The Lutheran church enjoys a long tradition of identifying a “Hymn of the Week” for every Sunday of the church year. Such a hymn should reflect the unifying theme of the service, and is intended to be sung on that Sunday every year. Pastor Nathanael Mayhew introduces the series, which begins with this issue.
The Lutheran church has long been called “the singing church.” This is an apt description for many reasons. Congregational singing was one of the rich blessings restored to God’s people through Martin Luther and the Reformation. Luther himself loved music and knew the importance that hymns could play, both in church and at home, when sung and learned. This is what motivated him to write many hymns for congregational singing and to encourage his fellow reformers to do the same. Luther wrote, “Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise.”
When Luther reformed the Roman Catholic Mass for use in Lutheran worship in his Deutsche Messe (“German Mass”), he included a congregational hymn which eventually came to be called the “chief hymn” of the worship service. From this simple change, something new developed in Christian worship. A fixed hymn was assigned to every Sunday and festival of the church year. This “hymn of the week” was usually sung every year on a specific Sunday or festival, as the seasons of the church year came and went. In this way the congregation came to know the hymn well and learned Christian doctrine through the repeated use of the hymn year after year. This practice continued for well over two hundred years, until it was set aside at a time when rationalism and pietism plagued the Lutheran Church, both doctrinally and liturgically. Over the last seventy-five years, there has been a growing awareness of the value of a “hymn of the week” plan, and there has been an effort within confessional Lutheranism to revive this practice in Lutheran worship and life.
What are the benefits of having and using a “hymn of the week” plan? Since the time of the Reformation, Lutherans have used hymns to teach and confess the Christian faith. We emphasize hymns that teach the objective truth of God’s Word, and instruct us in the work of God in the person of His Son Jesus Christ. Lutherans use hymns for delivering and confessing doctrine, and for presenting the life of Christ and His work for us as celebrated through the liturgical year. The hymns of the week are adept at professing and teaching the truths of the Christian faith. The repeated use of these hymns, both at church and at home, will deepen our faith and enrich our understanding of, and appreciation for, the seasons of the church year, and the themes of each worship service throughout the year.
This article is the beginning of a series on the hymns of the week. In the coming months, as we journey through the church year, we will highlight a hymn for every Sunday of the church year as well as for a number of church festivals. We will reflect on the connection of the hymn to the theme and Scripture readings for that Sunday or festival. These hymns will be found in either The Lutheran Hymnal or Worship Supplement 2000, and will be based on the themes in the Historic Lectionary. (Note: A lectionary is a collection of Scripture readings to be read and preached from throughout a church year. Think of it as a Bible reading plan for worship services.) There are a variety of different lectionaries available today for congregations to use, and while there are similarities, there are also differences among them. This means that the schedule that we will be following and the themes that we cover in our series may not perfectly align with the readings and themes used in your church. Still, we pray that the review of the themes of the church year and the connection to these rich hymns will be instructional and encouraging to you during the coming church year. May the Lord bless our use of God’s Word through the hymnody of the church!
is a pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota.
