Encore Post: When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we state our hope and belief that God’s Kingdom is different than the kingdoms of the world. As Jesus says to Pontius Pilate, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” But certainly it has entered into this world now and the world will see it in all its fullness when Jesus returns to judge both the living and the dead.
God’s Kingdom comes to us a couple of ways. God’s Kingdom comes to us through the Proclamation of the Word and Faith. Another way to say it is that God’s Kingdom comes to us when and where Jesus promises to be for the forgiveness of our sins in the divine service. Finally, what we see currently only by faith will be unveiled to the world, and God’s Kingdom will be fully known.
God’s Kingdom is not like the Kingdoms of the world. God’s Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom and it must be distinguished from the civil realm. God works in terms of the Gospel, that in Jesus Christ’s death on the cross atones for the sins of the world. Currently God’s Kingdom looks quite humble. Even the King rides to his throne on a donkey, not some regal warhorse. His crown in this world was one of thorns. He governs not with an iron fist, but through his ministers who are called to preach His Gospel and administer his gifts- namely Baptism, Bread and Wine, His body and Blood- to his faithful.
The civil realm as we are all able to look around works in terms of fear and power, certainly not the Gospel but rather Law. Of course, as we pray this petition we also express the desire for the Lord to bless our civil kingdoms (government) with His mercy and grace that we might live in peace. And we should obey the laws of the government as long as obeying the laws does not cause us to sin. We also acknowledge rightly that God does not intend to use the Gospel to overthrow secular government and public order. We reject that before the resurrection of the dead, saints and righteous people will possess a secular kingdom.
So, we as Christians see ourselves in two kingdoms. And we continue to pray this petition as fervently as ever in anticipation when the Lord will return to usher and reveal His Kingdom fully.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp Christ Lutheran Church Noblesville, Indiana
Encore Post: When a young confirmation student first gets his copy of the Small Catechism, his first thought is that it doesn’t look all that small! His shiny new book is hundreds of pages long, with hundreds of questions in it. He panics at the thought of memorizing it all — until he realizes that he only has to memorize the first two dozen or so pages. It still seems impossible — but a little less so!
So, what is in the Catechism? When Luther began his work, just three pieces — the Ten Commandments, The Apostles’s Creed and the Lord’s prayer. These three main parts are still the heart of the catechism. The Ten Commandments or Ten Words, tell us what we should do to be like God. God intended it exactly backwards from the way we learn it. It is at its base a guide book — the third use of the Law. When original sin comes into the picture, the first and second uses we first think of comes into play. The Apostles’ Creed tells us what God did to make us, redeem us and make us holy so that we can keep God’s law. The Lord’s Prayer tells us about our life of fellowship with God. Luther wrote simple explanations of these in everyday German.
Soon questions about Baptism and the Lord’s Supper were added along with simple answers to them and the main Scriptures that teach them. These helped the students come to understand the treasures awaiting them in the divine service. A brief form of confession was also added to prepare students for confession and absolution before a pastor in private. After Luther’s death, information about the Office of the Keys rounded out the six main parts of the catechism.
In Luther’s day, when you bought a book, you bought just the pages — like you copied a whole book on a photocopier. You would go to a bookbinder, who would put a cover on it. The book was still so small that people added small tracts to fill it out a bit. Several have remained in most editions — Luther’s chart of duties — scriptures that talk about people with different roles in life should do, a marriage service, a baptism service, Christian questions and answers.
Over the centuries, the catechism became so popular teachers wanted more questions and answers that addressed the theological issues of the day. Thus many catechisms have explanation sections with bible stories, scriptures that support the points of these questions and many other things. That is how the book grew to what we know it today.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: With the Benediction, the service comes a close. It is the perfect closing to the Lord’s Service to His people. The Aaronic Benediction, the words given by the Lord to Aaron to speak over the assembly who waited at the services of the Tabernacle, is the bookend to the Invocation. There, the Name of the Lord was put upon the people. So now at the conclusion the Lord’s name is placed upon His people once again before they leave the sanctuary and enter into the the world to live out their daily lives in their various vocations. Not only does the congregation leave with His Name, but they also leave with His Peace.
The Aaronic Benediction used as the final words of the Liturgy is uniquely Lutheran. Note the Tri-fold blessing that the congregation receives. They are to be kept by Him, They are have His face shine upon them, and they are to receive peace. It is the perfect blessing to receive that reminds us of our baptisms as we leave the sanctuary. God goes with us into the world, just as He promised He would. For He shall never leave us but will remain with us until the end of the age.
It is a peace which is only known via Jesus Christ giving us this peace in Word and Sacrament. He serves us this peace by coming into the world to bear the burden of our sin and stand in our stead at the cross as our substitute. He acts as the great high priest who has atoned for our sin not via the blood of bull or goats but has obtained our salvation by pouring out His own blood as payment for sin. By Christ we have been reconciled to God. As the Gloria in Excelsis says, “Glory be to God on high and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” we have that peace granted to us. God’s goodwill is shining upon us. He is gracious to us on the account of Christ. And Christ our Lord speaks this peace to His faithful even now through His chosen mouth pieces, the pastors He has placed into your congregations, so that hear this good news and believe so that Christ’s peace be made your own.
I pray that this Walk Through the Liturgy has been a blessing to you. It certainly has been a joy to write this series as it has allowed me to see even more connections between the words of the Liturgy and Scripture. I pray that as you participate and receive God’s gifts for you in the Divine Service you are able to see how beautiful each piece of the Divine Service truly is and why we Lutherans do what we do in the Liturgy. It’s God serving us, and what a beautiful service He does. He serves us Jesus and the salvation won for us by Jesus all the way.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp Christ Lutheran Church Noblesville, Indiana
Encore Post: Upon the post communion collect, the liturgy is coming to a close. The pastor repeats the Salutation that he said prior to the Collect of the Day, “The Lord be with You.” The congregation responds in kind, “And with thy spirit.” Then the pastor says the phrase, “Let us bless the Lord.” This is what we call the Benedicamus, which is Latin for the phrase “Let us bless.” The hymnal gives us Psalm 103 as a biblical reference. This is great! For Psalm 103 takes us back to the reasons we should sing praise and bless the Lord. He forgives our iniquities! He redeems our lives from the pit! He crowns us with steadfast love and mercy! The congregation responds singing “Thanks be to God!” It is a fitting way to end the Liturgy of the Divine Service.
Giving thanks for what our Lord has done for us is an every Sunday event– every time the Divine Liturgy is sung. While the hymnal references the Psalm, the phrase first appears in the Torah. Moses says to bless the Lord in Deuteronomy 8:10. There Moses is preaching to the Israelites who are just about to enter into the Promised Land.
In the Benedicamus, we hear the words of Moses and the Psalmist reminding us to bless the Lord, who is merciful and gracious to us, even when we fail to recognize it as such. Think through the Liturgy. We have been in gracious presence of God! We are hearing God’s Word of Law of Gospel.
Sometimes grace does not feel like grace to us, though. Being confronted with your sin and being brought to repentance hurts. But that is the grace of our Lord at work. He does not want people to die in their sin but wants to save sinners, so the Law is good for it shows you your sins and tells you the truth of your sinful state. While that does not look like a gracious thing on the surface, it is perhaps the most gracious thing our Lord can do. He loves you that much to discipline you that you might be saved and made alive again on account of Christ your Savior, who died on the cross to redeem you from the pit and forgive your iniquities and sins.
The entire Divine Service has been leading us to see how gracious our Lord is to us. He deals with our sins by sending His Son Jesus Christ to be our Savior. So yes, we shall “Bless the Lord” and also give thanks to our God.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp Christ Lutheran Church Noblesville, Indiana
Encore Post: During the time of Distribution the congregation will more than likely sing hymns and spend time contemplating the tangible grace of their Lord Jesus Christ that they just received or will receive in the near future. Once the members of the congregation receive the Body and Blood of Christ, the pastor likely will consume whatever remains of the Sacrament. At that time, the congregation will rise to sing the beautiful song known as the Nunc Dimittis or the Song of Simeon.
St. Simeon originally sang these words when he saw the Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple forty days after his birth. For the year 2020, the 40th day after Christmas fell on a Sunday, and the church celebrated the festival known as the Purification of Mary and Presentation of our Lord. The event is recorded for us by St. Luke and is the final canticle of the Divine Service.
And with what joy you also can sing the same words! For you (in the congregation) have been waiting for this moment. In the Service of the Sacrament we are preparing for the coming of the Lord’s anointed. We sing of his coming in the Sanctus. “Blessed is He who comes!” We sing of seeing him at the altar, In His Father’s House, doing His Father’s Work, as the Lamb of God, in the Agnus Dei. And now we rejoice for we have not only seen Him and the salvation He brings for all people, but we have received and we are ready to depart in peace.
Luther does a masterful job in his hymn based off the Nunc Dimittis (938 In Peace and Joy I Now Depart). The Sacrament prepares us to die well. For in the Sacrament we have been granted forgiveness of our sins, which leads us to have confidence in Christ. “Serene and confident my heart; Stillness fills it. For the Lord has promised me That death is but a slumber.” There is also the tradition of singing this hymn at the deathbed, and if the saint dies, the verbs are then said in the past tense. Let us sing the Nunc Dimittis with confidence and joy upon receiving the Body and Blood of Christ as well as all our lives in Christ, for our salvation has been hand delivered by Christ Himself! Depart in peace!
Rev. Jacob Hercamp St. Peter’s Lutheran Church La Grange, MO
Encore Post: In early posts we talked a little bit about the terms Ordinary and Proper in terms of the Divine Service. Today we come to the final Ordinary hymn: the Agnus Dei.The hymn itself came into the Liturgy around the beginning of the 8th Century.
In light of the Sacrament of the Altar which the congregation is preparing to receive we get to actually “look upon the Lamb of God”, Jesus Christ, present in his body and blood on the altar, calling us to eat and drink it for the forgiveness of our sins. The hymn also picks up nearly all the other themes of the Divine Service liturgy.
The title “Lamb of God” comes from the statement by John the Baptist in John 1:29. However, the image of the Lamb of God is something that is everywhere in the Old Testament. The work of Atonement is prominent. The Lamb led to the slaughter now has now been slain and been sacrificed at the cross. Christ, says Paul is our Passover Lamb. Now alive again, He gives us the very things that were a sacrifice. The Lamb stands at the throne and gives his faithful people His gifts, namely forgiveness of sins and his peace.
The hymn typically has 3 stanzas, three petitions, where the congregation asks for Christ to have mercy on them in the first two stanzas. In the third, the congregation asks for the peace of Christ, which they just heard in the Pax Domini. Again, like the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer is answered in receiving the Sacrament of the Altar.
In some churches, the congregation sings this hymn while kneeling. In others congregations, they stand. As a pastor I look directly at the chalice and paten, adoring and pondering the very mystery over which I am a steward. Christ’s body and His blood is there, we all get to set our eyes on the “Lamb of God, who has come!” The petition of the Sanctus is fulfilled. The One who comes in the Name of the Lord is with us and we not only get to behold Him, but we get to now come forward to His table to be fed His body and His Blood. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Rev. Jacob Hercamp St. Peter’s Lutheran Church La Grange, MO
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.
Advent begins December 1 and with Advent, which is a time of repentance, prayer, and hope, we prepare for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ to judge both the living and the dead.
One way to prepare ourselves for this visitation and fulfillment of our salvation is to read with great joy are the Introits of Advent. For instance, the first Sunday begins with these words: “Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation.” A little later: “The Lord, he has made his light to shine upon us” (Malachi 4:1–6). This should also remind us of the prophecy of Isaiah, “Those who have dwelt in darkness, on them the light has shined” (Isaiah 9:1–2).
The Introit for the second Sunday of Advent begins this way: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord.” This is directly from the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3–5, concerning the preaching of John the Baptist. He comes to prepare the world for Christ’s ministry. John points us to Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29–34).
The third Sunday of Advent we have the exhortation of St. Paul on our minds and our lips with “Rejoice in the Lord Always, again I will say Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4–7). Jesus gives us words of comfort in the final days, for when we see the signs of the end of days such as the ones we live in now, we should lift up our heads and rejoice, for the day our salvation is near (Luke 21:25–28). And we will speak of the wonderful and merciful acts of our Lord to all people.
The final Sunday of Advent we pray in the Introit the prayer of Isaiah 64:1 “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence!” The call for Christ to return to this world for final judgement is our prayer. It is another way to say, “Come Lord Jesus, come” (Revelation 22:17–21). For those who hope in the Lord will not be put to shame when day of judgement comes. But rather for the faithful the final day will be a day of great rejoicing. We will be with all the saints who have gone before us in the faith in presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I pray that as you prepare for Christmas, you take a moment to read the introits of the Advent Season.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp St. Peter’s Lutheran Church La Grange, MO
Encore Post: As we discussed in an earlier post, non-Christian scholars, liberals and some conservative Christians, believe that the church created the celebration of Christmas to displace pagan celebrations. The reason for this conclusion is that Christians did not universally celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th. Yet the Emperor Aurelian did declare that the day be celebrated as the Birthday of Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Son). These scholars theorized that the Church decided to replace this pagan holiday with the celebration of Christ’s Birth to keep people out of the temples of this popular pagan god.
When Julius Caesar reformed the Roman calendar, December 25th fell on the winter solstice. The word solstice means “The Sun stops.” On this day, the northern hemisphere has the least amount of daylight. From this point on until the summer solstice, the Sun would seem to gain strength. So December 25th was celebrated as the beginning of its return.
Most pagan societies worship the sun as a god and Rome was no exception. Beginning with Nero Caesar, Roman emperors associated themselves with the Sun God Sol and its Greek equivalent, Ἕλιος (Helios). This god became a favorite of the Roman armies. As Christianity became more widely believed in Rome, pagan Emperors increased the persecution of the Church. Aurelian promoted the worship of Sol as a kind of pledge of allegiance and promoted December 25th in the same kind of way Americans celebrate July 4th. When Constantine the Great came to be Emperor, he ended the government sponsorship of the worship of Sol.
So, did the Church decide to put Christmas on December 25th to counter the worship of the Sun? Not exactly. There is no reference to the celebration of Sol Invictus in the works of the Early Church fathers related to the date of Christmas. It appears that the reverse is the case, that the Emperor instituted the pagan festival in order to counter the rise of Christianity and the first celebrations of Christmas on the date.
The early church did associate the metaphor of the Sun with Jesus, but not because of the Roman holiday. The Prophet Malachi had prophecies of the Messiah that he would be “The Sun of Righteousness” who would rise with healing in his rays. In the earliest Christmas sermons, this theme was often used. The church did use the occasion to its advantage, but not always successfully. Christians would retain ancient customs, but would pour new meaning into them. Over time, Jesus would become the reason for the season.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
With yesterday we looked at how Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, how He humbled himself to the place of servant even though He was the master, and the one who deserved to be served. He served His disciples last night attempting to prepare them for the greater service and humiliation of the very Son of God going to the cross for the sin of the world.
To suffering the Lamb goes. And all this He does willingly out of His great an amazing love for you. No sin too great no sin too small. All sins are dealt with on this day once and for all. The wrath for all the sin of the world is poured out on this one Man, the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Poured out on Him instead of you. And He loves you so much that He would rather take upon Himself the punishment than see you languish under the eternal condemnation of the Law. It’s a Good Friday for you.
Last night we heard how the Lord’s love is continual and perpetual. He loves His own until the end. And today my dear friends in Christ Jesus, this love is made even more manifest for you. Behold the very Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the One who takes your sin away. He is the one who pours out his blood for you and for your salvation. God became man for this very day, to serve you in this way. It’s a Good Friday for you.
Know His love, feel His embrace. See how He loves His own. How he nurtures and takes care of His bride. He lays down His life. By His stripes we are healed. He drinks the cup put before Him and fills that cup now with His own blood that we might have His life in us. And have it abundantly at that. It’s a Good Friday for you.
The cross that was a barren thing, a couple pieces of dead wood nailed together are now the place where life is given to you freely. It is your tree of life. You have your life because of the Life that hangs on the tree. He pours out His blood, and gives it you. Come and receive your life from His cross. Eat of his flesh and drink of his blood for these you have His love and His life now in you. It’s a Good Friday is for you.
See the Love of God in the Suffering Servant, your Lord Jesus, who set Himself like flint to go to the cross for you and your salvation, loving you unto the end. He has done it. The battle done. And you have life and have it abundantly for his sake.
Look to the cross and rejoice for the One who was long promised to come, has come. He has shown Himself by His self-sacrificial love, and He still showers us with His love and mercy via the preaching of His Word and Administration of His Sacraments. Sing the praise of Him who died upon the cross. And look to the cross for all mercy. Live in its shadow. By that, I mean to say come often to where the gifts of the Christ’s cross are given to you. Come then to the altar and have your eyes be fixed on Jesus on the cross. Baptism and Christ’s Supper only have their power by the event of the cross. By these Sacraments you are brought to the cross, and your eyes oriented on Christ’s sacrifice and love for you. It’s a Good Friday for you.
In the account of St. John 13 from last night, Jesus told His disciples where He was going the disciples could not come at first. He is speaking about the cross. He is speaking about his death. He must confront and battle Satan and death and defeat them for us. And by His death He conquers death once and for all. Death is swallowed up. Death took a bite of the wrong guy for He has power over death. And so now you do not need to fear death but rather look to the cross and our Lord’s passion. The cross takes the terror of death away. For your sins are taken away for the sake of Him who died for you loving you unto the end. It’s a Good Friday for you.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp St. Peter’s Lutheran Church La Grange, MO
