Much has changed since 1993. Back then the word “Internet” was mostly unknown and unused, cellular phones were the size of large paperback books, and a young 11-year-old girl named Britney Spears was the newest member of the New Mickey Mouse Club. Yes, 1993 is so long ago that the seventh- and eighth-graders to whom I now teach Luther’s Small Catechism weren’t even born, making this relatively young pastor feel pretty old. Though the Scriptures teach that for the Lord a thousand years is like a day that has just gone by (Psalm 90:4), for human beings 15 years can seem like an eternity.
It was at the 1993 synod convention that the first public copy of Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal was presented to the synod president. Since that day Christian Worship has been adopted by nearly every WELS congregation.
That “new” hymnal will soon be 15 years old. That makes it the oldest hymnal in primary use among the four largest Lutheran church bodies in the United States. But Christian Worship is far from being outdated.
Since 1993, new hymns have appeared that enrich the language of the church’s worship. New orders of service, sensitive to worship needs and sensitive to human sin and God’s grace, support a faithful proclamation of the gospel. Others have enthusiastically welcomed instrumental variety that makes faithful use of God’s manifold gifts. Though the gospel in Word and sacrament will remain forever unchanged, the forms of our gospel proclamation and our songs of thanksgiving continue to evolve. God’s people find different yet equally rich ways to confess their Christian faith in word and song.
Recognizing this, the WELS Commission on Worship began working on Christian Worship: Supplement, scheduled for publication in July 2008, just in time for the next National Conference on Worship, Music, and the Arts. The commission worked on this hymnal supplement partly with an eye to the future; a hymnal’s “lifetime” is often said to be about 30 years. That means Christian Worship would be in line for a complete makeover by about 2023.
Before jumping headlong into such an intensive project, however, we should ask this question: Do hymnals still serve a purpose?
Part of our heritage
Before we consider whether or not hymnals can serve a purpose for the future, we need to understand what purpose they have served in the past.
Our Lutheran church has been blessed with a rich heritage of hymns and hymnals, beginning with Jobst Gutknecht’s publication of the Achtliederbuch (Eight Song Book) in 1524. Among Luther’s many Reformation rediscoveries was his emphasis on congregational song. The reformer strongly suggested that all Christians—not just the clergy and choirs—should be given the opportunity to offer their voices in public worship. After all, singing is a natural expression of Christian faith. He conveyed the wish that “we had as many songs as possible” in the language of the people (Luther’s Works 53:36). It was not simply so that the congregation would have something to do during worship. No, Luther was convinced that music—combined with the truths of Scripture—becomes the very living voice of the gospel. “After all,” he wrote, “the gift of language combined with the gift of song was only given to man to let him know that he should praise God with both words and music, namely, by proclaiming [the Word of God] through music and by providing sweet melodies with words” (Luther’s Works 53:323-324).
As a result of Luther’s energetic leadership in the area of hymnody, the Lutheran church soon became known as “the singing church.” Some of the Lutheran Reformation’s harshest critics grudgingly acknowledged the power of the sturdy Lutheran hymns. One Catholic theologian even complained that the innovative Lutheran songs won more converts to the Reformation faith than Luther’s writings and sermons. Because complete Bibles were generally too expensive to purchase, Lutheran hymnals and catechisms soon became the two chief books for teaching the Lutheran faith to young and old alike.
From the beginning Lutheran hymnals have had a decidedly catechetical purpose; they were published to teach the faith. Lutheran hymns are not simply “songs of praise,” which say very little about what God has actually done. Lutheran hymns tend to de-emphasize subjective feelings. Instead of making the worshiper feel warm and comfortable, they focus a Christian’s heart on the objective truths of Scripture, especially God’s work of salvation for us in Christ—justification by grace through faith. Lutheran hymnals have contained the rich storehouse of these scriptural, Christ-centered treasures for nearly 500 years. Clearly, they have served an important purpose and have been an indispensable part of our rich Reformation heritage.
More than tradition
But do hymnals still serve a purpose today? Some people—even Lutheran Christians—don’t think so. They argue that the words and thought patterns are too difficult for contemporary use. They complain that the music is not learnable. They suggest that our Christian worship needs to communicate a message of “relevance” to the people of this world, and Lutheran hymnals and Lutheran hymns just aren’t relevant to a vast majority of the population.
Really?!
While readily acknowledging that worship forms can and do change—and that many Lutheran hymns might not become songs you sing in the shower—what part of the gospel message that these hymns proclaim has become irrelevant?
- Is it the mystery and majesty of Christ’s virgin birth? A hymn like “All Praise to You, Eternal God” (Christian Worship 33) teaches it.
- Is it the unfathomable victory that Christ has won over death and hell? Shall we discard the hymn “Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands” (CW 161) which so boldly expresses it?
- Does the history of our salvation presented in “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice” (CW 377) become obsolete?
- Don’t we still need a song of unyielding Christian faith in the midst of earthly troubles taught in the hymn, “If God Himself Be For Me” (CW 419)?
If these hymns and others like them that are contained in our Lutheran hymnals are not relevant, then what is relevant?
Still we must ask: Should we continue to produce new Lutheran hymnals—and hymnal supplements—simply because that’s what we have always done as Lutherans? Not at all! Lutheran hymnals must be more than a tradition, and Lutheran hymns should be used for a better reason than “this is what we’ve always sung.” We must appreciate the teaching purpose of Lutheran hymns. The power of their words must be unlocked. Their message must be taught and pondered. Their music must be practiced and performed well.
Only then will we begin to discover and rediscover what so many Lutherans before us have known: that our hymnals can serve and will serve a decidedly important and divine purpose in our ever-changing world.
Peter Prange is pastor at Jerusalem, Morton Grove, Illinois.
