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Worship in context: Worship in a multicultural world

“It is by faith that God wants to be worshiped, namely, that we receive from him what he promises and offers. “ AAC 4:52. Worship in context: Worship in a multicultural world. THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS. The Worship Dilemma . THE CONSTANT OF WORSHIP. All the World Worships.

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Worship in context: Worship in a multicultural world

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  1. “It is by faith that God wants to be worshiped, namely, that we receive from him what he promises and offers. “ AAC 4:52. Worship in context: Worship in a multicultural world

  2. THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS

  3. The Worship Dilemma THE CONSTANT OF WORSHIP

  4. All the World Worships • “The Ten Commandments… are written in the hearts of all people.” (LC I, 67, natural law) • For to have a God is not alone a Mosaic law, but also a natural law, as St. Paul says (Rom. 1[:20]), that the heathen know of the deity, that there is a God. This is also evidenced by the fact that they have set up gods and arranged forms of divine service, which would have been impossible if they had neither known or thought about God. For God has shown it to them in the things that have been made, etc. (Rom. 1[:19–20]). (AE 40:96-97) • “…it is also a fact that among those who presume to have natural reason or natural law, and boast of it, there are very many great and efficient natural fools.” (AE 1:161)

  5. THE ISSUE: Worship in spirit and truth(John 4:24)

  6. Worship… pleasing God • Worship as gift or bargain… • Psalm 50:7-12 "Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. 8 Not for your sacrifices ado I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. 9 I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. 10 For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.” • Worship that is “not on account of our merits” (Ap IV, 60)

  7. Worship… pleasing the people • A spiritual high… but for what reason? • “call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall “glorify me.“ • Psalm 51:15-17 seems hardly to describe a “spiritual high.” • O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

  8. False views… incomplete • Worship does involve sacrifice and commitment intended to please God • Yet, our commitment is not the final test • Worship does seek to lead people into heartfelt, emotional experiences in which they rejoice in God. • Yet, some highs will kill you

  9. I. Christian Assembly • Meeting “in the presence of God” (Brunner,22) • Absolute necessity in a world that dies without God • Hence: AC VII: This assembly “must be and remain”: Where “the gospel is purely preached and the sacraments are administered in conformity with the divine Word.”

  10. Stay with us • Two marks of His presence: Word & Meal • A dead Man who lives now gives life to the dead • In the Christian assembly the “Guest” freely gives • This is the upside-down reality, the theology of the Cross, that we are called to believe

  11. Worship: a “most excellent definition” • Luther: “calling upon the name of the Lord” (AE 1:327) • Melanchthon: “It is by faith that God wants to be worshiped, namely, that we receive from him what he promises and offers. “ (AAC 4, 52) • In other words, faith is true worship. Where there is true faith in the true God, there is true worship. “God wants to be worshiped through faith so that we receive from Him those things He promises and offers.” (AAC 4, 49)

  12. Not a Reformation Invention • The worshiping church is the church of faith in Christ. • Ignatius: “wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church” (Smyrn. 8, 2) • Athanasian Creed: “the worship of one God in trinity” is the same as “the catholic faith.” • This is a constant of Christianity—catholic (universally held) consensus • This is the catholic (universally believed) faith • It is also “personal faith”: “you lay hold of God when your heart grasps him and clings to him” (Luther, LC I, 13)

  13. Christ is the center • Of Trinitarian theology: Father, Son, Spirit • And of Christian worship • Therefore no mere human activity is true worship • This is why ceremonies are “indifferent” in themselves • But, the Christ whom we worship uses forms nonetheless: • Worship of Christ makes use of water • Worship of Christ involves Scripture and preacher • Worship of Christ requires bread and wine

  14. Emmaus: Guest becomes Host • “Stay with us” • Yet, He teaches, breaks, reveals • And our “hearts burn” (faith’s worshipful response) • Burning hearts testify/confess • Both sin and truth • Burning hearts give praise and thank s • Burning hearts sing and make melody • Burning hearts pray and plead

  15. Where Christ is, there is Word and Sacrament • Word and Sacrament • Baptismal Word • Teaching Word • Eucharistic Word • Word and Sacrament: the persisting (catholic) pattern • “[T]he Church is people scattered throughout the whole world. They agree about the Gospel and have the same Christ, the same Holy Spirit, and the same Sacraments, whether they have the same or different human traditions.” (AAC 7 & 8, 10)

  16. Word and Sacrament = Gospel • “the gospel, the true knowledge of Christ, and the true worship of God” (AAC 12, 2-3) • “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by from Word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17) • So it’s the Gospel—the Word of Christ—that has to be front and center in a gathering for worship that people may believe, and, believing, will worship in spirit and in truth. • the heart of the Church’s regular worship is the Word of Christ in Baptism, reading, preaching, song, and Table

  17. II. Worship in ContextHow is this done?

  18. The Missionary Call • Making Disciples of All Nations • The missional principle • Nations (Peoples; “distinctive groups”) • “Cultures”—distinctive traits (worldview, cognitive processes, linguistic forms, behavioral patterns, social structures, media, motivations) • Vernacular necessity (Sanneh) • The challenge of contextualization in worship: the localization of catholicity

  19. The ONE Faith in Context • One Lord, one God, means one church, one truth • The doctrinal principle • lex orandi, lex credendi—doctrine and worship cannot be divorced • Letting Christ have His say • Disciplined, representative (whole counsel of God) Scripture readings • Biblical, timely, engaging, powerful preaching • Doctrine is about authenticity

  20. The One Faith in CONTEXT • The vernacular principle: forms must communicate and thereby enable people to believe and worship • Paul’s “all things to all people” (1 Cor 9:22) • Differing customs must not divide us: • “For it is sufficient for the true unity of the Christian church that the Gospel be preached in conformity with a pure understanding of it and that the sacraments be administered in accordance with the divine Word. It is not necessary for the true unity of the Christian church that ceremonies, instituted by men, should be observed uniformly in all places.” (AC VII, 2-3). • Worship custom should be evaluated according to how fully and effectively it communicates the gifts and guidance of Christ.

  21. Contextual Challenges, pt 1 • The Missionary Challenge: the need for worship practice that is both welcoming and faithful • Hearers’ needs and expectations: challenge of a continually changing America (Anna and Shann) • Ethnic and linguistic diversity • Generational issues (new media) • The eclectic nature of American music

  22. Contextual Challenges, pt 2 • The Practical Challenges: • Limited resources in missions and congregations • Limited pastoral capabilities • Limited musical capabilities • The critical question: What can be done well and effectively in light of local needs and desires? • Past practices • Current community needs • Leadership issues • Identity questions in “post-denominational ism”

  23. Insight from the Global South • Nairobi Statement (2/3 world insights) • Christian worship is • Transcultural, retaining the substance/core • Contextual, according to locale • Counter-cultural, challenging all worldviews • Cross-cultural, enabling sharing between peoples

  24. Transcultural Worship • Worship must draw us beyond here and now • This is the “catholic” dimension • “Always and everywhere” (not idiosyncratic) • Fully compatible with the Faith • Trinitarian • Christ-centered • Theologically authentic • The cloud of witnesses must be heard • What has Kollegal to do with Queens?

  25. Contextual Worship • Worship is “Word-centered” • And so also “word-centered” (vernacular) • The Word in words • Read, prayed, and preached • Heard and sung • Seen, touched, and tasted • Word embodied • inflection, reflection, expression, movement • Where we dance and where we don’t…

  26. Counter-cultural Worship • Worship that promotes the Kingdom of God and not human realms • The Word of worship is “radical” • Fully scriptural—an ancient, culturally alien text • Addressing the roots of human misery and sin, divine authority over humanity, “impossible” realities like the Incarnation and Atonement, the Spirit’s mystery and power • So also the signs and actions of worship • The sacraments, the absolution, faithful song, prayer, praise, etc.—all are profoundly counter-cultural • Beijing’s believers…

  27. Cross-cultural Worship • Christian worship connects cultures, because it connects human differences (Gal 3:28ff) • Homogeneous “Christianity” is heresy • The Church is ever heterogeneous • Another dimension of catholicity • Petitions to “Our Father” are for all the Church in all the world • Song and hymnody provide ready opportunities for cross-cultural connections

  28. III. Lutherans at Worship • So where do we go in the LCMS? • Does a clear handle on our identity help? • What is emphasized in the worship of a church that is Lutheran?

  29. The Lutheran Middle Way, 1 • Lutherans inherited the medieval neglect of the Word and Gospel preaching, plus abuses in the Lord’s Supper • Luther revitalized the “service of the Word”… but did not minimize or neglect the Supper • Luther’s vision for worship: unity without imposed uniformity • Maintaining the historical outline and shape • Introducing hymnody and sometimes substituting for traditional liturgical songs • Open to worship also in smaller settings (AE 53:61-64)

  30. The Lutheran Middle Way, 2 • Melanchthon: • “…those rites should be observed that can be observed without sin and that contribute to peace and good order… holy days, festivals, and the like” (AC XV, 1) • Our people have been unjustly accused of having abolished the Mass…. [T]he people are drawn to Communion and to the Mass.” (AC XXIV, 1,7) • Formula of Concord: • “We believe… that the community of God in every place and at every time has the authority to alter such ceremonies according to its own situation” (Ep, X, 4)

  31. A Contemporary Restatement • Lutherans are evangelical and catholic • Arguably more evangelical than the Evangelicals and more catholic than the Catholics! • Scripturally grounded, faith focused, grace-based (Scripture, preaching, prayer, flexibility) • Baptismally secured and nurtured in the Body and Blood of Christ (Baptism, Creed, Supper, structure)

  32. Lutherans: ecumenical and missional • Retaining the ecumenical faith and shape of the Church over time and distance • not motivated by merger mania and false “agreements” • Retaining the missional task of the Church • We are dead in trespasses and sin without Christ • The Triune (Relational) God seeks the world to be one with him.

  33. Singing His Praises • Psalm 18:49 “For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing to your name.” • “I truly desire that all Christians would love and regard as worthy the lovely gift of music, which is a precious, worthy, and costly treasure given to mankind by God.” –Luther • A brief case study: “Listen, God Is Calling” (LSB 833)

  34. A Vocation for Lutherans in the World of Worship • Both… And • Both catholic and evangelical • Rich in both the Word and the Sacraments • Both historical and contemporary • “Timely,” both in terms of chronos and kairos • Both vernacular and doctrinal in character • Problems: • Where Word or Sacrament is missing or moribund • Where worship fails to be transcultural, contextual, counter-cultural, or cross-cultural • Where music is ponderous or pointless

  35. A Lutheran vocation • “Evangelical” strength in the service of the Word: Scripture, preaching, mission, music • “Catholic” emphases: Creed, Keys, Sacraments, liturgical core • Lutheran worship: purposefully faithful both doctrinally and contextually • Lutheran worship: a return to musical vibrancy?

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