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| Q: | The WELS church that I attend used to kneel at the altar for the Lord’s Supper. A while ago, the switch was made to stand in front of the first pew. This was done in order to accommodate for serving more people at once, and to speed up the process of Communion distribution because kids get fussy, rather than teach proper respect and discipline. Now Communion distribution is more like an assembly line. Does having the wrong motivation for making a change in the worship service make it wrong to change? I was taught, and always thought that kneeling before the Lord’s altar to receive His Supper was a way of humbling ourselves before Him. I believe we need to have true humility in receiving a gift that we most definitely do not deserve. We are told in Scripture, “that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,” (Philippians 2:10) we are to imitate Christ’s humility; and “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker” (Psalm 95:6). We even sing in CW hymns 311 v.4, 344 v.1, and others that we kneel before our Lord. Kneeling is a sign of respect, reverence, and humility. How can we possibly justify (according to Scripture) doing away with a proper sign of humility and respect in order to save a few minutes in a church service? | ||||||
| A: | Your first question is easy to answer and very much to the point of all your concerns: Wrong motivation makes everything wrong, whether we personally like the changes or not. But when the motives are acceptable to God, things neither commanded nor forbidden by God (like body positions while praying, worshiping or meditating on God's Word) are acceptable to God whether we personally like the changes or not. You are correct that kneeling is a traditional and fitting way of expressing humility and reverence. But it must also be recognized that the inner attitude of humility and reverence may still thrive within a person even if the outward gesture is missing. That's the main point to keep in mind, lest we judge that people who do not kneel (or fold hands, or bow heads, or stand for the reading of the Gospel reading or sermon text, etc,.) are guilty of sinning against God's revealed will. Let us be slow to judge motives or simplify complex issues that churches try to deal with. The same Bible that tells us to kneel in the Lord's presence also tells us to clap our hands and shout loudly and make use of all kinds of musical instruments in our worship. For generations we have understood these expressions as addressed primarily to the motives and inner attitudes of worshipers as they are most commonly expressed in a given culture. Sometimes culture shifts and one or more manner of expressing an emotion may shift with it. I think that might better explain why so many Christian churches no longer regularly clap hands or kneel or use drums and cymbals during worship. But the goal is that they worship with the same attitude and inner intensity that previous generations of believers did. I sincerely grieve that a custom you cherish (a good custom, really) is being set aside. I am not qualified to say if the reasons for it are justified or not--that is for you to discuss with your pastor and elders. But I wish you well as you continue to express humility, reverence and piety in your home and everywhere else you can. | ||||||
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