When Brothers Dwell in Unity!
Today’s Treasury of Daily Prayer reading is the conclusion to St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. He warns us to “watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught…. For such persons do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naïve.” We are told to “avoid them” (Rom 16:17-18).
The Treasury’s alternative Psalm reading (the one that is in LSB) for today is Psalm 133, which begins, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (Ps 133:1). The Psalmist provides a liturgical metaphor for what this unity looks like: “the precious oil on the head, running down the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down the collar of his robes” (verse 2).
While speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, God gave careful instructions for what faithful worship of the true God should look like. Our Lord not only prefers, but instructs worship of Himself to be reverent, beautiful, and formal - with vestments, bells, carved imagery, exquisite wood-, fabric, and metal-work; gems, and incense. Ritual is presumed, and the celebrants were not encouraged to create casual and pedestrian options to being in the miraculous Divine Presence (Ex 26-31).
Even as God was dictating all of this to Moses, the people at the bottom of the mountain were engaging in a more creative and contemporary kind of worship, imported from outside of their communion. It was a striking contrast to the kind of reverent and liturgical worship God desires: “the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play” (Ex 32:6). The people were worked up and incited into an emotional fervor (Ex 32:17).
Our culture is consumed with food, drink, and play, with emotion and noise. And there is great cultural pressure to make remake worship in the image of our pop-culture - often under the guise of evangelism and church growth.
But unlike other, more radical reformations in the sixteenth century, we Lutherans retained traditional, reverent, liturgical worship. We did not abolish the Mass (AC24, Ap 24). And even though every sanctuary is not identical, and even though there is great flexibility within our authentic Article 24 Divine Service (FC SD 10), and although different pastors may vest and celebrate with some variation from one another, we Lutherans have enjoyed - at least until very recently in our history - the kind of brotherly unity as celebrated in Psalm 133, “in doctrine and ceremonies” (AC Conclusion 5).
Sadly, we have allowed decades of division and disunity to plague our synod and confession, including the seepage-in of entertainment and casual pop culture into our sanctuaries. This has created the very opposite of the Psalmist’s delight.
But we can still seek unity “in these gray and latter days” and pray with the hymnist, St. Martin Franzmann:
O Spirit, who didst once restore
Thy church that it might be again
The bringer of good news to men,
Breath on Thy cloven Church once more,
That in these gray and latter days
There may be those whose life is praise,
Each life a high doxology
To Father, Son, and unto Thee (LSB 834:4).
We can indeed seek unity “in these last days of great distress” and pray with the hymnist St. Nicolaus Selnecker:
In these last days of great distress
Grant us, dear Lord, true steadfastness
That we keep pure till life is spent
Your holy Word and Sacrament (LSB 585:2).
And yes, finding an authentic Lutheran liturgy can seem like groping about in the dark, and can be frustrating, demoralizing, and discouraging, there is a resource that can help.
It is the directory of Evangelical-Lutheran Liturgical Congregations at lutheranliturgy.org. You can plug in a location or zip code and mileage range to seek out a congregation and get more information. The site is published and maintained by the Rev. Gary Gehlbach (Sabre of Boldness, 1999).
If your congregation meets the criteria, I would encourage you to register! Your parish may be a lifeline to weary pilgrims. Let them know that you exist.