in the pew am I encouraged to sing too, so that others might hear about God? Or are my sung words more of a private conversation between me and God, perhaps telling God how good he is? What are the little words in the hymn/song addressed toward? (e.g. I, me, we, us, you, your, our, he, him). Does the tune make the hymn/song too hard to sing — to quick, to loud, to complex, to confusing. Is the song/hymn offensive? (Not necessarily bad if it is!) Why is it offensive? (A better question! This is where we learn about ourselves and God’s intention towards us as individuals within a community).

Theology of Glory versus Theology of the Cross

The theology of glory is terribly one-sided and unbalanced. It tends to look only at the beautiful and sweet things of creation and ignore the harsh and heavy aspects of life. It tends to fulfil the Marxist dictum of religion as the opiate of the people—it makes people feel good by thinking good thoughts. It can also see suffering as though it were sinful—as though people are faithless who aren’t always living a happy, joyful, triumphant, and victorious life.

The theology of the cross sees God’s beauty and glory in the despised, rejected and scorned things of this world for Christ’s sake (Is 53). It even may consider the beautiful things of life as garbage when they are not in service to the gospel in Christ (Phil 3:8). The cross is scandalous to those who are seeking to make the world a better place to live. The Christian does not expect glorious living as the cross is borne and as the flesh is crucified daily, but the heart is buoyant, calling to mind what Christ has accomplished on his cross even as that is sealed to the Christian in Baptism and communicated to the Christian in Holy Communion.

Questions to ask of the song/hymn: Are words like “praise,” “glorious,” “amazing,” “wondrous,” “beauty,” or “sweet” used over abundantly? Are they used to heighten a person’s emotional level to a fevered religious pitch? Are they treated as being attainable ideals to be constantly maintained in a Christian’s life? Is success treated as the blessing of God while suffering and hardship are regarded as the abandonment of God? Is it real, or to maintain this pitch on an everyday basis, do I have to pretend, or am I going to stop short exhausted and depressed?

Natural Revelation versus Special Revelation.

Natural revelation tells us some things about God, but it is woefully incomplete. We cannot be certain of how God is toward us by looking at the world around us. We can be too easily confused by trying to interpret the signs of the times. Dependence on natural revelation subtly introduces itself where there is a predominance of talking about God without specific reference to Jesus Christ. While we acknowledge Jesus to be true God and true man, it is possible to fall into a generic way of talking about God which loses touch with the incarnate Christ, God for us. Generic God-talk leads to speculation about his invisible qualities which lead us into uncertainties.

To speak of God merely by his attributes without being centred in the grace which is revealed to us only in Christ, we can get a god who does things directly to us apart from the God who instituted the means of grace as the word made flesh. Special revelation makes known through the Word and Spirit what is otherwise unavailable and unachievable to mortal eyes and minds (1 Cor 2:14).

Questions to ask of the song/hymn: How is it that we find out how God is toward us? How are we assured and comforted? Is it by looking at the things of creation or is it by seeing him in Christ alone? Where is Jesus in the hymn’s speaking about God? Is He merely a moral teacher or a helper?

There are some inherent dangers and shortcomings we must be aware of when choosing hymns/songs.

Not all hymns and songs in our resources will do well against these criteria. Not every hymn/song has to be the best hymn/song ever written! Not every hymn/song will fit all six criteria, perhaps two or three? Balance is always a goal, extremes are never the objective!

Our choices might suggest a misguided religiosity wherein emotions are seen as something to be neutered or that appreciation of the beauties of God’s creation is materialistic adulteration of pure spirituality. Such positions are wholeheartedly rejected. The reservation arises when emotions, beauty, praise and glory attempt to accomplish what can be achieved by Christ’s divinely instituted means alone. Great joy and hope will flow from the singing of hymns and songs, so too will great sorrow and contrition. Emotions will flow from our proclamation, praise, and confession, but they are not the cause or focus of our proclamation, praise, and confession of Christ and his means of Grace.

The intent of clearly discerning what hymns/songs to choose is simply that we might more readily recognize the hymns and liturgies which extol the means of grace and the theology of the cross most clearly. The gift for displaying this Christ-centeredness is what has made the hymns of Luther, Gerhardt, Franzmann and others so dear to our hearts. They speak Christ into us rather than falling subject to the inept or soppy.

“Sir, we would see Jesus,” the Greeks said to Philip (Jn 12:21). So we say to those who would select hymns and liturgies: “Sir, we would see Jesus—not as One who moves our emotions nor as One whom we can make beautiful by our own imaginations, but One who is really present in his word and grace, who forgives us, renews us, and draws us to himself without our effort or merit.”

Song and Hymnody in Scripture and Christian Worship

Discuss the function of the following Hymns/Songs recorded in God’s Word. Look also at the context in which they came to be (what is recorded in the verses/chapters beforehand).

Exodus 15:1-21; Deuteronomy 31:30 – 32:41 (31:19-22); Judges 5:1-31; 2 Samuel 22:1-51 (Ps 18); Psalms 22-23, 40, 46, 51; Ecclesiastes 7:4-5; Isaiah 12:2-6; Matthew 26:30; Luke 1:46-55, 1:67-79; 2:13-14; Acts 16:25; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 5:1-2, 6-7, 19-21; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 3:16-17; Revelation 5:9, 14:1-3, 15:2-5. (Texts in italics are more about hymns/songs rather than actual songs/hymns.

How do these biblical songs/hymns and scriptural statements about singing stand up under the six point criteria above?

So let’s examine our favourite hymns and songs. What do you notice? Are you surprised at your examination?

Summary

There are plenty of songs and hymns out there. There is no doubt that music stirs our deepest emotions. However, this emotion is not the criteria for choosing songs/hymns in worship. A basic question could be asked of everything we choose, “Where is God in this, and what is he seeking to do?”

There is nothing wrong with listening to popular Christian songs. Some are, in fact, quite good in their content and sound. But just because this might be so, doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to function in the context of confessional sacramental worship.

You never know, the stick-in-the-mud pastor might just not seem so conservative, so Lutheran, or behind-the-times. Perhaps, he might seem more open-mined than first thought, even ecumenical, especially when he witnesses those he is called to pastor, trying to use sound Christ-centred criteria for choosing hymns and songs.

Good hymn/song selection in Lutheran worship will always be items that proclaim the truth about God and humanity, and therefore will be able to be sung by all confessional Christians who take seriously Jesus’ word… “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Finally we would all agree that the world is not getting better, that in fact it’s more and more getting worse. So why should the church bend more and more to the ways of the world in the way it conducts its worship, where God seeks to come and continue making us holy and less worldly?

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the cravings of the sinful person, the lust of one’s eyes and the boasting of what one has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the person who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

An Instrument for evaluating service material
MAN-CENTERED I am the one doing most of the action in this hymn: my feelings, my thoughts, my personal sacrifice or dedication.	CHRIST-CENTERED Christ is the one doing the action in this hymn, through his Holy Absolution, Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.
THEOLOGY OF GLORY The hymn emphasizes a success, triumph, victory in this world which persons can experience if only they will practice Christianity with a strong personal faith and determination and obedience.	THEOLOGY OF THE CROSS The hymn acknowledges that weakness and suffering are the crosses which are borne, not by personal strength, but by grace and the gift of faith which is confident in Christ despite external appearances of failure.
NATURAL REVELATION God is seen as being good or great in terms of his works and creation; God is beautiful and strong because his creation shows beauty and power. Friendliness, sharing and caring are the evidences of God’s grace and love.	SPECIAL REVELATION One cannot look at beautiful rainbows and sunsets without also looking at devastating earthquakes and floods. God’s promises are not seen; they are believed by faith as spoken to us in his Holy Absolution, Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.
WITHOUTMEANS God does his working through quiet whispers in a person’s heart or mind. He moves people through life’s decisions by feelings and notions which are gained by contemplation as though walking through a garden.	MEANS OF GRACE God does his work via the Spirit’s bringing Christ through his Absolution, and Holy Communion. The God who is everywhere is incarnationally somewhere for his people in his Holy Absolution, Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.
EMOTIONS The emphasis is on good feelings as evidence of salvation and a strong faith. A person is led to forget the cares of the world for a moment by a happy song. Rejoicing is the result of personal, repeatable and demonstrable life experiences.	FAITH One trusts in God’s mercy in Christ even when it doesn’t feel like He is present or active. All hell may be breaking loose with emotional or psychological suffering, but faith clings to what is promised, not what is seen or felt. Rejoicing is the result of trust in spite of personal experiences.
MYTHICAL Founded on imaginary thoughts, wishes and desires of one’s personal dream world of what Christianity would be like if it were ideal. Hope is viewed in terms of wishful thinking.	INCARNATIONAL Rooted in the historical revelation of God’s actions in Scripture and directing people to Christ’s presence in Holy Absolution, Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. Hope is understood as faithful trust.