Confession & Liturgy
Confession and liturgy belong inseparably together if the church is to be healthy. Liturgy is prayed dogma; dogma is the doctrinal content of the liturgy. The placement of liturgy above dogma, for which one hears calls in the liturgical movements of all confessions with the well-known saying "lex orandi lex credendi"..., has been opposed in the Roman Church by the present Pope Pius XII] in his encyclical "Mediator Dei", in which he points out that one can also turn this saying around and that in all circumstances dogma should be the norm for the liturgy. If that is already known in Rome, how much more should it be known in the church that makes...the right understanding of the Gospel also the criterion for the liturgy.
2 comments:
Errant dogma drives out inerrant dogma.
Without the liturgy where is confession and forgiveness of sins? "Praise be to God" in liturgical service. "Glory to the praise band" in the contemporary service. We believe in the Triune God and that Christ rose from the dead. Not being raised a Lutheran, I never understood forgiveness in terms of absolution. My pastor has stated that even if a person was presented with the liturgy, but no sermon, he would still be confessing his faith,hearing law and Gospel,and most importantly, hearing Christ crusified.
While attending service at a relative's WELS church, the pastor's sermon was all about how important our liturgy is and that we must not loose it.
What happens if we loose it? On one hand we would hear all law andd never know of forgiveness.(we could never know if we are good enough) On another hand, the pastor would become a life coach.(Osteen, or that Perkins guy who isn't even a pastor)
In Christ,
from WELS church lady
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