tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778905687600416321.post6103972107856345667..comments2023-11-05T02:55:10.230-06:00Comments on Gottesdienst Online: Creation & WorshipPr. H. R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16756503062523543708noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778905687600416321.post-25082736350616169452011-01-16T00:58:29.790-06:002011-01-16T00:58:29.790-06:00" For that matter, how do our worship practic...<i>" For that matter, how do our worship practices and rituals express our connection to creation as well as our care of creation? "</i> -- Dr. Arand<br /><br />Generally, the connection is made when the Lutheran priest gently sends us laitical rascals out the door ... with the assured blessings, the promised keeping, and the magnificent shining countenance and graces of the Triune Lord.<br /><br />Call me Lutheran, but methinks that in our <i>vocations</i> we have six days (out of seven!) to connect with and nurture creation ... which precious entity includes our "neighbor," as well as our surrounding "nature."Michael L. Anderson, M.D., Ph.Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13158953802996685938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778905687600416321.post-70628135243686067562011-01-15T10:21:18.329-06:002011-01-15T10:21:18.329-06:00Dr. Arand's thoughts about a "Creation Su...Dr. Arand's thoughts about a "Creation Sunday" take my mind back to the Rogationtide ceremonies that take place during the week of Easter 6. However, the LCMS and other Lutherans have appeared to lose this tradition, so one may have to turn to the Church of England/Episcopal Church for resources--assuming proper discernment.<br /><br />The prayers and ceremonies used in Rogationtide would meet some of the goals that Dr. Arand put forward. The psalms and canticles include the Song of Creation ("All Ye Works of the Lord"). Litanies of the Church include statements about creation. There are also prayers for faithful stewardship and good harvest. Blessings on gardens, fields, and orchards show that the creation is God's domain through which He providentially cares for all people--rain on the good and evil alike.<br /><br />Perhaps appending a Rogation Ceremony to the Divine Service/Morning Prayer on Easter 6 or holding a Vespers service on that evening (or that Wednesday evening) would be a way to fulfill Dr. Arand's suggestion. Perhaps this is a way of using the Western Church's tradition to meet a contemporary desire.Rev. Luke T. Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06248166785577564914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778905687600416321.post-52277299842296551152011-01-13T11:37:40.131-06:002011-01-13T11:37:40.131-06:00Agreed with both Pr. H R & Katy on using appro...Agreed with both Pr. H R & Katy on using appropriate prayers, preaching on the lectionary, etc. Thank-you Dcn Gaba for the blessed mother bee:) Our theologians could learn much from her as well.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09350908137437557142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778905687600416321.post-72241962547887733782011-01-13T11:30:13.341-06:002011-01-13T11:30:13.341-06:00The sheer physicality involved with the traditiona...The sheer physicality involved with the traditional liturgy also has an incarnational, and thus a creation affirming, quality. We bow; we bend the right knee; we bend both knees; we make the sign of the cross with the right hand over the head, chest, and shoulders; we make the sign of the cross with the thumb over the forehead, lips, and heart; we open our mouth to confess; we open our mouth to receive. It is a rich topic, a topic, however, of which synod agencies & worship committees are particularly unworthy.Dcn Latif Haki Gaba SSPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13032212390625343868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778905687600416321.post-15124211322619368602011-01-13T11:00:53.347-06:002011-01-13T11:00:53.347-06:00The traditional Easter Praeconium, I hasten to rem...The traditional Easter Praeconium, I hasten to remind us, has a beautiful section on the beeswax, though it is probably left out of modern rites. When the deacon lights the Paschal Candle, he continues chanting:<br /><br />Which fire, though it be divided into parts, yet knoweth no diminution of its light. For it is nourished by the fluid wax which the mother bee hath produced for the material of this precious torch. etc.Dcn Latif Haki Gaba SSPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13032212390625343868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778905687600416321.post-7988182123369856352011-01-13T10:51:32.061-06:002011-01-13T10:51:32.061-06:00Like Pr. C's post on Creation Sunday, I would ...Like Pr. C's post on Creation Sunday, I would argue that many feasts, festivals, and commemorations present in our Church calendar already observe life, directly or indirectly. (Bravo for Lutherans for Life for that above-mentioned resource.)<br /><br /> It would be appropriate to include relevant and specific prayers (for troubled and expecting mothers, abortion doctors, politicians, those mourning an abortion, etc.) on the Sunday closest to RvW's anniversary. But I don't think a whole Sunday should be set aside. <br /><br />The first time I attended an LCMS church was on Life Sunday, and that was what the "sermon" was all about: how we should protect the unborn. A collection was made for the local PCC (in place of offerings for the church), and as we left, I was handed a flyer promoting pro-life politicians. What if there was a poor woman sitting in the pew, haunted by guilt and her baby's absence? She never heard forgiveness and comfort and the blood of Christ. Perhaps this bad experience has made me prejudiced.Katyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00238246037896274014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778905687600416321.post-38747654935787632992011-01-13T10:48:17.300-06:002011-01-13T10:48:17.300-06:00Rev. Deacon,
The beeswax! How could I forget? The...Rev. Deacon,<br /><br />The beeswax! How could I forget? The prayers for the blessing of the candles at Candlemas, the palms on Palm Sunday, and the incense at Easter Vigil are indeed just the sort of affirmations of creation that Dr. Arand either overlooks or is ignorant of.<br /><br />+HRCPr. H. R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16756503062523543708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778905687600416321.post-62409817697451310822011-01-13T10:33:42.321-06:002011-01-13T10:33:42.321-06:00This thought isn't necessarily a criticism of ...This thought isn't necessarily a criticism of Arand, except where it may be applicable, for I really don't know him. I think that one of the very dangers of seeing the high art of Theology in terms of systematizing (hence the seemingly subtle shift from dogmatics to systematics) is that it encourages the theologian to see the theological subject as an object on the labratory table, to stand over it, cut it into pieces, and show onself master over it, rather than learning to submit to it, see its integrity, and let it have its way with him. <br /><br />The former not only brings categories and divisions into theology which are questionable in their validity and value, but also brings the perennial temptation to create (ex nihilo, by the way) ever new and creative notions, distinctions, innovations, on top of the system. Thus Systematic Theology and Practical Theology have met; arrogance and innovation have kissed each other.<br /><br />The latter, by contrast, would have us learn to see our noble subject as a brilliant diamond. We seek to discover its many facets and their value, and we inherently know that 1. the diamond will not be improved, only cheapened, by our tacking something new onto it, and 2. it won't be good for anyone if the jewel gets hacked up and shattered into pieces, even with the best of intentions.<br /><br />The liturgy is one example where the theologian needs to learn to see himself as a churchman rather than as an expert who has new recommendations to make. The choice before the theologian (in this case the liturgist) is between sitting at the feet of the liturgical tradition (including the integrity of the liturgical year) on the one hand, and hacking it apart & supposing to offer improvements in this or that part of it on the other hand.<br /><br />Fr. Curtis is right on when he speaks of the ways in which our sacramental practice is an affirmartion of creation (which of course reminds me of Dr. Scaer's excellent essay by a similar title). Along with that, I suggest there is much in the ritual of the traditional liturgy that engages the senses, and affirms the goodness of God's creation, such as the beesewax candles and incense.Dcn Latif Haki Gaba SSPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13032212390625343868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778905687600416321.post-23299796595540138052011-01-13T10:25:04.740-06:002011-01-13T10:25:04.740-06:00Paul,
I can't speak for Katy, but my beef wit...Paul,<br /><br />I can't speak for Katy, but my beef with "Life Sunday" is not combating the culture of death, but replacing the Church's lectionary with something else. <br /><br />At our parish this Sunday we will pray for the unborn, and the sermon will forthrightly feature pro-life themes from abortion to birth control to euthanasia, but it will all be done within the context of Epiphany 2, which happily has a wonderful text for this occasion: the Wedding at Cana. <br /><br />+HRCPr. H. R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16756503062523543708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778905687600416321.post-87140909076244280322011-01-13T10:15:23.752-06:002011-01-13T10:15:23.752-06:00In the book "Already Gone" the argument ...In the book "Already Gone" the argument is made that our young(er) folk though perhaps still physically present, are already absent in mind, heart and spirit which results in actual physical absence in due course. Why? They have not been given the means to fulfill the apostolic madate of I Peter 3:15 specifically as it relates to the first nine chapters of Genesis. Learning Bible stories without apologetics apparently does mroe harm than good. On the question of vaarious Sunday emphases, how can the Church not lament the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the culture of death that threatens to engulf us all by observing a Life Sunday?Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09350908137437557142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778905687600416321.post-25900633846723195892011-01-13T10:05:58.849-06:002011-01-13T10:05:58.849-06:00Katy,
Fair enough - and to their credit Lutherans...Katy,<br /><br />Fair enough - and to their credit Lutherans for Life does a nice job of putting out preaching aids that point out the pro-life themes in the lectionary throughout the year. I am no fan of setting aside the Church's lectionary for any other sort of observance.<br /><br />+HRCPr. H. R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16756503062523543708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778905687600416321.post-47350229733951664662011-01-13T10:02:28.761-06:002011-01-13T10:02:28.761-06:00I feel the same way about churches observing "...I feel the same way about churches observing "Life Sunday."Katyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00238246037896274014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778905687600416321.post-79893877047552436302011-01-13T09:18:27.462-06:002011-01-13T09:18:27.462-06:00Earth Sunday should probably fall as close to Leni...Earth Sunday should probably fall as close to Lenin's birthday, er, Earth Day as possible, right?Fr BFEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554699361739289492noreply@blogger.com