Something From Our Current Newsletter

 

Advent’s message is one of preparation and rejoicing. The preparation (repentance; struggle against sin, world, devil) is not always joyful, just like the preparations for a big dinner at home aren’t all joyful. But the event we prepare for, that’s what we look forward to; that’s what we rejoice in: our Lord Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. He will destroy the fallen world and all unbelievers. He will vindicate those who believe in him and who, in this world, often aren’t popular: We will spend all eternity with Christ in God’s glorious heaven. And all that because this Christ was born a baby in Bethlehem and did his duty to the end: to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world by his life and death on the cross. Rejoice!

This Advent, we at Trinity have another wonderful reason to rejoice: we start using our Synod’s new official hymnal, the Lutheran Service Book. Why should that be a reason for rejoicing? I give you three reasons: the new hymnal rightly teaches God’s word to us, with Jesus Christ at the center; the new hymnal leads us in worthy praise of our Savior and God; and the new hymnal strengthens our bond with those who believe as we do, in the Missouri Synod and beyond. The last aspect is always underestimated. People think: “So long as we believe the same, then it shouldn’t really matter what a congregation sings, provided they don’t sing anything that’s terribly wrong. Why should we agree on – and exclusively use! – a common set of hymns and liturgies?” Because experience teaches that unity in what we believe is soon shattered when it is no longer undergirded by a unity in what we sing and how we worship.

Just at our last national convention this past summer, our Synodical president, Dr. Kieschnick, pointed out that unity in faith cannot abide where unity in love is absent (2007 Convention Proceedings, 85). He quoted Dr. Walther, the first president of our Synod, who in turn quoted Dr. Luther. Both Walther and Luther were passionate advocates for unity in song and worship. They understood that Christian love is not just a warm feeling in the heart. They understood that the exclusive use of a common hymnal and liturgy is a necessary work of humble love that we owe to our fellow believers, if we are to remain united in the faith. This insight of Walther and Luther, unfortunately, is being sidelined more and more in our midst, because it is difficult to put into practice, like the preparations for the glorious Christmas dinner – or like leading a life of daily repentance as a Christian. But if wildlife in Africa offers any indication for the lasting success of an “everybody-for-himself” strategy, let’s recall that the lions always attack the animal that’s wandered away from the flock.