Liturgy in transition - An examination of the theology behind the public confession and declaration of grace, in the mass according to the book of worship of the Church of Sweden

Public confession and declaration of grace in the mass, following the book of worship of the Church of Sweden, is considered by many to be problematic, and hence the topic of frequent discussion. This is apparent already in the proposal for the existing book of worship, as well as in those official proposals that have been presented in recent years for a revised order of worship. This paper provides a summary account of the historical development of the public confession (and its attendant parts) from the early church into recent times, with a focus on the Church of Sweden, focusing on church regulation and official books of worship. This account shows that a public confession existed in early Christian celebration of service/mass, and that public confession and declaration of grace as we know it today (in the Church of Sweden) has developed from the practice of private confession with a relationship to Holy Communion. In Sweden, the ambitions of the Lutheran program of reformation with respect to public confession did not materialize fully. Instead, private confession underwent a historical development whereby it became a public and communal liturgical act, the participation in which became mandatory. With the passing of time, this communal service of confession was brought within the order of the mass, making its character and the way it was perceived, defining for the perception/understanding of the beginning of the mass as such. The public confession and declaration of grace as defined in the official Church of Sweden book of worship (1986) is read and interpreted, with the application of a hermeneutical perspective, against the back drop of the historical development as accounted for. This reading is then analyzed from the perspective of a Lutheran theology of the cross (theologia crucis), with a focus on basic theological motifs. The analysis arrives at finding a theology of creation playing a prominent role in the introductory parts of the public confession, which together with other passages and emphases , create a problem with regard to the ability of the public confession and declaration of grace to interpret sin on the basis of law and gospel, while generating discontinuity with other sections of the public confession and declaration of grace. This is understood as a result of attempts by the authors to solving a problem in the public perception of the character of the public confession, as being dark and gloomy. The paper instead finds the public confession (and attending parts) in the 1986 book of worship lacking, with regard to the interpretation of sin and forgiveness, not the least by not sufficiently enabling identification, through the proclamation of cross and resurrection. The paper, further, reviews the proposals from the years 2000 and 2006, respectively, for a new, revised book of worship, and demonstrates how these proposals understand, above all, the above-described problem in terms of issues in the presence and character of the public confession and declaration of grace as such – the result being that the proposals in different ways seek to reduce the presence of a public confession and declaration of grace in the mass, e.g. by making it voluntary. This paper instead argues the need for a more positive view of the public confession (with its attendant parts), but that it (they) should be situated in the liturgical order such that its meaning is determined with the help of the preaching (of law and gospel) in the preceding parts of the church service. Moreover, it should be given a form that is able to interpret sin and forgiveness not shying away from its full depth/significance. The paper ends with the mention of the importance of the practiced faith of the congregation for the perceived meaning of the public confession and declaration of grace in the context of the church service/mass liturgy