Adiaphora

February is the shortest month. This year it is also the most liturgically complicated. Our Altar Guild will change the paraments on the altar and pulpit, and we will change vestment colors, 5 times ---from white to green to white to black to violet – all in twenty-one days; and we will observe the end of Christmas (February 5), an ordinary Sunday after Epiphany (February 12), Transfiguration (February 19), Ash Wednesday, February 22, and the First Sunday in Lent over those 21 days. It’s all about liturgy and liturgical tradition. Given this “complication,” and this congregation’s commitment, in both our Strategic Plan and Ministry Site Profile, on “the Lutheran tradition,” this seems like a good time for me to write about matters liturgical. In order to be as helpful as possible to all of us, those who are (as I described myself recently) “liturgical snobs,” those who find tradition stuffy and those in the middle, I need to introduce a word and a concept to you.

That word is “adiaphora;” it means “matters of indifference;” and Lutherans use this term more than any other Christian group. Among us at Christ the King, it’s important that we understand what matters of indifference really are. But first, let’s highlight the essentials.

For its entire history, Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church has embodied the values of the Lutheran liturgical renaissance which blossomed in the 1960s and 70s and has flourished since. Put simply, that renaissance had three emphases: 1. That baptism be restored to its rightful place in Lutheran liturgical life. 2. That Holy Communion be celebrated every Sunday and holy day. 3. That proclamation of the Word –Judgment and Promise or Law and Gospel – be restored to its appropriate prominence in the context of emphases 1 and 2. The nave of Christ the King Church with its font, table, and pulpit precisely proclaims these Gospel-centered essentials. 

As many are aware, emphases 1 and 2 were missing for most of regular, every-Sunday Lutheran liturgical practice for quite a long time. Word and Sacraments, and appointments to use these appropriately are essential. Nothing else is.

While not essential, other matters – vestments, paraments, chalices, patens, processional crosses and like elements – are also very important, chiefly because these visually connect us to the earliest Christian practices. From the Fourth Century CE onward, these have been used in Christ’s Church so regularly that they could be described as having been used “always, everywhere, by everyone;” an overstatement to be sure, but not a big one. Again, our Christ the King worship practice continues that tradition.

There are other matters which are also of great importance. Eucharistic prayers which rehearse the story of God keeping promises, the lectionary, which gives order to our hearing of scripture, the rhythm of the church year, and the shape, or order of our liturgies all fit into that category. We do all of these for historic reasons, to maintain connections with the rest of ancient and contemporary Christianity, and chiefly because it enables us in an organized way to experience the Promises of God, the Good News of Jesus Christ, trust this and use this in our daily lives.

Finally, there are certain matters that are of great importance to us because they reflect our cultural heritage. Best examples among us? The organ and the bells. So what are not essential? What are adiaphora? Here’s a short list: Bowing, making the sign of the cross, kneeling, lighting candles (each of us can think of many more) and those who practice and use all of these and other such actions do them for no other reason but this: these actions are helpful to them. No one can force another to do these. Likewise no one can force another Christian not to do these.

As I watch others when we worship together, I realize I am on the extreme end of these practices. I bow my head at the name of Jesus (Philippians 2:10) and I likewise bow my head at a doxology, at the acclamation “holy, holy, holy,” and at the doxological conclusion of the Lord’s prayer to remind myself – and those watching me – of the honor due to God. I make the sign of the cross regularly to remember what God has done for us in baptism. I trace the cross on my forehead, lips, and heart when I announce or prepare to hear or proclaim the Gospel. None of these are essential, but each is helpful to me and, I hope, to those who watch me. Likewise, I use liturgical gestures to visibly proclaim the actions I chant. “The Lord be with
you;” “Lift up your hearts;” “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God” each have historic liturgical actions which illustrate the words sung or said. Non-essentials to be sure, but, I hope, helpful.

As we enter the season of Lent this month, informed as we are this year by the Gospel according to Matthew which has Jewish roots, I’d like to invite all of you to try another “adiaphora” action yourself as we pray the Lord’s Prayer. Try using what Jews has always done and what we Christians call “the Orans position.”

Put down your bulletin and worship book – you know this prayer! Raise your hands up on either side of your head, or in front of you if that’s more comfortable, and see if this posture changes how you experience this prayer. Listen to yourself. Listen to the others. Listen to the bell. Both the traditional and the contemporary prayer end with “deliver us from evil.” As you begin the next doxological line, drop your hands, fold them and bow your head. Try this during Lent and see if it is useful to you. If it is, continue. If not, stop. Gestures and postures are all adiaphora. Whatever you decide to do, focus on the essentials! That’s where the Good News is always.

Peace and Joy – and Courage!
Amandus J. Derr
Interim Senior Pastor