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Home , Introit, Kiss of peace, Kyrie

IN THE ’S SERVICE A Christian’s Guide to the Lord’s Service

In the Lord’s Service Beginning in the Lord’s Name

INVOCATION The Lord’s Service begins in His name. In this way it is clear that it is the Lord’s Service and not ours or someone else’s. The Lord is running the show. The word Invocation (from the , invocation) means a calling upon the name of the Lord for where the Lord’s name is, there He has promised to be. With the Invocation the name of the Holy Trinity is place upon us, and we acknowledge God’s presence in His name with the faithful response Amen! which means, This is most certainly true! But just as the Invocation begins each service, it also recalls to us our own baptismal beginnings. At baptism God’s name was placed upon us through the water and the Word. Just as the was made on us at our baptism, so also it may be made during the Invocation as a reminder of God’s covenant and seal, given to us at baptism.

CONFESSION & ABSOLUTION If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. With these words of our Lord instituted a glorious means by which He has chosen to forgive our sins. At Confession, we come before God with nothing to show for ourselves, bringing nothing but our sins. Likewise, there is not sin—no misdeed, no loveless act or attitude of heart—which we would hold outside of our Lord’s forgiveness. With the Absolution, through the words of the ’s mouth, Christ delivers to our ears in a most personal and precise way the forgiveness of sins which He earned for us on the cross of Calvary. Just as we would hold no sin outside of such a forgiveness.

INTROIT (Entrance Song) So far in the Lord’s Service the focus has been one of preparation. The , however, marks the actual beginning of the Lord’s Service. It marks the pastor’s entrance to the , the center and symbol of the Lord’s presence among the congregation. The text of the Introit usually consists of a portion from an Psalm, although a selection from the church’s hymnody may also be used. Since it changes from week to week, the Introit provided variety. It is intended to highlight the readings for that Sunday. Likewise, since it is an Entrance Song, it is usually sung, although it may be spoken.

KYRIE The word is Greek and is part of the phrase Kyrie eleison, which means Lord, have . The phrase is found in many Old Testament (:1; :16; :3), as well as in the (:22; where heals the Canaanite woman; and Luke 17:13; where Jesus heals the ten lepers). Used also in the first century A.D. by slaves of Greek masters, it was not so much a cry for help, as an affirmation that their masters were indeed merciful to them. By the middle of the fourth century, Lord, have mercy became the congregation’s affirmation of the spoken by the in their behalf. It was the way in which the congregation made prayers of one person the prayers of all.

HYMN OF PRAISE Together with the Introit and Kyrie the of Praise concludes the first part of the Lord’s Service with a song of joy and praise to God for all the things he has done for us through Jesus Christ. The traditional Hymn of Praise the Gloria in Excelsis (which means Glory to God in the Highest) finds its New Testament roots in the song which the angels sang to the shepherds at the birth of Jesus Christ. The Gloria that we use today, is a year-round version of the original angelic song of praise at the Incarnation. As Martin Luther once remarked concerning the Gloria: The Gloria did not grow, nor was it made on earth, but came down from heaven. In a way, the Gloria is part of the Lord’s Service which celebrates Christmas the whole year long—a way in which we are invited, along with Bethlehem Shepherds to go and see Jesus in the Scripture Readings to follow.

SALUTATION & The Salutation The Lord be with you and its response And also with you signal a transition in the Lord’s Service from and praise Introit, Kyrie, Hymn of Praise to the hearing of God’s Word Readings, , etc. The Salutation occurs later in the Lord’s Service as well to indicate a transition to the Lord’s Supper. The words, The Lord be with you, carry the freight of the biblical word Emmanuel, or God with us. The phrase comes from Scripture where it speaks a blessing in greeting. The Pastor speaks that greeting today, and the congregations responds to the pastor, And also with you. The pastor has been put in this place to minister, and God has promised to be present in such a ministry. The Prayer of the Day, or Collect, () the varied thoughts of the congregation into a single, focused prayer. Its theme points towards the Readings. Thus, the Collect is based on the scriptures for the day and in them finds the basis for its being heard by God. The congregation affirms the Collect with a solid “AMEN!”. READINGS FROM SCRIPTURE The reading of the Holy Scripture in the Lord’s Service dates back to the time of Christ and beyond. Luke 4:16ff. tells of Jesus reading from the prophet Isaiah in his home town synagogue. Justin (ca. 150 A.D.) tells of scripture reading in the Lord’s Service, for as long as time permits. Eventually various readings were designated for specific Sundays and seasons, with texts selected from the Old Testament, and (or letter of an apostle), and the (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). In this way the themes and emphases of the Lord’s Service change from week to week, yet essentially remain with in a commonly established form. The hearing of God’s Word forms a highpoint, then, of the Lord’s Service. For wherever God’s Holy Word and Spirit are, there the Lord has promised to be. The reading of the Holy serves as a summit of the Lord’s Service. As Origen (an early Christian from ca. 212 A.D.) wrote: The Holy Gospel is the crown of all the Holy Scriptures.

HYMNODY The church’s hymnody has remained a vital and enlivening tool in the Lord’s Service. From the Old Testament Psalms, to the Song of Zechariah (Luke 1:68ff.), to the of the church today—each generation takes up the Gospel message and sets it to music for its own time and place. It is important that the Christian church be known as a singing church. Music, after all, is a part of God’s creation and it is to be brought into the service of the Gospel for the spreading of the Good News. Some might complain that they can’t sing well enough to join in the church’s hymns. But as one famous Christian vocalist once remarked: Whether it’s you or I, by the time the singing reaches the throne of God in heaven, all our praise sounds the same to him anyway! And Martin Luther once said it well: If anyone would not sing and talk of what Christ has done for us, he shows that he does not really believe it. That is the way of the Gospel…one can’t help but joyfully sing and talk about it.

SERMON The word sermon comes from the Latin word meaning to talk or converse. Often called a , which comes from the Greek word meaning basically the same as the Latin, the Sermon involves a lot of talking. The Sermon has a two-fold character in the Lord’s Service. First, the Sermon is dependent on all that precedes it in the Lord’s Service—the hymns and and lessons—to support what it will proclaim. Secondly, the Sermon is independent in that it has a character of its own. Here is God’s words of judgement and grace are applied to our contemporary situation in a way that the other parts of the Lord’s Service are not. Like the Absolution, the Sermon delivers in a personal way the forgiveness of sins which Christ, earned for us on the cross. After all, that is what St. Paul meant when he said: We preach Christ the crucified…the power of God and the wisdom of God.

CREED The word comes for the Latin word , which means I believe. That is what a Creed is: a confession of faith made by individuals and the whole Christian Church. In the New Testament, to confess the faith means, to say the same thing back. In the Creed we are doing just that: saying back to God what he first said to us in the Holy Scripture. Thus, in some traditions the Creed follows the Lessons, where it is a response to the written Word. In other traditions the Creed follows the Sermon, where it is a response to the proclaimed Word. Either way, saying back to God what he has first said to us puts us on sure ground, and it makes it possible for us to speak the faith to the world around us. The of the Church are not mere mildewed historical curiosities with out any relevance for modern life. They are words by which the one who says them seeks to live and, if necessary, even to die. They are what I believe about all that follows. And isn’t it beautiful that millions upon millions of other Christians throughout the ages have also confessed the very same thing back?

PRAYERS

One who has been born anew of water and the Spirit John 3:5 cannot help but pray, for prayer is the heartbeat of any Christian life. And even when our poor, human flesh is incapable of praying, the Spirit itself intercedes for us with sighs to deep for words Romans 8:26. In the Lord’s Service, the Prayer of the Church seeks to ask everything as the Spirit would move us through the Word. Moving from the concerns of the church at lard to those of the gathered congregation, the Prayer of the Church asks that the Lord’s will be done not only in the church, but also throughout the world. The Lord’s Prayer, the prayer which our Lord himself has given us, often follows the Prayer of the Church. Its seven petitions are so comprehensive that all of our needs may fall within its parameters, and therefore a fitting summation to all that has preceded it in the Prayer of the Church.

OFFERING & The offering of gifts to the Lord’s Service is our response to all that has previously been given us in the Lord’s Service. The Offering also serves as the bridge from the Service of the Word (all that has come before) to the Service of the Sacrament (all that follows). During the early centuries of , we know that some places the congregation brought forward gifts of all kinds—bread, wine, cheese, honey, money, etc. From these were selected the bread and wine used in the Lord’s Supper to follow the remaining gifts were set aside to be used for the poor and for support of the clergy. As these gifts were brought forward a psalm or hymn was often sung. Today this is known as the Offertory.

PREFACE & The words used in the and Sanctus are some of the oldest in the Lord’s Service—in common usage for over 1500 years. So much is contained in so few sentences: The Lord be with you—the risen and crucified Lord speaking be with you—to doubting Thomas and the others :26; And with your Spirit—so also the Lord’s Spirit is with the minister John 20:22; Lift up your hearts…We lift them to the Lord—hearts that have been raised from the waters of baptism and will be raised on the Last day Colossians 3:1; Let us give thanks to the Lord our God…it is right to give Him thanks and praise—the only fitting thing to do when our Lord comes among us in His supper. In the Preface which changes with the season of the Church, we join our praise with that of the heavenly marriage feast Revelation 19, united with Christians of all ages Ephesians 4:5. The Sanctus (Latin for holy) joins that heavenly song, echoing Isaiah’s encounter with the Lord in Isaiah 6.

WORDS OF INSTITUTION The are the center of the Lord’s Service of the Sacrament. They are spoken to us from Christ through the mouth of the pastor. At the first Lord’s Supper, Jesus’ body and blood were present in the form of bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins. In the Words of Institution spoken today, that promise is delivered to us for Calvary’s sake. Martin Luther once said: If you want your sins forgiven, you don’t go to Calvary but to the Lord’s Supper. At Calvary, forgiveness was achieved but not given out. At the Lord’s Supper, Calvary’s forgiveness is given out, but not achieved. Around the Words of Institution are sometimes nestled prayer which flow out of all that is found in our Lord’s words. Indeed, we may only pray as we have the promises of God. So, these prayers are rooted in God’s Word, and the Lord’s Prayer is included because it is just that—the Lord’s Prayer.

THE PEACE The portion of the liturgy called The Peace finds it apostolic roots in the of peace mentioned by both Paul and Peter in their . It was used to mark the transition from the preaching and teaching portion of the service to the service of the Sacrament. Only those who were baptized remained after the . By around 200 A.D. some churches carried on a solemn ceremony following the giving of the peace by the pastor, where an assistant asked with a loud voice whether there were anyone holding anything against his brother. If any division was disclosed, the made peace between the contending parties. Only after this had been completed did the service of Holy continue.

AGNUS DEI The prophet Isaiah wrote concerning Christ that he was like a lamb led to the slaughter, and that at Calvary he would pour out his soul to death Isaiah 53:7, 12. Centuries later, John the Baptist also foresaw the Calvary road that Jesus would follow. At Jesus’ baptism, he cried out: Behold, the , who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29. In the Lord’s Service, we too cry out when we behold the Lamb whose body and blood were shed on the cross and are now given to us to eat and drink. He is the (Latin for Lamb of God) who takes away the sin of the world. Those who celebrate this meal have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb Revelation 7:14. Through His Supper He grants us His peace John 20:19.

POST COMMUNION CANTICLE & COLLECT The gifts given in the Lord’s Supper push us on and out into our calling. The Lord’s Service concludes quickly—time now to let the Lord’s words heard in the Lord’s Service have their way with us at home and in the world. The Post-Communion Canticle is sung as our response of praise for all the many blessings and gifts we have been given at the Lord’s Table. Yet, such thanksgiving continues throughout the week in prayer, thanksgiving, and care for the needy—until next we are gathered at His table. And finally, the Post-Communion Collect ‘collects’ our grateful thoughts into one prayer, asking that the gifts we have been given in the Lord’s Service and most certainly His Supper would carry forth into our lives.

BENEDICTION The word comes from the Latin meaning the good word. Indeed, the last word in the Lord’s Service is the Lord’s…as was the first. For now that the Lord’s Service has given out all its gifts, and its gathered people have received those gifts in faith, one final gift is given before we leave and go out into our life and calling: The Lord’s name. Just as the Lord’s name was put on us at the beginning of our life in baptism and at the beginning of the Lord’s Service in the Invocation, so also it is given to us at the end of the Lord’s Service, to energize our lives in the Lord’s service. And the faithful response is the same as it is for every other gift received: Amen!...which means, This is most certainly true!— Gift received!

© Used by permission from Creative Communications