May 12, 2023
Stewardship: Of Tradition
We do not inherit “tradition” like one inherits a piece of jewelry. Traditions are not static. Traditions are more like a piece of property, they require upkeep and changes—some necessary maintenance, some personal preference. When the time comes for you pass it along, it will be the same piece of property, but it will not be the same. The traditions we inherit are the traditions the previous generation received, as they reinterpreted them, and transmitted them to us.
I would like to take the next few weeks in my offerings in the Vine to reflect on stewardship and will begin with the stewardship of tradition. I chose to begin here as I already introduced this concept in this past Sunday’s Formation offering. I spoke about the unique origins and development of our denomination and how that has made us a unique expression of the body of Christ. It begins with our Swedish Lutheran heritage, and the very high church Lutheran tradition that arose out of the Swedish reformation. It was still a state church however, and the clerical appointments were, at times, more political in nature than spiritual. This led some of the faithful to have concerns about “unregenerate clergy”—pastors for whom new life in Christ was more a theological idea than a lived experience.
This concern for new life in Christ as a centerpiece of the Christian faith was not new to either the Lutheran churches, or other churches, like the Church of England. In both cases the response was a form of renewal called pietism. Pietism prioritizes Paul’s foundational proclamation that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). ‘Saved by grace’ means it comes to us as an undeserved gift. ‘Through faith’ means it is our response of acceptance of this gift by submitting to the Lordship of Christ over all of our life. But for pietists this is not a one-time decision, this is an ongoing journey. The pietist question is not “have you accepted Christ?” but instead, “how is it today in your walk with the Lord?” This was true for the continental Lutheran pietists, as well as the Anglican pietists (or Methodists), as it was for those who started the Mission Friends movement in Sweden.
The Mission Friends movement did not intend to start a new church. Instead, like their Lutheran pietist predecessors on the Continent, they hoped to revitalize the church from within, like yeast in dough. But in the Swedish State church they were seen as a threat. So their small group meetings, or Conventicles (originally an idea of Luther), though a great resource for the faith of the Mission Friends, was a source of irritation for the Lutheran church.
This leads us to the fact that we are an immigrant church. When the mass migration of Swedes came to North America between 1880 and 1920, all were baptized, but not all were believers. Those who were believers created four distinct traditions in North America: Swedish Lutherans, Lutheran Mission Friends, Free Church Mission Friends, and Swedish Baptists. The Covenant Church arose out of the Lutheran Mission Friends. However, if there was only a single Swedish speaking church in a town or city and it was a Covenant church, people of any of those persuasions would be welcome in the Covenant church. This openness created a welcoming and hospitable quality to our churches which led to our broad theological embrace creating the diverse community we have become today. As an immigrant church, we have retained a sensitivity to issues of people around the globe and this has made us mission focused. As an immigrant church, we have developed empathy for other migrant and marginalized people, leading to the ethnic diversity and focus on justice and mercy that defines us today.
I conclude with two seemingly unrelated thoughts. The first is that our broad embrace and its resulting diversity has created significant tension, even turmoil, in the past. As a denomination, we agreed to consider both infant and believer baptism as equally valid and equally Covenant expressions of Christian initiation. However, the fact that we would not compromise that baptism is a sacrament, or means of grace, and that to be ordained to Word and Sacrament in the Covenant means you must agree to perform either or both forms of baptism, regardless of your personal position, speaks of our boundaries of tolerance. Further, as a Covenant pastor you are required to defend the validity of the minority position on baptism in a congregation, whatever it might be. For some this felt like a compromise, for others this felt like a hardline position. But we have worked through it. We have stayed together.
The other comment is that primates (including humans) live in the largest communities of any animal group. Researchers have concluded the this is because, in no small part, we vocalize together which creates a deep sense of bonding and connectedness. On Sunday I mentioned a book on Scandinavian pietism, called Scandinavian Pietists. It has five sections, one each on the Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish pietists. The fifth section is on the hymn writers they all share. One of the characteristics of all pietist movements (think of the Wesleys!) is that they have a sung piety. Singing together bonds us together even when we disagree. Between our sung piety and the Holy Spirit, we have a living tradition of which we are now stewards. How will we adapt or adjust this tradition before we pass it along to the next generation?
May God give us wisdom and courage to be good and faithful stewards of this tradition as it finds its expression within us at First Covenant Church.
With confidence in Christ,
~ Pastor Todd