It can be hard to write a newsletter article – not because there isn’t anything to say, but because there is so much that I could say. But not everything about what I could say will interest you or be beneficial to you in your walk of faith and vocation. I could probably do a series of nothing but reflections on old Twilight Zone episodes, but I can’t be sure that you would be interested in that. So occasionally I poll. 
Here lately I’ve been doing this “Worship like a Lutheran” thing, so last week I polled the interwebs asking: To my Lutheran tribespeople and/or anyone who has been to traditional/liturgical Lutheran worship – I want to hear your “why do you do this/that, etc…” questions.
Here is what the internet came up with (slightly redacted and edited for easier readability):
- Why do you turn around to pray?
- Why do you sit/stand/kneel? (especially for a song like “Stand up, stand up for Jesus”)
- Why bow to the altar?
- Why not use grape juice and a loaf of bread? Wouldn’t any liquid and solid food combo do?
- Why does it have to be done the way it’s always been done?
- Why does your church service follow a pattern?
- Why does your pastor chant? (Well, I don’t, but why do some?)
- Why tell me to “cross my hands over my chest like so” if I can’t commit to your communion beliefs?
- What’s the deal with the candles?
- There’s stuff other Lutherans do that we don’t, what are they and why don’t we? (and vice versa, things other Lutherans don’t that we do)
- Why do we sing the songs that we do? Can’t we just sing the same 5 songs every Sunday?
- Why are Lutherans always fighting about this worship stuff?
- What’s the deal with the robes?
- When did Advent colors turn blue?
- Why don’t I see women helping with the service in some Lutheran churches?
I’ll address these questions over the next many weeks, probably combining a few of them (i.e. there seems to be a larger “posture and body language” theme), and possibly addressing some questions that came up that don’t fit real well within the realm of “why worship like that” but just general theology – “i.e. baptizing babies, addressing sexual orientation”. I’m opening up the questions once more to you all who get this email in our “Question of the Week”. Don’t just consider your questions, but consider the questions that your friends and neighbors might have if they worshiped at University Lutheran.
Which brings up the whole reason that I’m doing this “Worship like a Lutheran” theme. As is evidenced above, we do some stuff that confuses the snot out of some people. Many have just given up on finding a reason (the most haunting response on my facebook post was “The fact that I constantly asked these questions growing up and neither never [sic] got a satisfactory answer is a big part of why I left [the Lutheran church].”) So I want you to have an answer, and I want you to be able to share that answer with people when they ask, but we can’t get to answers without questions. Peter tells us that we should be ready with a defense for the hope that is within us, and a part of that hope is communicated in how we worship, so we should be ready with an answer. So ask your questions – click here to ask.