May 22, 2022 – Music Sunday

As the great hymn goes:

“Jesus calls us o’er the tumult, of our life’s wild restless sea; day by day his clear voice sounding, saying “Christian, follow me!”

So, how do we hear the voice of G-d?  How do we hear the voice of Jesus calling to you and to me?  We hear it in scripture – in the words we read in the bible, and the words we share in the liturgy of our worship service.  We hear it in the prayers and supplications when we offer each other forgiveness, and in the comfort and consolation of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  And we hear it preached each Sunday morning. But, and sometimes I would say most importantly, we hear the voice of G-d in the music of our worship.

The music for worship is something we do not take lightly here at Zion. Every aspect of music in the worship service contributes and connects the word to the themes established by the season of the church year to the lessons in the three-year lectionary.

What is the role and purpose of music in the worship service? Well, everything we do is connected to what we call the “liturgy” – which is a word that is the combination of two Latin words “Laos” and “Ergon” which literally means the “work of the people”. One of the reasons Martin Luther wanted to introduce singing and music to the worship service was to give the people more opportunity to be a participant in the worship service – in the liturgy.

So, what are the purposes of Music?

1. Building community and increasing participation

Music is a communal and relational activity. The assembly is the primary musical ensemble, and its song is the core of all music in worship. When the church sings together, it remembers its common story and this story binds the baptized together as one people. When much of our society focuses on individual values and concerns, the church makes the claim that we are a community in Christ. Music shapes this community over time. Such community is best served by music that encourages participation and uplifts the congregation’s voice. The church benefits from many people using their diverse musical talents in service of the assembly’s common song.

• Forming and Expressing Christian Identity 

 The assembly’s song contributes to the spiritual formation of the assembly itself and its individual members. Used carefully over time, the song forms communal and individual memory and serves to nurture the faith from one generation to another. We often use the phrase “you are what you eat.” As Lutherans, “we are what we sing.” For this reason, we must make careful choices about the tunes and texts an assembly will sing. 

• Proclaiming the Word

Music, the visual arts and the environment of our worship spaces embody the proclamation of the Word in Lutheran churches….Music is a servant of the Gospel. We Lutherans like to quote Martin Luther often, especially his high praise of music: “next to the Word of G-d, music deserves the highest praise”

Luther understood music to be a gift of G-d that had the power to proclaim G-d’s word. The church continues to hold Luther’s understanding yet today. Since proclamation of the Word is one of the primary roles of music in the liturgy, decisions about music will involve much more than personal taste or musical style. Music that serves the word shows forth Christ rather than drawing attention to itself.

In an age when a large number of biblical scholars deny that the OT people believed in the Christ who was to come, and when a significant number of Christians fail to recognize that Christ is as central to the OT as He is to the NT, it becomes increasingly incumbent upon those who write new hymnody and those who decide which hymns will be included in new hymnals, to compose or choose hymns which boldly and clearly point to Jesus as the central hope of believers.

Hymnody’s function is to proclaim the word of G-d to the people. Sometimes this is done through the single voice of the cantor or minister, sometimes through the combined voice of choir and instruments, and sometimes through instrumental music alone. And then there is that unique proclamation of the whole people of G-d when they join their voices in one, in psalmody and hymnody, as they proclaim their response of faith to G-d and give witness of that faith to each other. Liturgical music is always a servant of the text, carrying the Word of G-d into people’s heart through the beauty and dignity of melody.

So you see, I hope, that music is integral to the liturgy. Our worship leaders have the amazing and difficult task of choosing what to sing and play, when to sing, how to lead various songs, etc. Since music is not a mere ornament but shapes the faith of the assembly, it calls for wise stewardship. 

Pastor Dave