Reclaiming the Lutheran Liturgical Heritage by Oliver K. Olson, and: Reclaiming Lutheran Confirmation by Oliver K. Olson

Reviewed by: Reclaiming the Lutheran Liturgical Heritage by Oliver K. Olson, and: Reclaiming Lutheran Confirmation by Oliver K. Olson Thomas E. Jacobson Reclaiming the Lutheran Liturgical Heritage. By Oliver K. Olson. Blue Papers One Minneapolis: Bronze Bow Publishing, 2007. 89 pp. Reclaiming Lutheran Confirmation. By Oliver K. Olson. Blue Papers Two Minneapolis: Lutheran Press, 2015. 65 pp. In these two brief volumes, liturgical scholar Oliver Olson adds an important voice to contemporary discussion surrounding American Lutheran liturgical practice. These two books are currently the only volumes in the "Blue Papers" series and were a part of the broader "ReClaim" movement, which began in 2005 out of dissatisfaction with the proposed content of what became the official worship resource of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada the following year: Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW). While the publication of ELW was the event that prompted the writing of Olson's books, his work is not exclusively criticism of that resource, though he does highlight what he sees as its deficiencies. Using his extensive knowledge of the history of Western liturgy, he documents how changes in liturgical practice among American Lutherans began some decades ago. He notes how pressure to conform to an"ecumenical consensus" began among Lutherans as early as 1958 with the publication of the Service Book and Hymnal, often referred to nostalgically as "the old red book." According to Olson, [End Page 220] this "ecumenical consensus" has weakened a distinctly Lutheran witness in liturgical practice, which he claims found expression in the Common Service of 1888. Olson's first volume is therefore devoted primarily to the practice of the liturgy of the Lord's Supper. The overarching theme is that the liturgy of the Lord's Supper must be understood as God's action for us rather than our action for God. Hence, he devotes a good amount of space to criticizing widespread modern practices that he views as contrary to the "downward" focus of the historic Lutheran liturgical tradition, namely, the offertory and the Eucharistic prayer. While Olson's perspectives are often viewed in contrast to the "high church" evangelical catholic tradition in contemporary Lutheranism, this analysis is overly simplistic. Readers will note that he also reserves criticism for a number of practices popular among so-called "low church" Lutherans, namely, lay presidency at the Lord's Supper and even the use of lay assistants in the distribution of the bread and wine. Perhaps likewise surprising for readers will be Olson's argument against the practice of "receptionism," the view that Christ is present in the bread and wine only at the moment one receives them. As implied by its title, the second volume deals specifically with the understanding and practice of confirmation in Lutheran congregations. As in the first volume, Olson laments that changes resulting from the pressure to be ecumenical since the 1960s have resulted in confusion over the meaning of confirmation, leading many to view the rite as a quasi-sacramental completion of baptism, a view more consistent with Roman Catholic than Lutheran theology. Olson lucidly argues that the actual rite of confirmation, while being an adiaphoron among Lutherans, should be understood as a helpful rite of passage instead of an affirmation of baptism. However, he emphasizes that among Lutherans, confirmation should refer primarily to instruction rather than a ceremony. According to Olson, emphasis on ceremony has led to a devaluing of confirmation instruction and has also downplayed the importance of catechism memorization. This has also, according to Olson, resulted in the trivialization of the Lord's Supper; for most of history, participation in the rite of confirmation was the moment that one was admitted to the Lord's Supper for the first time. [End Page 221] These volumes are important contributions to the field of liturgical study that will challenge many contemporary assumptions of both "high church" and "low church" Lutherans. For everyone, they are helpful resources in countering the assertion that Lutherans have always conducted themselves in a certain way. Even those who disagree with Olson's conclusions will find him to be a worthy conversation partner and will still benefit from the historical information he provides. As one...

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