January 2024 – Page 2 – What Does This Mean?

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Words of our Lord Part 1

Encore Post: The Lutheran Service Book has the heading of “The Words of our Lord” but I imagine many of you also have heard them called either “The Words of Institution” or “The Words of Consecration,” or just the “Verba”. In all cases they the titles refer to the same thing: The words our Lord said on the night when He was betrayed, concerning the bread and then the cup. With this we have reached the climax of the Service of the Sacrament.

The pastor has removed the veil from over the chalice and moved the hosts to the paten (liturgical name for the plate which holds the bread), if they were not there already and either will speak the Words or will chant them. Unfortunately, fewer congregations hear the Words chanted. During the time of the Reformation, chanting the Verba was the way many people distinguished the Lutheran Church from the Catholic Church. In my congregation, the altar is set up and attached to the wall, so the words of our Lord are chanted over the elements facing away from the congregation. In some churches, you will see a free standing table/altar, where the pastor can go to the other side and say the words toward the people.

Every Sunday, we rehearse the night of Jesus “being handed over.” That word for being handed over or betrayed is παραδιδωμι which also means tradition/hand down. Jesus says to do these things in remembrance of Him, so the Church has always done it and continues to “hand it down to the next generation of the faithful” just as Paul says when he gives his account of the night in 1 Corinthians 11. By participating in the Sacrament, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

But who do we hear when those words are spoken? You hear Christ’s living voice. Just like the Gospel reading being the “high point” of the Service of the Word, so also the Words of Christ concerning His Supper are the high point of the Service of the Sacrament. So you actually hear the living voice of Jesus in these words, for they are not the Pastor’s words but Christ’s words.

Next time, we will dive into the words themselves but we can know for certain that they are Christ’s words for us, bidding us to come to eat and drink the very things through which He redeemed us and now through gives us life everlasting.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Lord’s Prayer

Encore Post: On the heels of the Sanctus, the pastor leads the congregation in the prayer our Lord taught us to pray. The Lord’s prayer, being the prayer of the baptized, takes its place in the Service of the Sacrament. And below I suggest many if not each petition of the prayer gets answered by the Sacrament of the Altar the congregation is preparing to receive.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be on earth as it is in heaven. We will discuss the introduction and the first three petitions together. We are calling out to our Heavenly Father as Christ has instructed us to do. He is our Father who desires to give us good things, and He has given us the very best thing: His very own Son that we might be reconciled to him by the blood which is poured out for us. God’s Kingdom is coming, we just sang about it in the Sanctus: “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! And He comes to save, which is His will, that all call upon the name of the Son and be saved. Also eschatologically speaking, we are eating a foretaste of the meal that is in His Kingdom that will have no end.

Give us this day our daily bread. Luther spends more time talking about our physical needs here with the 4th petition, but in connection to the Sacrament and Jesus calling himself the bread of life in John 6, we can see the connection between this petition and the Sacrament we are about to receive. It is what truly gives us life and encouragement for the days ahead.

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. We will be going to the rail and kneeling to receive with the body and blood of Christ, the forgiveness of sins which He won for us by his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. Having received forgiveness from God in the Sacrament we are strengthened to forgive one another. Christ did not just die for my sins, but also for the sins that my neighbor committed against me. Having been forgiven and shown mercy by Christ, we too should show mercy to one another. We are strengthened to do that by the Sacrament of the Altar.

Lead us not into temptation. By the very eating and drinking of Christ’s body and blood, we are taking into ourselves the very person who is our advocate and fighter against every temptation of Satan, the world, and our own flesh.

Deliver us from evil. Christ promises in John 6: “Truly Truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live.” Jesus does not lie, and it is the will of His Father to raise up to eternal life those who believe in the one whom was pierced and out of whom blood and water poured out.

This is a bit longer of a post, but I do pray that this has given you a different way to say the prayer our Lord Jesus has taught us to pray when you say it right before receiving the Sacrament of the Altar. See in the Sacrament the answer to the prayer.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Sanctus

Encore Post: The closing words of the Proper Preface introduce the following piece of the beautiful Service of the Sacrament: The Sanctus.

The Sanctus: Latin for “Holy” comes from the vision of Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 6, where Isaiah “sees the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple” (Isa 6:1). The phrase Holy, Holy, Holy comes from the seraphim serving the Lord. Isaiah realizes his unworthiness and sin, yet for the sake of the sacrifice (Christ) atonement has been made and he is able to stand before the Holy God and live. Like Isaiah, we too, are made holy for the sake of Christ and our sins are forgiven.

But there is more to the hymn than just the words of the angels. The Sanctus as printed in the Lutheran Service Book Divine Service Setting III, prepares us for the coming of the Lord. The words, “Hosanna in the Highest! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” come from Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, see Matthew 21. But instead of riding a colt into our midst, in the Divine Service the Holy One of God, Jesus Christ, comes to us in his body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar, for the forgiveness of our sins and the strengthening of our faith. Christ is here for our forgiveness life and salvation. Christ brings heaven down to earth within the Divine Service for us. And in coming in the Supper he in fact does save us now, which is what the word Hosanna means (according to LSB footnote).

In the vision of Isaiah, we see Isaiah receive on his mouth the burning coal from the altar. We in the Supper we receive the very body and blood of Christ, which was broken and poured out that we might be redeemed and made holy. It is good and right for us to sing the Sanctus in preparation for the Supper for the Holy God comes to save us by granting us sinner’s mercy, which is perhaps the greatest manifestation of our Lord’s glory. And we rightfully then praise the Lord singing, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the Highest!” confessing our faith in Him who graciously feeds us now that we might endure until Christ calls us to Himself in the fullness of his glory.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Preface and Proper Preface

Encore Post: In the course of the Liturgy of the Divine Service, we now fix our eyes upon the Altar, where Christ comes to us in His Body and Blood to feed us, forgiving our sins, and strengthening our faith. We are entering into the “Service of the Sacrament.” But before the meal we prepare ourselves further by hearing the words of both the Preface and Proper Preface.

The Preface is one of the oldest pieces of the entire Liturgy. According to my reading in preparation for writing this post, it seems plausible that the Preface could have been a part of the liturgy when the Apostle John was still alive (90 AD).

The words of the Preface are pretty simple. The celebrant (the pastor who is overseeing the Sacrament of the Altar), begins by saying the phrase: “The Lord be with you,” which happens to an echo from the Service of the Word when the pastor speaks or chants the Collect of the Day. The congregation then responds, “And with thy spirit.” Typically, the pastor has opened his hands toward the people in speaking this salutation and then he “receives” this blessing from the people as well.

We then hear the words, “Lift up your hearts.” The congregation: “We lift them to the Lord.” These words are interesting because of their origin. While it sounds great, it can be misunderstood. I remember from my seminary days, Dr. Masaki talking about these very words because of their “implied Calvinism.” In the Service of the Sacrament it is not really us who go up to heaven, but in actuality, it is Christ who comes down to us. And wherever Christ is, that is where Heaven is. So Heaven is on Earth in the Divine Service, and specifically in the Service of the Sacrament.

The beginning phrase and the ending of of the Proper Preface remains the same each and every time. It’s what is sandwiched in between that changes and contains the hard hitting theology. For instance listen to the preface of Good Friday, Easter Vigil, Easter Day, Pentecost, etc. You will see the themes of the day beautifully illustrated for us. Listen to these, ask your pastor for a copy of them to meditate upon for a devotion. In the Service, it leads us to the singing of the Sanctus in which we announce the “Coming of the Lord” for us to save us now in the giving of his body and blood.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

The Confession of St. Peter

Encore Post: In Northeast Israel, at the base of Mount Hermon, a giant spring gushed water out of a cave that flowed into Huela Marsh, the headwaters of the Jordan River. During the centuries following the death of Alexander the Great, Syria’s Greek rulers built a shrine there to the god Pan. During the earthly ministry of Jesus, Herod the Great’s son, Philip, built a town nearby and named it after Tiberius Caesar and himself. His father had added a temple to Caesar Augustus to the previous shrine to Pan. A major trade road, “The Way to the Sea” ran through the town on its way to the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea. At the end of his ministry in Galilee, Jesus took his disciples to this location to prepare them for his final year of ministry, suffering, death and resurrection. (Matthew 16:13-28)

At this place Jesus asked his disciples who people thought he was. They replied that people said he was a prophet, maybe even John the Baptist or Elijah. Jesus then followed up. “Who you say I am?” St. Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” God the Father had revealed this to Peter, but it became clear very quickly that he really did not know what a Messiah was to do. Jesus explained to the disciples that he would soon suffer, die for the sins of the world and rise from the dead in three days. Peter tried to scold him. It could not happen to him — he was the Messiah, after all. Jesus replied by calling Peter Satan. Anyone that would be his disciple, would need to take up his own cross and follow Jesus.

Even though Peter was badly mistaken, Jesus praised his confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The confession was so important that Jesus gave him the name Peter — little rock. The confession itself is the rock on which Jesus builds his church. Even hell itself cannot destroy that church. So, since the early years of the Twentieth Century, the Lutheran Church has celebrated this confession on January 18th, a day always in the season of Epiphany, when it meditates on the ways that God the Son reveals himself to us.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Concordia Theological Seminary

Fort Wayne, Indiana

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Prayer of the Church

Encore Post: Upon singing the Offertory and presenting the offerings of the Church, the service enters somewhat of an intermission. The Service of the Word is wrapping, only the Prayer of the Church remains before the Service of the Sacrament begins with Preface and Proper Preface.

The Prayer of the Church is an expanded prayer, containing many different and various petitions and thanksgivings. For many years, you might have called the Prayer of the Church an ordinary, because there were basically three “Prayers of the Church” that were printed inside of the Altar Book. However, in recent years the Prayers of the Church have become much more a proper, at least for the churches of the LCMS who utilize the Let Us Pray Series created by the LCMS Director of Worship and his team.

In my Congregation, I utilize the Prayer of the Church provided in the Altar Book because of its consistency in wording. I hope and pray that the continued hearing of the same words move my people to use those words in their own prayers. However, there is great merit in using the new prayers too because they are written for our present troubles in mind. Also, pastors should tailor these prayers to the circumstances of the Congregation. For instance, if one of the prayers offered in the Altar Book there is no petition for pregnant women and there is one woman with child, adding a petition for mother and child would likely be appreciated, etc.

Another prayer that the Prayer of the Church is molded after is the great Litany, found on pages 288 and 289 of the Lutheran Service Book. The petitions found within that great prayer cover all facets of life. If a pastor desires to write his own prayer of the church, I would encourage us all to begin with the words of the Great Litany and expand from there.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Offering

Encore Post: With the conclusion of the singing of the Offertory, the offerings of the church are collected. While we do not often see this in our churches anymore, it was at this time that the bread and wine used for the Sacrament of the Altar would come forward as well. Churches in the Roman Catholic Church and similar traditions have the option to bring up the bread and wine at this time.

Dr. Arthur Just, Jr. in his fine book Heaven on Earth: The Gifts of Christ in the Divine Service talks more about it. He adds, “The bringing forward of the bread and wine is part of the sacrificial part of the liturgy where we offer our gifts to God, including our tithes and offerings. These gifts are given in response to hearing the very words of Jesus in the Gospel and are given in thanksgiving for the gift about to be received…”(Just, 209-210).

We should not think that we are giving to God to earn favor. No, these gives should be given out of the thankfulness of our hearts for the salvation which we have received from Christ. Even if we thought that we could earn God’s favor and blessing by our gifts, our gifts are far too small and minuscule. They are humble things, some money, some bread and wine.

Another way I have been thinking about these gifts is in terms of the feeding of the 5,000. There the people were hungry and only a few loaves and fish were around. They were a humble collection of food, as is bread and wine, but be given into the Lord’s hands, this humble offering He can make it the very food from heaven that satisfies us for everlasting life.

This is also seen in our tithes and offerings of money too. What little offerings we gather in this since also are brought before our Lord and He uses our gold and silver and whatever else we might have to sustain the mission of the local congregation as well as those abroad furthering his Kingdom, that others might know the grace and mercy He has for us for the sake of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Offertory

Encore Post: I pray that you are being spiritually fed by the Word and Sacrament of our Lord Jesus Christ. The last time I talked about the sermon and its importance, and so today, we are turning our attention to the Offertory.

Depending on the Divine Service Setting one uses (again, I am speaking of the Lutheran Service Book) you might see a couple different set of Offertories. But they, at least in my mind, serve different purposes. The Offertory of Divine Service 3 appears to serve more as a response of the congregation to the sermon that was just preached as it follows directly on the sermon’s heels.

The Offertory of Divine Service 3 comes from Psalm 51:10-12. We know the history behind Psalm 51 because the superscript tells us. Psalm 51 was written, prayed by David when Nathan the prophet confronted him concerning the murder of Uriah the Hittite and taking Bathsheba for himself. Those events are well documented in 2 Samuel 11-12.

Psalm 51 is a psalm of acknowledging one’s sin and thus repenting, pleading with God to be merciful to the sinner. The first verse of the Psalm says as much, “Be mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.” What we sing as the Offertory comes later in the psalm, in a way a prayer that God again “create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

The sermon should have confronted us with our sins. Yes, we have sinned and have fallen well short of the glory of God. Indeed, we deserve everlasting death for our offenses against Him. But also in that sermon, we should have heard the Gospel that God has shown us mercy in sending Jesus Christ, who has taken upon himself our sins.

David’s prayer as well as our own of Psalm 51 is answered in Christ Jesus’ atoning death on the cross and resurrection from the dead with that forgiveness and everlasting life being applied to us via the preaching of Christ’s Word and the Administration of His Sacraments. Joy, even in the midst of suffering, is restored for God’s mercy is made manifest among us by Jesus Christ, who upholds us, giving us the promised Holy Spirit, Who comforts us with things which are Christ’s and delcares them to us and makes them our own.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Sermon

Encore Post: The preceding components of the Liturgy lead us to the sermon. As has been said in previous posts, particularly the post on the readings, the Holy Gospel is the central reading to which all the other readings for the day point. It is likely that the sermon will be based upon the reading of the Holy Gospel.

What should a sermon do? The sermon and the preaching thereof should proclaim Christ’s person as well as his active work bringing about the salvation of humanity. That means the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross, or in other words, the atonement, should be on full display. Not only should the sermon bring Christ’s work to light, but it should shine a light on how Christ is active in bringing this salvation to bear in our lives today.

For example, on the 3rd Sunday in Lent, the 3 year lectionary has John 4 as the Gospel reading. Jesus meets the Samaritan woman, who has a less than spectacular past. The Old Testament lesson has the story of Israel complaining and testing the Lord has Massah and Meribah. Both stories work together in bringing to light that no one has a perfect past, but indeed we are all sinful in many and various ways. Yet, our Lord Jesus is gracious and merciful, not destroying Israel or the woman for her past indiscretions. Instead, he brings to light the fact that she is a sinner in need of the water that gives eternal life. A drink that only he gives. Water (and blood) that is poured out for the world at cross.

How Jesus calls us out of out of the darkness of our sins and into his marvelous light to receive rightly the water that endures unto eternal life, will likely be a major component of this sermon. Jesus uses his preachers to preach the Law as well as the Gospel. Bringing sins to light that that they might be dealt with, and once they are, bringing the sweet news of the Gospel that Jesus has not only died for our sins but that “you are forgiven for Christ’s sake.”

The Gospel proclamation does not end there, but continues with how Jesus actively seeks us out still today, and grants to us grace through the very means of Grace, like Baptism and the Lord’s Supper which our eyes begin to turn in the sermon as the tangible Gospel, the flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus will be given to us to eat and to drink in short order. That we might continue to grow in the faith as well as fervent love towards our neighbors.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Hymn of the Day

Encore Post: If we follow the “Common” Divine Service, after confessing the Creed, the congregation then will sing what is referred to the Hymn of the Day. For some it may just be thought of as an “intermission” or a “time for pastor to compose himself prior to the sermon”, but in actuality the Hymn of the Day continues to narrow down the themes that have been percolating throughout the Collect and Readings of the Day, preparing us to hear those themes ring loud and clear in the upcoming sermon.

It is much easier to speak about specific hymns of the Day when we look to the Historic Lectionary. Within that lectionary, one expects certain hymns on specific days. On the Last Sunday of the Church Year the congregation would likely sing for the Hymn of the Day: Wake, awake, For Night is Flying. The Gospel lesson is Matthew 25:1-13, the parable of the virgins. The hymn brings the singer into the story, and ultimately prepares the singer/congregation to receive the Supper to which Christ calls his faithful.

The hymn of the day can be understood as yet another opportunity for the congregation to hear both Law and Gospel and be a response to such hearing. For instance see Lord Thee I Love With All My Heart, the hymn of the day for Lent 2 in the 3 year lectionary offerings. This year, we hear John 3, God showed his love in this way: sending his only son, giving his as the ransom for the world, “that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:16). And throughout the hymn, but particularly stanza 1, we respond to Him in kind.

We must also remember the season of the Church year when we look at hymns of the day, for that also affects the various themes that come to the forefront. So a piece of the hymn that likely will stick with the congregation in Lent is the picture of the price of our redemption: Christ’s blood, the prayer for the Lord not to forsake us. Also likely, the prayer for patience and strength to bear the cross that our Lord has placed upon us (See stanza 2).

The hymn of the Day continues the process of narrowing down the theme of the Day and should prepare us all for the words of the pastor who will likely be preaching his sermon on the themes espoused throughout the Collect, Readings, and Hymn.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO