Vita Laudanda: Essays in Memory of Ulrich S. Leupold

VITA LAUDANDA

VITA LAUDANDA

_________________________________________

Essays in Memory of Ulrich S. Leupold

Edited by Erich R.W. Schultz

Wilfrid Laurier University Press

COPYRIGHT © 1976

WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY PRESS

WATERLOO, ONTARIO, CANADA

ISBN – 0-88920-021-1 – (paper)

Cover Design: Michael Baldwin

CONTENTS

List of Contributors

Preface

Biographical Sketch

THE UNITY AND VARIETY OF THE GOSPEL

by David Granskou

REDAKTIONSGESCHICHTE AND ROMAN ORDO:

SOME PRINCIPLES AND PROBLEMS IN PERICOPE REFORM

by John Reumann

THE DEATH-RESURRECTION MOTIF

by Eduard R. Riegert

JESUS’ ESCHATOLOGICAL CONCERN FOR POOR FOLK:

AN EXEGETICAL STUDY OF LUKE 6:20–21, 24–25

by Donald Himmelman

THE NEW MASS IN PROTESTANT PERSPECTIVE

by Vilmos Vajta

THE SEARCH FOR A NEW SONG:

DEVELOPMENTS IN CONTEMPORARY HYMNODY IN THE AMERICAN LUTHERAN CHURCHES

by Charles R. Anders

REVISION OF THE COLLECTS:

AN EXPERIMENT

by Edgar S. Brown

THE POLYPHONY OF LIFE:

REFERENCES TO MUSIC IN BONHOEFFER’S LETTERS AND PAPERS FROM PRISON

by Walter Kemp

HEINRICH SCHUETZ (Sagittarius)

by Walter Buszin

Quotations

Bibliography

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

CHARLES R. ANDERS is Professor, Department of Music, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota.

EDGAR S. BROWN, Jr. is Chaplain, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pa.

WALTER BUSZIN was Professor Emeritus, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo. (d. 1973).

DAVID GRANSKOU is Professor and Chairman of the School of Religion and Culture, Wilfrid Laurier University, and was Dr. Leupold’s successor as Professor of New Testament Studies, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary.

DONALD HIMMELMAN is Pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Belleville, Ontario.

WALTER KEMP is Associate Professor, Faculty of Music, Wilfrid Laurier University.

JOHN REUMANN is Professor, Biblical Department, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pa.

EDUARD R. RIEGERT is Associate Professor in Homiletics and Liturgics, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary and was Dr. Leupold’s successor in the field of Liturgics.

ERICH R. W. SCHULTZ is University Librarian and Archivist, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario.

VILMOS VAJTA is Research Professor, Institute for Ecumenical Research, Lutheran World Federation, Strasbourg, France.

PREFACE

Colleagues, former students, and friends have contributed essays for this volume in memory of Rick Leupold. My thanks to all for their participation.

Thanks also to Miss Irene Doehn, Secretary to the University Librarian, for typing the correspondence and parts of the manuscript and to the staff members of Wilfrid Laurier University Press for their work in the preparation of this volume. Finally, my thanks to Dr. Norman Wagner, Chairman, and the members of the Research and Publications Committee for including it in the University Press publications.

Erich R. W. Schultz

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Erich R. W. Schultz

It is not too surprising that Ulrich Siegfried Leupold studied music. His mother, Gertrude, nee Igel, was a professional singer and his father, Anton Wilhelm Leupold, was the distinguished organist of the historic St. Peter’s Church in Berlin. After attending the Hohenzollern Gymnasium, Berlin-Schöneberg, from which he matriculated in 1927, he studied at the University of Berlin from which he received the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Musicology in 1932. At the age of twenty-three, he was the youngest recipient of this degree in the history of the University. His dissertation, Die liturgischen Gesänge der evangelischen Kirche im Zeitalter der Aufklärung und der Romantik, was published in 1933 since it was recognized as an important contribution to the field. Having completed his formal education in music, he turned his attention to theology. Because of the rise of Nazism in Germany, he attended the underground Seminary of the Confessing Church, 1935–1937. He spent one year of post-graduate theological studies at the University of Zurich.

In opposition to the Nazi regime, he fled to America just prior to World War II and through the efforts of his close personal friend, Dr. Frederick M. Otto, he came to the United States where he was Minister of Music at Augsburg Lutheran Church, Toledo, Ohio. Unable to obtain a permanent visa to stay in the United States, he migrated to Canada.

He was ordained on June 12, 1939, at the annual convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Canada in St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Neustadt, Ontario, and served St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Kitchener, Ontario, from 1939 to 1942 as Assistant Pastor, Organist, and Choir Director. On July 11, 1942, he married Gertrude Daber, a member of the congregation. Their family includes a daughter Marcia and a son Mark. The same summer he assumed the pastorate of Christ Lutheran Church, Maynooth, Ontario. His love for this rural parish and this part of Ontario was often mentioned in classes and conversation. The contact with this parish gave him a real insight into the needs of the small parish and influenced his subsequent work and writing in liturgy and hymnody.

It was in April of 1945 that the Board of the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Canada extended a call to Ulrich Leupold to become Assistant Professor of Music in Waterloo College and Professor of New Testament Studies and Church Music in the Seminary. He accepted this call and thus began his twenty-five year association with Waterloo College, its successor Waterloo Lutheran University, and Waterloo Lutheran Seminary. He was installed on September 30, 1945, by Dr. John Schmieder, the pastor of St. Matthew’s, Kitchener, and President of the Board of Governors in St. John’s Lutheran Church, Waterloo, Ontario. His inaugural address was entitled, The Formative Principle in Lutheran Church Art.

In addition to his well prepared and well received lectures on music and theology in the College and Seminary, he conducted a College Choir, a Male Chorus and a Seminary Choir over the years. It was the Male Chorus in particular that travelled throughout the Synod and sang in Ontario High Schools assisting with student recruitment for the College and Seminary.

In 1957 he was appointed Dean of the Seminary, having been Acting Dean for some years. Upon the retirement of Principal J. Ray Houser in 1968, he was named Acting Principal and confirmed in this position in 1969. Unfortunately his serious illness began shortly thereafter and he held this position for only one year prior to his death on June 9, 1970.

In the Synod he was a member of the Worship and Music Committee and its Chairman for many years. He planned Summer School Music Institutes for church organists and choir directors in the 1950’s and 1960’s so that they might understand their role better and appreciate the rich Lutheran heritage. Church music education was also given, almost month by month, through his column Musical Echoes which appeared in the Canada Lutheran, the official publication of the Eastern Canada Synod, from March, 1941, until September, 1962.

On numerous occasions he preached in the congregations of Synod as a supply pastor on a Sunday morning, as a guest speaker for organ dedications and choir convocations. He frequently spoke on theological and musical themes to the auxiliaries of the church, at Conferences and District meetings and was always heard with keen anticipation. His renown as a speaker, musicologist, and New Testament scholar extended to other denominations as well.

At Mount Zion Lutheran Church, Waterloo, Ontario, of which he was a charter member, he contributed his services as pianist and later as organist assisting in the establishment of this mission congregation. He was instrumental in obtaining a small pipe organ for the first unit in 1961.

He was a member of the Faith and Order Study Commission, Canadian Council of Churches. He was a delegate to various meetings of the Canadian Lutheran Council and its successor, the Lutheran Council in Canada, and participated in the Lutheran-Catholic dialogue in Canada. He was a delegate to the meeting of the World Council of Churches in Montreal.

In 1966 he was elected President of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies. The Presidential address, Worship and Music in Ancient Israel was well received and reprinted in two publications. In 1967, Canada’s Centennial year, he received the Centennial Medal. In 1969 his contribution to the field of New Testament and Canadian church music was recognized by Knox College, University of Toronto, when he was awarded an honourary Doctor of Divinity degree. He gave the convocation address entitled Varieties of Discipleship.

He was a member of the Department of Worship of the United Lutheran Church in America and the Commission on Worship of the Lutheran Church in America and was elected Chairman of the latter in 1965. He also served on the Church’s Commissions on baptism and communion practices. He was an original member of the Joint Commission on the Liturgy and Hymnal which led to the publication of the Service Book and Hymnal in 1958. His influence and background were felt on this Commission and through his efforts many chorales and hymns with folk melodies were included. After the completion of this task he served on the Commission for the Spanish Hymnal for Lutheran use in Latin America.

It was only natural that he should be selected as a member of the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship in 1967, for which he wrote a paper, The Present Crisis in Hymn-Writing. This was reprinted in Dr. Franklin Clark Fry’s column State of the Church which was distributed to all LCA pastors. Dr. Leupold suggested that there should be at least four settings in the first volume of Liturgical settings of the new rite, one of which should be in the familiar style. The ILCW took his suggestion to heart and, just before his death, he was commended for his insight and for keeping in touch with parish needs.

On the broader scene he was a lecturer at the International Theological Conference on Church and Society in Europe in 1964.

In addition to his duties in Waterloo, the Synod and the church at large and in addition to the publications mentioned in the bibliography, he found time to edit several publications of music. The Two-Staff Organ Book (Waterloo Music Company) gave simple but dignified music for the service. Other publications, including compositions by his father, were the Liturgical Chorale Book (Augsburg Publishing House) and An Organ Book (Chantry Press, the press of Frederick M. Otto). Publications for choirs included Rejoice in the Lord (Augsburg Publishing House), and The Church Choir (Waterloo Music Company). He also edited and published numerous octavos. In all these publications his firm desire to place edifying music in a format which smaller choirs and congregations could use and appreciate is evident.

Following his death many tributes were written pointing to Rick Leupold the man, the scholar, the musicologist, the teacher, and friend. He was renowned for his keen wit and wise counsel, his clarity and precision both in writing and speaking. He was known for his ability to bring a Committee meeting or a discussion back to the point, out of the clouds down to earth. He could zero in on the heart of the problem and sum up a matter with a terse but lucid comment which never left the meaning in doubt. Though raised in Germany, he mastered the English language but never lost the delightful accent by which he was so well known. Though small in stature he was tall in faith and respected by scholars and loved by students. To him were given scholarly gifts, especially in theology and music, and a profound common sense which he used in rich and devoted service to his University, his Synod and the entire church. He was always a servant pointing to the Master and not to himself. Through his writing and his teaching he has left an indelible mark on Lutheranism on this continent. It was a privilege to know him, listen to him, and share this life with him. His was truly a VITA LAUDANDA.

THE UNITY AND VARIETY OF THE GOSPEL

David Granskou

Introduction

There is no doubt that North American Christianity is going through a period of self-scrutiny. The religious boom of the 1950’s and 1960’s is over. The churches are settling in for a decade of testing in areas of membership, direction of programme, building, role of the ministry and numerous other problems. No wonder in such a context that the churches of the continent settled on the common theme of evangelism in 1973. Evangelism, it has been suggested, was the key to ’73.

There is a certain truth to this catch of phrase. With church membership and giving in a state of stagnation or slow decline something needs to be done to revive the church. Churches in main-line Protestantism never had it so good as at mid-century. It seemed that people were eager to join a church and come to Sunday service. No one had to do much more than set up a first unit and a congregation was in business. The citizenry of the suburb and small town seemed to recognize without discussion that it was Good to worship with the family on Sunday. All that was needed was a place, a building and a pastor.

More recently the situation has altered. Expansion in the main-line churches has slowed down or stopped. Church strategists now say something else is needed in addition to the mission package. The most natural is the suggestion that the churches need a revival, and this calls for a re-affirmation of the evangelism imbedded in the North American experience. This solution has worked in the past—it should work now. Indeed there would be a great deal to look forward to in terms of the revival of Christianity in the later quarter of the twentieth century. One might expect the plan for a joint evangelistic effort in 1973 would be greeted with enthusiasm.

In my experience this was not true. The evangelical wing of Protestantism was fully in on the programme. Many others held back.

Many pastors I spoke with were sceptical of evangelism as the be all and end all to the churches’ problems. Many laymen contacted for their response already felt worded to death by the organizational church. Others expressed genuine hope that the evangelistic efforts of 1973 would bear positive fruit in the increase of membership and church vitality. It was also clear that there were many definitions of evangelism in the church today.

Evangelism is no longer an undisputed term. So it seems best to acknowledge that fact before proceeding further.

a) Evangelism as a term has become associated with Billy Graham Associates. This type of programme has come under heavy criticism as not dealing with controversial issues like racism, abortion, problems of the poor, war, etc.

b) Many pastors in main-line Protestantism are into other issues such as: social programmes, counselling, education, parish renewal, etc.

c) The validity of preaching as a means of changing people is questioned.

d) Some in the Jewish community fear the revival of anti-Semitism with a re-affirmation of pro-conversion missions to the Jews.

e) Most important perhaps—the Christian community no longer responds with one unified interpretation of the gospel and Christian life style.

Perhaps this lack of unity on the value of a particular type of evangelism is a blessing in disguise. There has been the long-held assumption in many main-line denominations that the best way to run a church is on the principle of non-argument and organizational co-operation and good will. I still remember the three little plaster cast monkeys which graced a window sill in my home when I was young. One monkey covered his ears, one his eyes, and one his mouth—Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Tolerance in such a context meant not arguing. Gibson Winter in the Suburban Captivity of the Churches has pointed to the nice guy syndrome of the middle-class church. We built a whole fleet of brick churches across the continent on this philosophy in the 1950’s. The crises of the 1960’s wiped out the quiet consensus of mid-century. The cry of Jesus Christ Superstar is now echoing in the souls of people—What’s it all about?

In my estimation it is healthy for the church to question its assumptions from time to time. This is especially true when it comes to its proclamation of the gospel. There is a conspiratorial assumption abroad that the church has disunity in many areas, but it has one gospel—the forgiveness of sins. The slogan is diversity in many things, but unity in the gospel. The Sunday School and pulpit say this. Theologians and Biblical scholars affirm it. (For example, C. H. Dodd, The Apostolic Preaching and Its Developments.)

The difficulty of this assumption is that it weakens the language of the church at its mid-point. We have a tree weak at its center. The language of gospel becomes stereotyped and the dullest time in the sermon is the place where the minister starts the gospel language. We have heard that before and our thoughts wander. Pastors too spend their time researching all kinds of issues—abortion, racism, poverty, counselling—but neglect the study of the gospel.

Laymen experience a similar problem. This is the gap between church talk and shop talk. If gospel talk means that are you saved approach, most laymen feel estranged from the language. They listen to it on Sunday, but not at work, shop, office, or university. If asked about religion in the secular situation the layman has no language to express his own feeling about his Christ.

The illusion should be examined. We should learn to struggle with our expression of what is at the heart of our religious experience. The early church did, and was a vital dynamic community. To help us, we ought to see the many models for gospel which exist in the New Testament.

What if there is more than one way of expressing the Good News in our day? What if even the New Testament has many different ways to look at the gospel? Too far out you say? Too confusing? Too intellectual? Not necessarily, I say in reply. To have many ways of speaking of God’s concern for man is liberating. I say this out of my personal feeling of liberation from church stereotyped language and action. I also speak out of the liberation which pastors and Christian laypeople feel when we struggle with this issue in conferences and retreats across the continent. The New Testament community had a broad range of problems to struggle with and expressed its gospel in a variety of ways to come to grips with that living variety. It had the freedom to move and speak in different way in different situations.

For everything there is a season,

and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to rend, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

(Ecclesiastes 3:1–8)

We are now beginning to see that unity is not the only blessing to mankind and religion. On my desk is a conference announcement dealing with the question of pluralism in society as a benefit, not a liability. John Chariot has come out for the same with a study New Testament Disunity (Dutton, 1970). At least some kinds of disunity can be healthy, just as the wrong kind of unity is nothing more than conformity.

The thesis of this presentation is simple. The New Testament had a variety which was part of its unity. We need to recover the sense of the unity in variety and the variety in unity which made the early church a vibrant community of individuals—a body of Christ with individual parts (so Paul, 1 Corinthians 12–14). The church is not a brain-washing association (Kaesemmn, Jesus Means Freedom). So with the printing presses full of the diversity of theologies of politics—of hope—of play—of liberation—of development, etc., we launch forward. What are the models of gospel to be found in the New Testament?

A. Lucan Model

Introduction: We shall first study the gospel as it is presented in Luke-Acts because it is a very familiar pattern of gospel message. In fact, when we think of gospel we often think of the confession of sins, followed by forgiveness. We want to look closely at this model. We shall approach the investigations with an attempt to see the strengths and the weaknesses.

We also want to remember that Luke is only one approach. There are at least five other identifiable models for speaking of Luke. We ought to disabuse ourselves of any direct and total connection with Paul. The elements of that gospel can be pieced together as follows. Jesus came on earth to bring us salvation. The church proclaims there is one God; He has created