"Grasp the Thing Itself"
Ulrich Zwingli, leader of the Protestant church in Zurich in the 1520’s was an accomplished musician — he sang beautifully, and he played the harp, lute, viol, flute, reedpipe, and cornett. Yet he banished all music from Zurich’s worship services. He believed it was hard enough to keep “mind and mouth on the same track, much less so mind and song.” In other words, either you could sing well, he felt, but not understand what you were singing — or you could concentrate on what you were singing, and not sing very well. His solution: forget the singing, and concentrate on the Word of God.
OK, so it was an over-reaction. It’s hard to see how a Bible that gives us David, the “Sweet Psalmist of Israel” (2 Samuel 23:2), would warrant such a bold move. Moreover, as the other Reformers of Zwingli’s day realized, Paul told us we should be able to sing “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” The question is how to do so in such a way that we are indeed “giving thanks in our hearts to the Lord.” (See Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19-20).
But what Zwingli did do was focus people’s attention on the simple reading of the Word of God. For instance, during Communion, silence would prevail, except for one thing: the reading of Scripture. This Sunday (1 May 2005) at Orangewood Presbyterian Church, in the spirit of our 16th century brothers and sisters in Zurich, during the passing of the bread, we’ll hear nothing but the reading of Isaiah 53.
May our contemplation of the combination of Word and Table lead us, as Zwingli said it should, to “grasp the thing itself”: the wonder of the goodness of God manifest in the Cross of Christ.
OK, so it was an over-reaction. It’s hard to see how a Bible that gives us David, the “Sweet Psalmist of Israel” (2 Samuel 23:2), would warrant such a bold move. Moreover, as the other Reformers of Zwingli’s day realized, Paul told us we should be able to sing “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” The question is how to do so in such a way that we are indeed “giving thanks in our hearts to the Lord.” (See Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19-20).
But what Zwingli did do was focus people’s attention on the simple reading of the Word of God. For instance, during Communion, silence would prevail, except for one thing: the reading of Scripture. This Sunday (1 May 2005) at Orangewood Presbyterian Church, in the spirit of our 16th century brothers and sisters in Zurich, during the passing of the bread, we’ll hear nothing but the reading of Isaiah 53.
May our contemplation of the combination of Word and Table lead us, as Zwingli said it should, to “grasp the thing itself”: the wonder of the goodness of God manifest in the Cross of Christ.
posted by Reggie Kidd at 2:57 PM
3 Comments:
Reggie, or should i say, pastor Kidd...I relished in the reading of the prophet. i beleive i was in the only one in my section who uttered "thanks be to God" as you closed the liturgy.
Zwingle's tension is not one unfamiliar to us. leading highschool music has caused me to fluctuate between entertaining songs which tickle the ears of the many and designing a worship set whose meaning is uttered chiastically.
reconciling Content and Form is an elusive endeavor. i have no words of wisdom as to how to alleviate the perceived imbalances. i only comment in order to identify with the "celebrant".
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