Matins

I have heard from brother pastors that there are still resistors to every-Sunday communion. One of their ploys is to suggest Matins be used instead of the Divine Service on certain weeks in the month. And part of the justification is that with the Sacrament being offered at every Sunday service, Matins is falling into disuse.

Of course, most of us have been around the block enough to understand that this really isn’t about Matins, but rather about the blessed tradition of infrequent communion, as was done in the salad days when the sanctuary was packed, when the pastor wasn’t decked out in “silk robes,” and wasn’t chanting.

As for Matins, I was able to restore it at my congregation - and it was not in response to anyone having an issue to the authentically Lutheran practice that:

In our churches Mass is celebrated every Sunday and on other festivals when the sacrament is offered to those who wish for it after they have been examined and absolved. We keep traditional liturgical forms, such as the order of the lessons, prayers, vestments, etc. (Apology 24:1)

Rather, I think Matins should at least be offered for what it is: an increase in our daily piety, not a substitute for the weekly Divine Service and an infringement upon Holy Communion.

So my congregation has Matins every Monday through Friday at 10:00 am. It is sung a capella and includes the readings from the Treasury of Daily Prayer. I actually added it to our Sunday schedule as well:

8:30 am - Matins
9:00 am - Bible Class
10:00 am - Divine Service
11:30 am - Catechesis

Thus Matins is offered as a supplement and a complement to the Chief Service, and not as a pseudo-traditional way to limit Holy Communion - as though offering the Eucharist less often serves anyone other than the devil.

If the motivation is not to receive the Sacrament “too often” (as if this is actually a “thing”), then such people can simply opt to stay in the pew during the distribution. What I find odd, and disturbing, is rather such people wishing to limit the communion of other people, by making it unavailable to those who wish for it. There is no other explanation for this except the “lust for domination” and a desire to play pastor, to control when others receive the body and blood of Christ as if one is a steward of the mysteries charged with pastoral oversight and care.

Adding a brief Matins service is a way to increase the parish’s (and the pastor’s) contact with the Word of God, and re-establish familiarity with this ancient tradition without infringing on our authentic Lutheran piety and desire to commune with the Lord in the Holy Sacrament.

It’s a win-win!

A beautiful and useful resource for re-learning Matins (as well as other traditional prayer offices) is Evening and Morning: the Music of Lutheran Daily Prayer.