Above the entrance to the church where I was a child, there is a sign with a passage of Holy Scripture, Habakkuk 2:20, "The LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him." I recall that as a child I never really understood why the sign with that particular passage was at the entrance to the church, as it seemed to me that it was hardly ever silent in there; whether the pastor was preaching, or the congregation singing with the organ playing or us kids talking before, during and after parish school chapel. I do recall being concerned that the whole congregation was breaking some law of God every time we came to church. However, I think I finally figured it out on Sunday, in the way of the Gospel.
Where I have been put, our usual practice at the distribution is to sing two hymns. Our Kantor will descend from the balcony to receive the Body and Blood of Christ following the singing of the first one, but this Sunday he did something a bit different. After the singing of the Agnus Dei, he didn't play the first hymn, but came down to receive right away, and so while the first 40 or so people received the Blessed Sacrament, there was - silence. All except for me and my office-brother speaking, "The Body of Christ given for you... etc." I mean, you could hear a pin drop in the place. No whispering, no babies crying (a miracle I am sure, helped by the fact that mine had attended the earlier Divine Service), no milling around - I was catching sneak peeks to see what was going on since it seemed to be so quiet. So what came to my mind during the distribution? Habakkuk 2:20 - "The LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him."
We live in a world with constant noise, most of it junk. The silence was so very good. I found myself wishing that the Kantor wouldn't play any distribution hymns. The silence made me thankful, for it showed the devotion of the faithful who gather on the corner of Park and Grant in Brookfield. Of course there has been silence during the distribution before but on this past Lord's Day, thanks to our Kantor and those faithful, I was finally given to understand the prophet's words on the sign above the church door in the way that comes by the Gospel. The LORD was in his holy temple, and on that piece of earth, on that corner, there was silence before Him. The LORD was present according to the promise of His Word for those dear Christians to eat His very Body and drink His very Blood and that raised up such great joy, adoration, reverence and devotion that all the people of God could do was sit and be quiet.
I think we need more silence in the way of the Gospel. I think I am going to tell the Kantor to skip a hymn or two every once in a while. I think I am going to see about getting one of those signs.
Pr. BT Ball+
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A Round Table of Lutheran pastors speaking from within their office and vocation to matters of the Christian faith and life. As iron sharpens steel, our mutual engagement of questions and concerns pertaining to the Church and Ministry of Christ serves to refine our theological acumen, clarify our confession, and guide our sacred stewardship of the Mysteries of God.
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The Twenty-Four Elders (and a few living creatures)
Rev. Benjamin Ball
St. Paul, Hamel, Illinois
Rev. Larry Beane
Salem, Gretna, Louisiana
Rev. Paul Beisel
Immanuel, Iowa Falls, Iowa
Rev. Peter Bender
Peace, Sussex, Wisconsin
Rev. Eric Brown
Trinity, Herscher, Illinois
Rev. Heath Curtis
Zion, Carpenter, Illinois
Rev. William Cwirla
Holy Trinity, Hacienda Heights, CA
Rev. Dr. Burnell Eckardt
St. Paul, Kewanee, Illinois
Rev. Erich Fickel
St. Paul, Chesterton, Indiana
Rev. William Foy
Prince of Peace, Valparaiso, Indiana
Rev. John A. Frahm III
Trinity, Boulder Junction, Wisconsin
Rev. Robert Franck
Mount Olive, Duluth, Minnesota
Rev. Dr. Gifford Grobien
CTS, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Rev. Dr. Kent Heimbigner
Charity, Burleson, Texas
Rev. Dr. Steven Hein
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Rev. Rich Heinz
St. Johns, Chicago, Illinois
Rev. David Kind
University Lutheran, Minneapolis
Rev. Brent Kuhlman
Trinity, Murdock, Nebraska
Rev. Alan Ludwig, Professor
Lutheran Theological Seminary
Novosibirsk, Russia
Rev. Todd Peperkorn
Holy Cross, Rocklin, California
Rev. J. Richard Sawyer
Good Shepherd, Brandon, Mississippi
Rev. Robert Schaibley, emeritus
Shepherd of the Springs,
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Rev. Dr. Richard Stuckwisch
Emmaus, South Bend, Indiana
Rev. Jacob Sutton
Immanuel, Terre Haute, Indiana
Rev. Ralph Tausz
Apostles, Melrose Park, Illinois
Rev. David Jay Webber
Redeemer, Scottsdale, Arizona
Rev. William Weedon
Lutheran Public Radio, Collinsville, IL
Rev. Dr. Georg Williams
Zion, Ainsworth, Nebraska
Rev. Kyle Wright II
St. Matthew, Hamlet, Indiana
St. Paul, Hamel, Illinois
Rev. Larry Beane
Salem, Gretna, Louisiana
Rev. Paul Beisel
Immanuel, Iowa Falls, Iowa
Rev. Peter Bender
Peace, Sussex, Wisconsin
Rev. Eric Brown
Trinity, Herscher, Illinois
Rev. Heath Curtis
Zion, Carpenter, Illinois
Rev. William Cwirla
Holy Trinity, Hacienda Heights, CA
Rev. Dr. Burnell Eckardt
St. Paul, Kewanee, Illinois
Rev. Erich Fickel
St. Paul, Chesterton, Indiana
Rev. William Foy
Prince of Peace, Valparaiso, Indiana
Rev. John A. Frahm III
Trinity, Boulder Junction, Wisconsin
Rev. Robert Franck
Mount Olive, Duluth, Minnesota
Rev. Dr. Gifford Grobien
CTS, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Rev. Dr. Kent Heimbigner
Charity, Burleson, Texas
Rev. Dr. Steven Hein
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Rev. Rich Heinz
St. Johns, Chicago, Illinois
Rev. David Kind
University Lutheran, Minneapolis
Rev. Brent Kuhlman
Trinity, Murdock, Nebraska
Rev. Alan Ludwig, Professor
Lutheran Theological Seminary
Novosibirsk, Russia
Rev. Todd Peperkorn
Holy Cross, Rocklin, California
Rev. J. Richard Sawyer
Good Shepherd, Brandon, Mississippi
Rev. Robert Schaibley, emeritus
Shepherd of the Springs,
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Rev. Dr. Richard Stuckwisch
Emmaus, South Bend, Indiana
Rev. Jacob Sutton
Immanuel, Terre Haute, Indiana
Rev. Ralph Tausz
Apostles, Melrose Park, Illinois
Rev. David Jay Webber
Redeemer, Scottsdale, Arizona
Rev. William Weedon
Lutheran Public Radio, Collinsville, IL
Rev. Dr. Georg Williams
Zion, Ainsworth, Nebraska
Rev. Kyle Wright II
St. Matthew, Hamlet, Indiana
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Rubrics and Blogistics for the Blackbirds
Unlike the Ten Commandments, these are not written in stone (though some of them are pretty solid). Those who may be reading over our shoulders might also find these interesting.
1. Be reverent and courteous. Piepkorn's fundamental pair of rubrics for the conduct of the Service are likewise pertinent here. It's simply faith toward God and love toward others. All the other rules and rubrics are an application of those principles to specific questions.
2. Our blog is a public forum, and we are all public servants of the Word. Therefore, what we write and the manner in which we write ought to reflect an appropriate decorum. Though you may sometimes wonder, there are people reading what you have to say. The majority of them will mostly be quiet about it, and many will probably never respond with any comments, but they will benefit, and they will appreciate it.
3. Although this is a public forum, don't be self-conscious about your writing, and don't attempt to play to the crowd. Simply address yourself pastorally to the topics you take up for consideration, as you would respond to members of your own parish who are asking about or need to be told such things as pertain to their Christian faith and life.
4. Don't be intentionally provocative or controversial, but don't shy away from engaging topics in a way that challenges the status quo (from and within the parameters of the Word of God and our common confession of the same). By the same token, let us hold each other accountable to the apostolic doctrine. Do not fear correction, nor fear to question; that is the way in which we learn from one other and sharpen one another for the common good.
5. A helpful rule of thumb is akin to Luther's advice on confession: Don't make blogging into a torture, nor seek to invent things worth saying, as though to impress anyone. Instead, if there are matters weighing on your heart or mind, address them with the Word of God from within your office and station in life, and thereby allow your fathers and brothers in Christ to respond with the Word of the Lord from within their own vocations. (Blogging should not be a kind of virtual confessional; this rubric speaks only to the way in which one ought to approach this sort of writing and discussion.)
6. Our blog lands somewhere between an e-mail discussion list and a published theological journal. Less from-the-hip than e-mail groups, but less formal than a publication. Bear in mind that your posts can be edited (or removed) after the fact; so don't agonize over every jot and tittle up front, as though your posts had to be perfect from the outset. That's not to advocate recklessness, but do not be so scrupulous that you hesitate to say anything.
7. Our blog is something like an online Logia, and your posts may be compared to the "Theological Observer" in the CTQ, or the "Public Square" in First Things. Only this forum is much faster and allows for considerably more give and take, not only amongst ourselves but with others, too.
8. Make an effort to post at least once every other month. The more, the better, but don't try to force it. When things come up in the course of your pastoral vocation, consider the possibility of reflecting upon those matters on the blog (with appropriate discretion).
9. When you post something, "label" it with one or more of the twenty-four topics, whichever of those you are addressing. The blog will tally and catologue those things for us, which will be helpful. The precise list of topics may develop over time, but let's follow those parameters along the way; that will help to keep things on track.
10. Once someone has posted on a particular topic, there would be potentially two ways for the rest of us to respond (and we should be inclined to respond, as we are so minded and able): Either by way of comments under the post, which should be the normal approach; or, if you intend to offer a significant critique or a substantial addition, then you could write a follow-up post of your own. The goal, obviously, is not to compete with one another, but to dialogue with each other, to discuss and even to debate, as the case may be.
11. Don't blog in a spirit of melancholy, despair or bitterness. You don't serve yourself or your neighbor when you succumb to such things. At such times, seek out a father in Christ to lift you up and sustain you with the Gospel. Once you have been brought from trial and tribulation into renewed faith, then you might consider sharing aspects of that burden on the blog, retrospectively, in a way that helps to lead your readers into repentant faith along with you. It is one of the ways in which the cross bears fruit, not only in you and for your benefit, but also for the benefit of your neighbor. The hymns of Paul Gerhardt are such an example. Consider how comforting and helpful they are, because they always confess such faith in the Gospel: precisely in, with and under the Cross. By contrast, imagine the difference if Gerhardt had wallowed in self-pity and despair, instead of confessing the Gospel.
12. Our cooperative blog is not the place for posting sermons or extended quotations or lists of things or personal family adventures (though in some cases such things may provide the context for theological commentary). If you want to quote something, fine, but do so for the sake of providing your own assessment and constructive critique (whether pro or con).
1. Be reverent and courteous. Piepkorn's fundamental pair of rubrics for the conduct of the Service are likewise pertinent here. It's simply faith toward God and love toward others. All the other rules and rubrics are an application of those principles to specific questions.
2. Our blog is a public forum, and we are all public servants of the Word. Therefore, what we write and the manner in which we write ought to reflect an appropriate decorum. Though you may sometimes wonder, there are people reading what you have to say. The majority of them will mostly be quiet about it, and many will probably never respond with any comments, but they will benefit, and they will appreciate it.
3. Although this is a public forum, don't be self-conscious about your writing, and don't attempt to play to the crowd. Simply address yourself pastorally to the topics you take up for consideration, as you would respond to members of your own parish who are asking about or need to be told such things as pertain to their Christian faith and life.
4. Don't be intentionally provocative or controversial, but don't shy away from engaging topics in a way that challenges the status quo (from and within the parameters of the Word of God and our common confession of the same). By the same token, let us hold each other accountable to the apostolic doctrine. Do not fear correction, nor fear to question; that is the way in which we learn from one other and sharpen one another for the common good.
5. A helpful rule of thumb is akin to Luther's advice on confession: Don't make blogging into a torture, nor seek to invent things worth saying, as though to impress anyone. Instead, if there are matters weighing on your heart or mind, address them with the Word of God from within your office and station in life, and thereby allow your fathers and brothers in Christ to respond with the Word of the Lord from within their own vocations. (Blogging should not be a kind of virtual confessional; this rubric speaks only to the way in which one ought to approach this sort of writing and discussion.)
6. Our blog lands somewhere between an e-mail discussion list and a published theological journal. Less from-the-hip than e-mail groups, but less formal than a publication. Bear in mind that your posts can be edited (or removed) after the fact; so don't agonize over every jot and tittle up front, as though your posts had to be perfect from the outset. That's not to advocate recklessness, but do not be so scrupulous that you hesitate to say anything.
7. Our blog is something like an online Logia, and your posts may be compared to the "Theological Observer" in the CTQ, or the "Public Square" in First Things. Only this forum is much faster and allows for considerably more give and take, not only amongst ourselves but with others, too.
8. Make an effort to post at least once every other month. The more, the better, but don't try to force it. When things come up in the course of your pastoral vocation, consider the possibility of reflecting upon those matters on the blog (with appropriate discretion).
9. When you post something, "label" it with one or more of the twenty-four topics, whichever of those you are addressing. The blog will tally and catologue those things for us, which will be helpful. The precise list of topics may develop over time, but let's follow those parameters along the way; that will help to keep things on track.
10. Once someone has posted on a particular topic, there would be potentially two ways for the rest of us to respond (and we should be inclined to respond, as we are so minded and able): Either by way of comments under the post, which should be the normal approach; or, if you intend to offer a significant critique or a substantial addition, then you could write a follow-up post of your own. The goal, obviously, is not to compete with one another, but to dialogue with each other, to discuss and even to debate, as the case may be.
11. Don't blog in a spirit of melancholy, despair or bitterness. You don't serve yourself or your neighbor when you succumb to such things. At such times, seek out a father in Christ to lift you up and sustain you with the Gospel. Once you have been brought from trial and tribulation into renewed faith, then you might consider sharing aspects of that burden on the blog, retrospectively, in a way that helps to lead your readers into repentant faith along with you. It is one of the ways in which the cross bears fruit, not only in you and for your benefit, but also for the benefit of your neighbor. The hymns of Paul Gerhardt are such an example. Consider how comforting and helpful they are, because they always confess such faith in the Gospel: precisely in, with and under the Cross. By contrast, imagine the difference if Gerhardt had wallowed in self-pity and despair, instead of confessing the Gospel.
12. Our cooperative blog is not the place for posting sermons or extended quotations or lists of things or personal family adventures (though in some cases such things may provide the context for theological commentary). If you want to quote something, fine, but do so for the sake of providing your own assessment and constructive critique (whether pro or con).
Posts
4 comments:
Habakkuk 2:20, "The LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him."
Pr. B Ball was speaking about silence... but, in the midst of his sanctified silence when he was hearing the words of Habakkuk I had a flashback of this hymn from my youth. I remember sitting in the pew singing this hymn and waiting for my parents to return with that smell of alcohol on their breath. I also remember silence as we sat through the space/time between hymns and verses. The hymns had many more verses and we'd sing 3-4 then pause in silence. The old organist always seemed to pause in that silence for a very long time. I can clearly hear the words of the pastor.
Take, eat; this is the true body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, given into death for your sins. May this strengthen and preserve you in the true faith unto life everlasting!
Take, drink; this is the true blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, shed for the remission of our sins. May this strengthen and preserve you the the true faith unto life everlasting!
Depart in Peace. (The Lutheran Hymnal, The Order of Holy Communion, p. 28)
And all that there is to be "silent" about is here in this hymn.
"God Himself is present"
"All within keep silent"
"Humbly kneel before Him"
"Holy, Holy, Holy"
"Fount of every blessing, purify my spirit"
"Trusting only in Your merit"
There's a sermon in this hymn.
"God Himself Is Present"
by Gerhard Tersteegen, 1697-1769
Translated by Frederick W. Foster, 1760-1835
Lutheran Service Book, 907 (Text and Tune: Public Domain)
God Himself is present:
Let us now adore Him
And with awe appear before Him.
God is in His temple--
All within keep silence,
Humbly kneel with deepest reverence.
He alone On His throne
Is our God and Savior;
Praise His name forever.
God Himself is present:
Hear the harps resounding;
See the hosts the throne surrounding!
"Holy, holy, holy"--
Hear the hymn ascending,
Songs of saints and angels blending.
Bow Your ear To us here:
Hear, O Christ, the praises
That Thy Church now raises.
Fount of every blessing,
Purify my spirit,
Trusting only in Your merit.
Like the holy angels,
Worshiping before You,
May I ceaselessly adore you
Let Your will Ever still
Rule Your church terrestrial
As the host celestial.
(from my blog: http://sermons.wattswhat.net/2008/07/god-is-in-his-temple-communion-hymn-if.html)
Dr. Rast might deny this if asked, but I thought I remembered him saying that when he was at his parish in TN he once waited like five minutes or something before getting up to preach after the hymn. People had no idea what to do with it. I think you are right though--we cannot deal with silence in the church. I don't even like there to be silence during conversation. It always seems awkward.
I appreciate your thoughtful perspective on this, Brother Ball. And I say that as one who advocates and appreciates the use of distribution hymns (one of the earliest ways in which Lutheran congregations used their hymnody). Ironically, I was reminded of one such hymn, in particular: "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence." I love that hymn, but I know that it has sometimes been interpreted as heavy-handed, threatening or legalistic. For that reason, also, I am glad for your evangelical take on silence in the presence of the Lord, who comes to feed the faithful with His life-giving body and blood.
At the Midnight ChristMass one year, my son noticed that we began with "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" as the processional hymn, but then, during the distribution, we sang the similarly beautiful hymn, "Of the Father's Love Begotten," which approaches the doxological crescendo of the final stanza with these words (at the end of stanza 4 in LSB 384): "Let no tongue on earth be silent, every voice in concert ring, evermore and evermore."
There is powerful, paradoxical tension at work, it seems to me, in the presence of our God and King: the solemn silence of reverent faith, and the joyful song of praise and thanksgiving. It is most fitting and salutary, therefore, that the Spirit Himself also intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
Pr. Beisel speaks of Dr. Rast and the silence story. I haven't heard it, but I can say that I know of Episcopal congregations that practice a long period of silence between the reading of the Holy Gospel and the sermon. In some places it can be up to five minutes of silence. The time gives all to reflect on what they heard before the Word is expounded.
Silence can be a good thing. It can also be license to navel-gaze; to curve in on one's self.
I am torn in this matter. On the one hand, I see the importance of silence during the distribution of the Lord's Supper. I am considering doing away with hymns during the distribution in the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent.
On the other hand, I can see where silence can be counter-productive. We Lutherans are not that good with silence in the Divine Service, let alone before and after.
Food for thought from Pastor Ball. Thank you, brother!
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