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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780802805201 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company |
| Publication date: | 01/09/2003 |
| Series: | The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies (CICW) |
| Pages: | 448 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.25(w) x 9.25(h) x (d) |
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Christian Worship in Reformed Churches Past and Present
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Copyright © 2003 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing CompanyAll right reserved.
ISBN: 0-8028-0520-5
Chapter One
Worship as Christian Witness to SocietyLukas Vischer
Reformed worship has always been public worship. The proclamation of the word has never been confined to spiritual themes but has also included aspects of public life. But the awareness that worship is always taking place in the world and has to contribute to the promotion of God's love and will in society has become stronger in recent decades. It is true that worship implies, in a certain sense, a withdrawal from the world. The community gathers in order to concentrate minds and hearts on the essential content of the Christian message - to listen to the word and to praise God's name. It distances itself, for a time, from the world in order to engage afterward in an even more determined service to the world. The life of the community is characterized by the double movement of gathering for worship and being sent into the world, and these two movements cannot be separated. The sending is prepared by the gathering. The witness in the world receives its strength from the relationship with God that has been renewed in worship. From the service in the world the community returns to the praise of God in worship. Appropriately, the witness in the world is often called by Orthodox Christians the "liturgy after the liturgy." This means that the witness to the world isinherent and present in every true act of worship.
The two movements can easily fall apart. Again and again worship is being celebrated as a self-contained event. Again and again worship becomes a refuge from the world and its challenges. Often, the community succumbs to the temptation to leave the world to itself. But the truth stands: God so loved the world - this world - that he gave for it his only begotten Son. The credibility of worship depends on the willingness of the community to share in God's movement of love for the world. Worship will always have an impact; it can either lift up God's love for the world or it can, on the contrary, hide that love behind spiritual walls.
Facing today's ever more rapid social change, the question of the political and social witness through the church's worship must be asked anew. How is the impact of worship on society to be seen? On the one hand, the rapid change calls for an even more determined concentration on the raison d'être of the church. On the other hand, there is, in the face of the injustice, violence, and suffering resulting from the change, even greater urgency to appeal to the critical and transforming potential of the gospel. In the course of the last decades, many attempts have been made to relate worship to the world. Many of these attempts were ecumenical, and in many cases Reformed congregations, communities, and churches were directly involved. The debate on the pros and cons of "political worship services" is still far from concluded.
The Public Character of Reformed Worship
The aim of the sixteenth-century Reformation was a comprehensive renewal. Most importantly, the church was to be purified from errors and abuses, but at the same time, society was to be renewed. Without hesitation the reformers - particularly those of the Reformed vein - addressed issues of public life. More than in other Christian traditions, especially more than in the Lutheran tradition, the Reformed churches emphasized the need for the independence of the church from state interference or control. At all times the church was to be free to point to the claims of the gospel on state authorities and on society as a whole. The witness of a church ceasing to enjoy this freedom would inevitably be reduced in its effectiveness. Facing the threat of a totalitarian ideology, the Confessing Church reminded Christians in Germany of the need for this freedom. Thesis 2 of the Barmen Theological Declaration (1934) states that the God who turns to humanity in forgiveness is the master of the entire life of humans and that there is therefore no aspect of human life that would be exempted from God's claim. Thesis 5 both explicitly recognizes and limits the authority of the state. The authority of the state has its legitimacy and its limitation in God's mandate to "be responsible for law and peace." The church is not an organ of the state, but it has the task of reminding people of God's kingdom, commandment, and justice, and of pointing to the responsibilities of both authorities and citizens.
The interaction between church and state also has its place in worship. The community gathers in the first place in order to praise God. As it assembles under God's word it also seeks to gain clarity about itself. Who are we who have come together here? Where have we failed? In what direction are we sent by God's forgiving word? The search for clarity also includes the reflection on the place and vocation of the community in society. What has happened around us? What developments are becoming apparent? At what points is the proclamation of the gospel being challenged in a particular way? A common effort at "reading the signs of the time" needs to take place; in other words, an effort needs to be made to understand the events and developments in society in the light of God's liberating message and to judge the degree of their relevance or nonrelevance. The interpretation of developments in society is not automatic. The connection between God's word and the diverse realms of human life needs to be constantly rediscovered. Worship provides the occasion to establish the connection in the first place for the community itself. As the community gains clarity on its vocation in society, God's word begins to be effective also beyond the community's boundaries.
At all times the sermon was the privileged instrument in this process of reflection and recognition. Preaching is by nature the attempt to understand God's word and to interpret its significance for today. Throughout history there have been pastors who also included in their preaching the realm of public life; at all times preachers have publicly called injustice by its name. Think of the religious socialists at the beginning of the twentieth century and their efforts to interpret the concerns of the labor movement in the light of the gospel. Think of the significance of preaching in the Confessing Church at the time of the Third Reich. Think of the warnings issued by the churches against economic injustice and the increasing destruction of the environment, and in particular of the role of preaching in the struggle against apartheid. Pastors addressing in their sermons political and social issues are, as a rule, controversial figures. They meet with both applause and criticism. Very often, only their graves will be decorated. But without the dimension of political and social witness, the proclamation of the gospel would lack the salt that the disciples have been promised by their Lord.
Another element of worship in which issues of public life have their place is intercession, which is an integral part of every worship service. Through the prayer of intercession the community brings itself, the church, and the entire world before God. It prays that God may make manifest the power of the Spirit, that the church may be strengthened, and especially that all those suffering from illness and despair may experience God's forgiving and healing presence. It gives room to its worry about the future and implores God to set limits to human irresponsibility and prevent further exploitation, violence, and destruction of life. As the psalmists did, it asks God to impose restraint on the "enemies" of the gospel. At all times intercession has included prayers for the government of the country, asking that God would empower the authorities to fulfill their tasks. This intercession is to be understood as an act of loyal solidarity. It becomes an act of political critique when government authorities transgress the function they are mandated to fulfill. Intercession especially acquires a political character when victims of political or economic oppression are mentioned explicitly and by their names.
New Dimensions of Political Worship
Does the political dimension of worship find expression exclusively through preaching and intercession? Or are there other ways of celebrating worship through which the political and social commitment of the community as a whole can even more clearly become visible? Reformed churches around the world have been increasingly preoccupied by this question. Preaching and intercession are fundamental elements of worship. As they are used as instruments of a determined witness in the world, the whole worship is given a new direction. Responsibility for preaching and intercession lies principally with the leaders of worship, since the content of both the sermon and the free prayer of intercession depends largely on their insight and decision. But how can the worship of the community as a whole become a sign to the world? True, preaching and intercession can have the support of the community as a whole; leaders can see themselves as representatives of the community and speak on its behalf, and their witness can be the expression of a position officially adopted by the church. (It may be preceded by a debate in the parish council or even an assembly of the community as a whole.) Nevertheless, preaching and intercession largely rest on the voice of a single person. Are there acts of political worship that involve to a larger extent the community as a whole?
Some attempts that have been made in the course of the last decades may be mentioned here as illustrations:
International Social Justice
In the late fifties and early sixties an awareness grew that the present economic system was the cause of increasing social injustice. The hope for a better world entertained in the first years after World War II vanished. Conscience was faced with the fact of a growing gap between rich and poor nations. At an early date the churches raised their voice to call for a correction of the economic course. Numerous church organizations that sought to alleviate the injustice and develop solutions came into existence. Increasingly, the issue had to be faced how churches in rich countries were to deal with their wealth. Was it not necessary to transcend the barriers of rich and poor, at least within the communion of the church? Was it not necessary to establish a kind of worldwide eucharistic communion and to share the gifts of creation with one another?
One response to these questions was a new interpretation of Lent. In many congregations the period of Ash Wednesday to Easter came to be a time for learning and practicing solidarity with the economically underprivileged. Fasting was practiced not only as the door to a deeper spiritual understanding of Jesus' passion but as an expression of solidarity. More and more development agencies used the period for their campaigns and sought, in diverse ways (often through special worship services), to raise the level of consciousness in the churches with regard to the intolerable disparity between rich and poor nations.
A similar function was fulfilled in many places by the renewal of the agape, the ancient tradition of the common meal after the celebration of the Eucharist. Generally, not only in Reformed churches but in the ecumenical movement as a whole, greater emphasis was placed on the meal aspect of the Eucharist. Was not this a way to overcome the concept of worship as mere ritual and to emphasize, through the actual sharing of a meal, the diaconal character of worship? In many places, agape meals were given the meaning of a sign of solidarity with the poor.
Intercession Leading to Intervention on Behalf of the Persecuted and Oppressed
In the 1970s Amnesty International was founded in response to the increased practice in many countries of oppression, torture, and extra-judicial killings. If the vision of a just economic order could not be realized, no effort was to be spared to protect at least the most fundamental human rights. Amnesty International launched a vast campaign against judicial arbitrariness, in particular the use of torture and the death penalty. Numerous congregations participated in this struggle. In worship, at the time of intercession, the names of particular political prisoners were mentioned, and at the end of the service the opportunity was offered to sign petition letters to governments and police of the countries concerned. The intercession in the service was understood as the first step toward concrete action. In certain cases, the intercession resulted in projects with wide ramifications.
Sanctuary
How are we to deal with refugees fleeing from oppression, armed conflicts, and poverty, and seeking security outside their own country? Can churches resign themselves to the restrictive measures adopted by more and more countries, especially the rich industrialized countries, that are meant to reduce the influx of refugees? Can churches remain quiet as refugees are expelled and forced to return to their home countries? Churches have consistently argued in favor of a more generous strategy toward refugees and migrants. Some congregations have gone beyond statements and have offered their churches to refugees as sanctuaries; in other words, they have allowed them to stay in the rooms of the church building and in this way prevented the immediate execution of the expulsion order. An old tradition - biblical and ecclesiastical - thus gained new life.
The intention of such efforts is not to question the authority of the state and establish a separate sphere of law. As congregations accept refugees in their midst they only wish to compel state authorities to interpret the existing laws and administrative rules to the highest possible extent in favor of the refugee. An example: Twenty Kurds who had been expelled from Switzerland sought refuge in a Reformed church of Geneva. The parish council called a parish assembly. It was decided to put at the disposal of the Kurdish group the rooms of the church until their case was examined once more in all its aspects by the competent authority. Several weeks passed without police intervention. Finally, the verdict of the authorities was to maintain the expulsion of two leaders of the group but to grant the rest at least temporary asylum in Switzerland. The sanctuary time was concluded with an interreligious worship service.
Worship Services in Connection with Political Events or Initiatives
It is one thing to address political and social themes in preaching or intercession, another to devote the whole service to a particular political or social issue. Special worship services can be organized for many reasons, such as to pray for an end to violence and war, as in the period of increasing tensions in Yugoslavia; to pray for reconciliation and peace, as for the peaceful reunification of Korea; or to pray for the success of a conference, as for the U.N. conferences on economic justice or climate change. Even more than official statements, worship services on a particular political or social theme have become part of the witness of the churches in public life.
The Community Bearing Witness: Who Celebrates the Worship and Where?
The political witness of the churches sharply raises the question of the extent to which the community practices in its own midst the solidarity it is calling for in society. Is the community a mirror of what it proclaims in public? Again and again communities lag behind the image of community that corresponds to the gospel. Is it a community in which the poor have their place? Do the weak, such as the handicapped, receive the place of honor they deserve? Or is the Christian community just another association of healthy, strong, and successful people in which the weak and disabled are a foreign body?
More is at stake than the moral integrity of the church's witness. More and more, in recent decades, an awareness has grown that the inclusiveness of the community is decisive for the credibility of its witness. Reconciliation cannot be communicated if it is not celebrated by the community as a whole, if the barriers that separate people from one another are not overcome and transcended within the community itself.
On two issues - the relationship between men and women, and racial and ethnic barriers within the church-the insistence on the inclusiveness of the community has led to far-reaching debates and changes. The struggle for a true community of men and women in the church and a true partnership between them clearly has spiritual dimensions, and inevitably affects ways of worship. To what extent do women participate in giving shape to and leading worship? To what extent does the language used in worship reflect the fact that the congregation is a community of men and women? How does worship underline the commitment of the church to inclusiveness in society?
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Christian Worship in Reformed Churches Past and Present Copyright © 2003 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company . Excerpted by permission.
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Table of Contents
| Series Preface | ix | |
| Introduction | xi | |
| Part I | A Historical Survey | 1 |
| The Reformation | ||
| Reformed Worship in the Sixteenth Century | 3 | |
| Continental Europe | ||
| Reformed Worship in Continental Europe since the Seventeenth Century | 32 | |
| United Kingdom | ||
| The Origins of the Antipathy to Set Liturgical Forms in the English-Speaking Reformed Tradition | 66 | |
| The Worship of English Congregationalism | 83 | |
| North America | ||
| Reformed Worship in the United States of America | 107 | |
| The Twentieth-Century Ecumenical Movement | ||
| Word, Sacrament, and Communion: New Emphases in Reformed Worship in the Twentieth Century | 142 | |
| South Africa | ||
| Reformed Liturgy in the South African Context | 159 | |
| Asia | ||
| A Survey of Reformed Worship in Indonesia | 175 | |
| Worship in the Presbyterian Church in Korea | 194 | |
| Africa | ||
| Reformed Worship in East Africa | 208 | |
| The Worship Experience of the Reformed Family in Ghana/West Africa: The Cry and Quest for Liturgical Reform | 216 | |
| Reformed Worship Taking Root in New Cultures: The Congolese Experience (Democratic Republic of the Congo) | 224 | |
| Latin America | ||
| Reformed Worship in Brazil | 234 | |
| The Pacific | ||
| Worship and Community in the Pacific | 246 | |
| The Uniting Churches | ||
| Traditions and Principles of Reformed Worship in Uniting Church in Australia | 261 | |
| Part II | A Common Reflection on Christian Worship in Reformed Churches Today | 281 |
| Part III | Elaborations on Some Contemporary Issues | 309 |
| A Church of the Word and Sacrament | 311 | |
| Contemporary Developments in Music in Reformed Churches Worldwide | 324 | |
| Revisiting the Question of the Use of Visual Art, Imagery, and Symbol in Reformed Places of Worship | 348 | |
| Women, Worship, and God's Reforming Spirit | 371 | |
| Calendar and Lectionary in Reformed Perspective and History | 390 | |
| Worship as Christian Witness to Society | 415 | |
| Contributors | 427 | |
| Index | 429 |