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Pastor Adam Wutka

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. As I listen to the news, I continue to be irked by the ever-more-frequent use of the terms liberal and conservative.  I don’t think that most people really appreciate the simplicity of these words.  Although the words are opposites by definition, the polarization that they cause in social, political, and even religious circles, I would say, is probably nothing but detrimental to everyone.  But I’m not interested in writing about those particular terms.  Instead, upon a recent reflection on the words liberal and conservative, my mind rested upon two words that we often use in worship, that can sometimes have a similarly polarizing effect. Those two words are traditional and contemporary. But unlike the former terms, traditional and contemporary are not opposites by definition.
As I grew up in the church, I was often confronted with these two words, and throughout my call, I have wrestled with what they mean, especially in the church. It seems that in many peoples’ minds, the stereotypical traditional church is one with all of the “smells and bells,” very formal, with a high attention to the details of the service. Alternatively, the stereotypical contemporary church is very free-form, with lots of emotion but little structure. But we all know that we can’t believe reality through stereotypes and in fact, I say that both of these ideas are wrong. But before I explain why, let’s take a look at how these types of worship are appreciated by their proponents…
Ask any person who enjoys worshipping why they enjoy it, and one of their top answers will likely be ‘because it feels good.’ Maybe they get warm fuzzies, or maybe it just feels like they’ve completed something that they need to do on a regular basis. Now, there is nothing wrong with warm fuzzies or a sense of accomplishment after worshipping, but there is a problem inherent in such an appreciation of worship: It’s not about me! Worship isn’t about how good it makes me feel inside or about myself. Worship is about something greater. It is about coming together as the body of Christ… to share the body of Christ, to hear the Word of God, to confess our sins, to make peace with one another… the list goes on. But just because a particular style of worship makes me feel good, doesn’t mean it is accomplishing the right things in me.
The basic definition of something traditional is something that is “honored over time.” So, for instance, you may decorate your Christmas tree every year on Christmas Eve. Since it is a practice that you honor each time it comes around, it is traditional. But the opposite of traditional is best expressed with words such as new or unusual. It may help to pronounce the word unusual as “un” “usual.” In other words, the opposite of something traditional is something that is out of the ordinary, not usual, or new. If you started decorating your tree on the first Sunday in Advent, for instance, that would be unusual. But, if you did it that way every year, it would become traditional.
On the other hand, the basic definition of contemporary is “of the present time; modern.” We often use this term to talk about things that are going on now (i.e. contemporary culture) or about notable figures who were alive and working around the same time (e.g. George Washington and Joseph Haydn were contemporary figures). The opposite of contemporary can be expressed with words such as historical or past. Say you have an artificial Christmas tree, and it’s just not holding up anymore because it’s too old. Well, you might have to splurge and get a new tree. So, although your practice of decorating the tree is traditional, the tree itself (and even some of the ornaments) might be rather contemporary.
So wait… does that mean that it is possible for church to be both traditional and contemporary? Of course!!! In fact, the church has always been both. Particularly as a liturgical church, many of our traditions in worship date back hundreds or even thousands of years. Our liturgy is traditional, from its basic form (gathering, word, meal, sending) to its many components (scripture, prayers, confession, passing the peace, the sacraments, etc.). But, the way in which we carry out that liturgy is constantly renewed over time (the wording of our prayers, the translations of our scriptures and creeds, the words and music of our hymns, etc.). Did you know that most of our “old favorite” hymns were only written within the last 150 years or so, with a few exceptions? What do you think worship was like before that? Even ‘Amazing Grace’ only gained real popularity by the mid 1800s. How do you think some of our “old favorites” were accepted by their contemporary worshipping communities?
In case you didn’t already know, the ELCA has developed a new hymnal, which we will have some degree of exposure to over this next year. One of the big questions that is often asked when these new worship resources are released is “what is wrong with the old stuff that we have to keep changing it?” Well, nothing is wrong with the old stuff, per se, but it becomes outdated. The new hymnal includes many of the things we are used to: hymns from the red, green, and blue books, all 3 Communion settings from the LBW (plus 7 more!), but it also gives an opportunity for our contemporary musicians, composers, and authors to contribute to this ongoing, living tradition that is our liturgical worship. And that’s a wonderful thing. TLbwy!

Peace,
Pastor Adam