I forgot the Kyrie! Lutheran Liturgy pt. 3

Posted on March 30, 2009 by admin

I realized the other day that in my haste to get to the Gloria in Excelsis, I skipped right over the Kyrie!    In the 1958 SB&H, they kept the old titles, and I find it interesting that they are a mixture of Latin and Greek.  One of these days I’m going to pull out my copy of St. John Chrysostom’s Divine Liturgy and see how closely they align.

Kyrie is a Greek word meaning, “O Lord,” from the phrase “Kýrie, eléison,” or “O Lord, have mercy.” You might recall the phrase from the 1985 Mr. Mister song.  Here’s the 1958 Lutheran version (congregation’s response in italics), which is generally sung:

In peace let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For the peace that is from above, and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For the peace of the whole worlds, for the well-being of the churches of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For this holy house, and for them that in faith, piety and fear of God offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

Help, save, pity and defend us, O God, by thy grace.

Amen.

I should mention that the music for the liturgy was adapted by Regina Fryxell from various sources, including older Lutheran liturgies and 10th Century plainsongs.  In my opinion, it has much more character than any of the recent Lutheran liturgies I have heard, which in my opinion are really quite horrible.  This past Sunday I attended a Lutheran church who sung the 5th setting from the new, 2006 hymnal.   It was actually unnatural to sing; for example, they used a familiar tune to “Create in Me,” but changed the phrasing so that it actually interrupted the natural rhythm of the lyrics.  Strange.  I don’t think I’ll go back any time soon.

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The Limitations of Reason

Posted on March 26, 2009 by me

As I’ve reported once before, Jeff Carter at Sophie’s Ladder has recently published a series of posts summarizing the history of philosophy as it relates to the limitations of reason. As he states in the opening of his “summation” post,

This series has demonstrated the limitations – and therefore the inadequacy and failure – of reason not only in dealing with metaphysical / spiritual matters, but also in securing a foundation for reason itself. Every attempt to justify reason as a power superior to or even adequate for comprehending the metaphysical / spiritual has failed.

Now, I freely admit that I am not an expert, having bailed on my philosophy major fairly early on in my education.  However, I think a lot, so that counts for something.  One thing I did excel in was logic.  As I’ve spent the last twenty-something years analyzing and countering arguments, I do a pretty good job at it.  However, I have always been intrigued by the knowledge that not only are there limitations to reason, there are other logical systems. As Russell Shorto quotes Jonathan Ree in Descartes Bones – A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason:

“… the theory of knowledge and the theory of human nature which with it; the concepts of an idea, of mathematical laws of nature … are so fundamental to modern consciousness that it is hard no to regard them as part of the natural property of the human mind. But, in fact, they are a product of the seventeenth century, and above all in the work of Descartes.”

I am also aware that built into modernism – our current Western worldview that resulted from the Cartesian revolution – is the concept of progress, so we asume that our system of logic is necessarily better than anyone else’s; in fact, we cannot conceive of any other system of logic as having any merit whatsoever.

What the series at Sophie’s Ladder does is demonstrate that all attempts to prove the superiority of reason have failed; we believe our concept of reason has to be true, but we really have to accept it on faith.  As Jeff commented on my earlier post, this series is foundational to a response he is writing of John Loftus’ approach to atheism.  Recently John has been touting his “Outsider Test of Faith” (OTF), where he challenges Christians to give up their presuppositions in order to view Christianity as an outsider would.  However, his whole system is nothing more than a house built on sand, as he does not apply the same test to his own presuppositions, which he calls “control beliefs.”  I pointed this out to John, and one of his followers thought it ridiculous that I suggest such a thing.

Of course, his OTF is really just selective application of Godel’s Theorem, which in essence is that no logical (mathematical) system can prove itself – you have to prove it from outside the system.  I am really looking forward to Jeff’s response to Loftus (actually, I’m more interested in Loftus’ response to Jeff).

On the other hand, I believe that it is possible to disprove a system from within the system, in this case, using reason and logic to show the limitations of reason and logic.  The only reason that the New Atheists (I’ll include Loftus in that group, although he distinguishes himself) can continue is that they don’t understand the philosophical mess they are in; or else they do, but are in denial.

While I cannot prove this, at least yet, I am back to thinking that the real issue with most of the atheist apologists is not philosophy or lack of evidence or logic; rather, it is a moral issue, and a faith issue.  In other words, they have chosen to believe what they believe, so that they do not have to believe something else.

Again, I highly recommend the series at Sophie’s Ladder.  It’s very well-done, and concise enough to really provide a big-picture view of the issues related to faith and reason.

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The Lutheran Liturgy, Pt 2

Posted on March 23, 2009 by me

Glory be to God on high!

So continues Setting Two of the Lutheran Liturgy from the 1958 Service Book and Hymnal. This is my favorite section of the liturgy, I think, and what most often has been playing in the background of my mind these past couple of weeks. This is the Gloria in Excelsis, adapted by Regina Fryxell:

Glory be to God on high!

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee,
We glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory,
O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.
O Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ;
O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
That takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.
Thou that takest away the sin of the world, receive our prayer.
Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.
For thou only art holy;
Thou only art the Lord;
Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost,
Art most high… in the glory of God the Father. Amen

The Lord be with you.

And with thy spirit.

This is followed by the Collect for the day and the Old Testament and Epistle readings, after which is sung the Alleluia (“Alleluia” sung 3 times). During Lent, instead of the Alleluia we would sing

Christ hath humbled himself,
and become obedient unto death,
even the death of the Cross.

Then, the Gospel lesson is read, prefaced by singing “Glory be to thee, O Lord,” and followed by “Praise be to thee, O Christ.”

At this point either the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed is recited, followed by the sermon.  After the sermon, the Pastor closes with,

The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.

I think you’d be hard-pressed to find many contemporary worship sets that could match the truth contained in the Liturgy. And the good news is, there’s even more! We’ll discuss that, soon.

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The Lutheran Liturgy

Posted on March 19, 2009 by me

Growing up Lutheran (LCA), I was raised using what is fondly called the Red Hymnal (The Service Book & Hymnal, published in 1958).  That hymnal contained two liturgies, the First Setting and the Second Setting, each having its own options at certain points.  Our church used the First Setting most of the time, but used the Second for communion Sundays and throughout Lent. The Second Setting was by far my favorite, and I always looked forward to those Sundays when it was in use.

Occasionally I will use one of the liturgies as a basis for prayer and mediation (not often… I don’t want to give the wrong impression I am too spiritual); I can read music enough to hear some of the melodies in my head as I read.  Recently I obtained a very poor, but usable, recording of the Second Setting, which helped to recall it as I heard it 35 years ago.

What I find interesting is that this has apparently recalled my own memories of the liturgy (I have only listened to the recording 3 or 4 times), and I have found that it is often going through my head.  It’s there when I wake up, and often throughout the day I will realize that even as I think about something else, the liturgy is playing in the background (or perhaps playing in my soul… I don’t pretend to understand the mind-brain-soul relationship).  And, it’s not just music; in fact, the music is not predominant.  It is the words that carry the tune (where there is a tune).

So, I thought I would reprint some of what’s been going through my head of late:

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart, and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to grant us forgiveness.

Our help is in the Name of the Lord. Who made heaven and earth.
I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord. And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.

Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto thee, that we are by nature sinful and unclean, and that we have sinned against thee by thought, word and deed. Wherefore we flee for refuge to thine infinite mercy, seeking and imploring thy grace, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.

O most merciful God, who has given thine only-begotten Son to die for us, have mercy upon us and for his sake grant us remission of all our sins: and by thy Holy Spirit increase in us true knowledge of thee and of thy will, and true obedience to they Word, that by thy grace we may come to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, hath had mercy upon us, and hath given his only Son to die for us, and for his sake forgiveth us all our sins. To them that believe on his Name, he giveth power to become the sons of God, and bestoweth upon them his Holy Spirit. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved. Grant this, O Lord, unto us all.

Amen.

Now the organ kicks in (the Gloria Patri):

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen

At this point, we’re just ramping up.  In the first 5 minutes of the service, we’ve heard and recited the Gospel, confessed our sins and heard the message of forgiveness.  Many contemporary churches never get to this point.  The basis for church for Lutherans is that church is a gathering of sinners, commonly united by the Gospel message of forgiveness; and this is the only basis for church.

Next, the Kyrie and the Gloria in Excelsis.

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