Orders of Service

There are good and proper reasons for retaining the ancient orders of service in the Church. They serve to keep us grounded in the truth without being caught up in the whims of the day. They focus on Christ and His cross. They keep us connected to our birthright as people who have a two thousand year history. They help us see that we are part of something much bigger than any local congregation or denomination.

Nevertheless, orders of service are a tool not an end in and of themselves. We live in a time where it is necessary to navigate between two extremes. On the one hand there are some who wish to discard the heritage of the church and descend to a worship style where emotional exploitation is the order of the day. On the other hand there are those who view the historic liturgy as almost inspired by God therefore unchangeable condemning those who violate its history. It would do well for both extremes to sit at Luther’s feet and learn from him:

For the orders must serve for the promotion of faith and love and not be to the detriment of faith. As soon as they fail to do this, they are invalid, dead and gone; just as a good coin, when counterfeited, is canceled and changed because of the abuse, or as new shoes when they become old and uncomfortable are no longer worn, but thrown away, and new ones bought. An order is an external thing. No matter how good it is, it can be abused. Then it is no longer an order, but a disorder. No order is, therefore, valid in itself—as the popish orders were held to be until now. But the validity, value, power, and virtue of any order is in its proper use. Otherwise it is utterly worthless and good for nothing. God’s Spirit and grace be with us all. Amen.

Martin Luther

AE 53:90

(Written at the conclusion of Luther’s explanation of THE GERMAN MASS AND ORDER OF SERVICE 1526)