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.