CPH & LC–MS versus TLH

For many years I have desired to produce a little booklet that would include the order of service from TLH, The Lutheran Hymnal, with a side by side explanation of the portions of the liturgy for the benefit of people who desire to understand the worship life of the Church. For years CPH, Concordia Publishing House, and the LC–MS, the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, told me that I would need to receive permission from the copyright department of CPH. Throughout my lifetime this information was given to the congregations regarding use of the liturgy and hymns.

Yet some time ago, perhaps a year or so ago, I called the CPH permissions department regarding use of the printed liturgy for this purpose and I was told that this information could not be supplied to me. I was told that I would have to research the various portions of the liturgy for myself to determine whether or not each portion was in the Public Domain.

This sounded very peculiar to me. I wondered why this change in policy had occurred.

I began to examine the hymnal more thoroughly than I had in the past. Lo and behold I found a big piece of the puzzle on the very first page of actual information, that is, on page 2, the Preface page.

I had never really paid attention to what this page says. I had seen it countless times and cursorily read it as well. But on this occasion I actually heard what is contained in this declaration. I was astounded.

Here is a photo of the page:

The startling portion I will quote:

We have freely used whatever we found of value and, by way of acknowledgment, have carefully indicated all sources. In turn, we freely offer for the use of others all original contributions or translations made by the committee as such or by its individual members.

This is truly astounding! For how many years did the LC–MS and CPH tell people the exact opposite?

According to the Preface to the hymnal, every portion of the hymnal has always been free to be used. This is in fact the stated purpose of the hymnal! Permission for free use of the materials is given in the Preface to the hymnal.

Back when I first desired to produce this little booklet regarding the meaning of the worship life of the Church as is so wonderfully expressed in the liturgy, back when I did this sort of work full-time and did not have to earn my living through such work as arborist services, I was misinformed by CPH and the LC–MS. (Is misinformed a strong enough term?) Even now the truth has not been clearly stated by the LC–MS and CPH personnel and leaders.

Now, however, I am happy to realize that I am free to pursue this endeavor. Now I am happily aware that this little booklet can be produced if I so desire and can find the energy over and above my other daily tasks.

In fact, I do so desire.

However, I would like to hear whether or not anyone else shares such desire with me. Are there people who would like to have such an explanation available to them? If such a booklet were made available in PDF format, and perhaps also printed format to be purchased, would anyone actually want to receive it and use it? If I go to the effort of producing portions here on the blog or at the Bride of Christ ELC web site, does anyone desire such explanations? My primary desire is for the Order of the Holy Communion, beginning on pg. 15.

Does anyone share this desire?

A Beginning and an Explanation

Today I became persuaded in my mind and heart to enter the blogosphere realm. This is new territory for me.

For this I chose the title: "Not Alone."

Why?

I chose this because it addresses the way that I observe people feeling in the world. People can feel alone even when surrounded by a crowd of people and even when actively participating with very close friends.

I have experienced this myself and have observed it in the lives of the many people I have met and worked with and conversed with throughout my life.

Often this feeling of aloneness and even loneliness (the two are related but not identical), is not understood. "Why?" is the question that often accompanies this feeling of aloneness. The "why" comes in many forms and is expressed in many ways. Pain of various types and degrees almost always accompanies it.

For those who are saints of God in Christ, this feeling should not exist. But it does. Saints should be entirely free of this feeling because despite whatever circumstances prevail, the true saint is never alone. The baptized believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who continually works to comfort the soul with God’s grace and love. Yet the saint is also a sinner, constantly encountering the fleshly warring against the spirit. Because of this, aloneness is experienced, for the flesh looks not to God’s will but to Man’s will, the will of self. No one can acknowledge the Lord when this is the focus of the heart and mind.

Job, that ancient saint, knew that he was not alone even when everything was taken from him. His children and livelihood and reputation all were stripped from him. His wife urged him to abandon true faith. His ungodly friends badgered him with his sinfulness. All the while he clung to the faithfulness of the Lord his God. But he eventually lost site of God’s faithfulness. He did what we all do when we become tired of persevering with nothing but the faith as our support. He began to imagine that he must begin to rely upon his own efforts and his own faithfulness. As soon as this tragic mind set begins to occur, God’s faithfulness becomes secondary, even nonessential, and most certainly not sufficient. Then the person becomes angry and depressed and resentful. The person becomes filled with doubts and fears and becomes defensive, seeking to find justification in himself. Then the Lord must set the person straight through harsh preaching of the Law so that the person remembers that there is no justification apart from faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This remembrance of the true source of justification, of course, comes not from the harshness of the Law, but from the sweet and tender preaching of the Gospel of Christ crucified that properly accompanies the preaching of the crushing power of the Law. In the moment that the Holy Spirit brings about this amazing reversal, (also called: repentance), the person is no longer overwhelmed by aloneness, but once again is full of God’s grace, mercy, and peace. His heart and mind is again guarded in Christ Jesus by the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

So, this is my brief explanation for the choice of title for this blog site.

God’s peace to all who come here, in Christ Jesus the Lord.

~ Pastor Paul A. Siems