Worship Notes: Repetition is the Mother of Learning

Repetitio est mater studiorum (because Latin is fun!).  Repetition is the mother of learning.

The pattern of worship at St. John's has been a succession of rotating liturgies.  Sundays usually did not have liturgies repeat from week to week.  While some may appreciate the variety, it does have its drawbacks.

One change you will notice is that we will be locked in on The Common Service for many weeks to come.  The main reason is so that people learn the parts of the liturgy and memorize them.  This is especially important for people who are younger or new to the Lutheran confession.

If someone is learning to dance, he spends his time focused on his feet.  "Where does my left foot go next?  How does my right foot move?"  He does not even enjoy dancing because he is just trying to learn how to do it.  Eventually, after repetition, he no longer stumbles his way through his footing.  He actually gets to enjoy the movement of the dance.

With the liturgy repeating itself week after week, we become exceptionally familiar with the confession of sins, with the canticles, with the Apostles' or Nicene Creeds, etc...   Eventually, most will not even need to refer to a hymnal or a screen.  We can just dance through the liturgy.

For some, repetition is boring.  It is argued, "Doing the same thing over and over again will cause me to speak the liturgy mindlessly."  Perhaps.  I contend that the fault will not be with the liturgy, but with our sinful nature which always needs to be entertained.  After a while, we get bored with everything.

But consider the benefit of repetition.  Repetition leads to memorization.  As people get older, they may lose their eyesight.  But they can still participate because they remember the liturgy.  Young children can learn the canticles even before they learn to read.  This can only happen if the same liturgy is done week after week.  

Does this mean we forfeit variety?  No.  Each week, we have different hymns, different prayers, different Psalms, different readings, and a different sermon.  The Psalm can also be sung in different ways.  The choir can add anthems.  Other instruments can enhance our worship.  There is much variety that can be incorporated while still repeating the structure of the liturgy.

Repetition is the mother of learning.  What we are repeating in our liturgy reinforces what we confess and believe to be true.  That thought will be explored at a later date.

Liturgy Sunday -- October 21

Why do Lutherans worship the way they do?  What does each part of the liturgy mean?  Where did those songs come from?  And what's with all the standing and sitting?

While we all may be accustomed to the Lutheran liturgy, we may not appreciate or even be aware of the rationale behind each part of it.  In order to foster a greater appreciation for the Lutheran liturgy, we will observe a Liturgy Sunday on October 21 at our 10:00 AM service.  An elder will introduce each portion of the service and explain its background, followed by the pastor and congregation conducting each respective portion of the service.

If you have ever wondered about this, or if you have a friend who might be curious about why we worship the way we do, join us for Liturgy Sunday on October 21.  The pastor is always available to explain further any questions you have about or Divine Service as well.

Service Notes -- Passiontide

PASSIONTIDE

This coming Sunday (March 13) is the 5th Sunday in Lent which marks the beginning of the season of Passiontide (the final two weeks of Lent), in which the Passion of our Lord intensifies.  Therefore, the Lenten fast also intensifies which we can observe in our worship setting.  The sights and sounds in God’s house are muted even more.  For the past number of weeks, our celebration has been muted in the following ways:
> There is no Alleluia in the Verse of the Day.
> We do not sing the Gloria in Excelsis after the Absolution.
> There are no flowers on the altar.

Starting now, you will note these additional practices.
> The Gloria Patri (Glory be to the Father) is omitted from the Psalms
> All artwork or icons have been removed or veiled.
> The ringing of the church bell ceases.
> All music is muted except for the support of congregational singing.

Our services will practically be barren of celebration, but that is the point.  We are fasting.  We are penitent.  We are intently focusing on the sufferings and death of Jesus.  Ceremony and celebration will return with vigor on Easter Sunday when we rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord which declares that sins are forgiven and that death is destroyed.

Why come to church?

          Our church attendance could be much better than it is.  Perhaps one reason it is not that regularly attended is because people do not realize what we are doing.

         Church attendance is NOT about simply receiving information about Jesus.  We are not a trivia show.            Nor is church about learning to behave better.  You do not need to come to church to know how to behave.  Atheists, Mormons, and Muslims all know how to behave.  Some claim that they are better at behaving than you are.  Lack of information about right and wrong are not your problem.

          Church is about coming to God's presence as beggars.  We have nothing that God needs.  For that matter, we have nothing that God can be pleased with--we are sinners!  Yet, God delights to have us come so that he can fill us with good things.  At church, God serves us!  God pours out mercy, forgiveness, blessing, comfort, consolation, and encouragement.  Yes, he will admonish and call to repent, but that serves to compel us to flee from our sins and leads us to crave his mercy all the more.  At the Divine Service, heaven touches earth as the Lord presents his heavenly meal for his people to feast upon even before we enter the gates of heaven.  Here, God's promises are both proclaimed and presented in tangible forms.  Here, you have confidence that you are children of God because here, you hear God tell you so.  

          In a world that is wicked and perishing, in a world where people sin against you, where family and friends die, and where you fall short of God's glory day after day, you need peace and comfort.  In church, God gives it--Sunday after Sunday.  You need this, and God is pleased to serve you with it.

          We meet on Sundays at 10:00 AM for the Divine Service, 8:45 AM for Adult Bible Class and Sunday School.  Join us, and bring your friends--they need this too.

A Pastoral Concern: Where did you go on Sunday?

This past Sunday we celebrated another Divine Service.  We used the Common Service (version from Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal, the official WELS hymnal). 

So this is where the Common Service took us:

To our baptism. 
          ("In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.")
To our place in this world. 
          ("Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.")
To Christmas and the angelic choir. 
          ("Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will toward men.")
To the Prophets. 
          ("A reading from the book of Exodus, the 2nd book of Moses.")
To the Apostles.
           ("A reading from St. Paul's first letter to Timothy.")
To the mouth of Jesus.
           ("The gospel for today....")
To the generations of Christians who have gone before us.  
          ("We believe in one God....")
To the prayers of King David. 
          ("Create in me a clean heart, O God.")
To the throne of God. 
           ("Our Father, who art in heaven....")
To the glories of heaven and the angelic choirs there.  
          ("Holy, holy, holy Lord God of heavenly hosts, heaven and earth are full of your glory.")
To Palm Sunday. 
          ("Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest!  Blessed is he, blessed is he, 
          blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!")
To Good Friday. 
          ("Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.")
To Easter Sunday. 
          (Christ is here--not symbolically, but really.  He comes to us in the sacrament 
          and gives victory over sin and death.)
To the eternal banquet of heaven together with all the saints there.  
          ("Take and eat; the body of Christ.  Take and drink; the blood of Christ.  For you.")
Toward the grave, but now without fear. 
          ("Lord, now you let your servant depart in peace, according to your word...")
To the blessing of being marked as God's own. 
          ("The Lord bless you and keep you....")

There is no question that the historic liturgy continues to serve as a blessing for the Lord's Church.  It repeats the live and promises of Jesus and assures God's people that they will receive good things on that Sunday (especially when the sermon misses the mark or is just plain bad). 

Why would anyone want "something better"?  What IS better than this?
The Lord is good to his people, and the historic, western liturgy highlights that and repeats it every week.