Worship – What Does This Mean?

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Words of our Lord Part 2

Encore Post: [Nineteenth post in a series on the Divine Service] In today’s installment of our walk through the liturgy, we will spend some time talking about the first part of the “Words of our Lord” namely the words concerning the bread.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”

We should remember that this was a Passover Meal, commemorating God’s greatest act of salvation to date for Israel. However, on this night, the meal between Jesus and His Disciples would begin to unveil the act of salvation to which the Passover points and is fulfilled once and for all by his all availing sacrifice at the cross.

Dr. Arthur Just, Jr. in his fabulous book Heaven on Earth: The Gifts of Christ in the Divine Service, lays out the events that take place during a “Passover Meal”, for a sketch of the events of the Passover meal liturgy see pages 59-62. We learn that there is eating, then teaching at the table, where the story of the exodus would be retold and the food interpreted accordingly, followed by more eating, etc.

Luke is the most thorough Gospel concerning the events of Jesus’ Last Supper, telling us about two cups of wine (See Luke 22:17-18 and 22:20). They are not the same cup, according to Passover Liturgy.

As part of the Passover Meal Liturgy, the food itself would be interpreted by the host of meal. This is where the words of institution come into play. Jesus interprets the bread concerning himself! And it is given up “on behalf of you” (Luke 22:19). In the other accounts, there is no atonement language spoken over the bread. Thanks be to God for multiple accounts from the Gospels, catching and pointing out each detail so that our theology may be as rich as possible. Christ’s body is part of the sacrifice for our atonement!

Let us also note: Jesus’ words concerning the bread being his body. Is means Is! There is no way around what Jesus says. There is no other way to interpret Jesus’ own words. This is My Body. What we get when we receive the Sacrament is exactly what Jesus says we get: His Body. This is the same body given up for you at the cross, buried, and raised on the third day. This is the same body as the body which ascended to the right hand of the Father.

How it literally happens, we will never know on this side of heaven. That is why it is called a sacrament — a mystery. We will look at the second part of the words of our Lord concerning the cup next.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

A Walk Through the Liturgy: What’s Not There

Encore Post: [Seventeenth post in a series on the Divine Service] In my last post about the liturgy, we talked at length about the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer being fulfilled by the forthcoming events of the Service of the Sacrament. However, I failed to mention anything about the doxological (giving of praise) ending of the Prayer. With this post I am going to attempt to talk more about the conclusion of the prayer in the context of the service as well as discuss something that is no longer found in our Divine Services: The Eucharistic Prayer.

If you noticed at least when following the 3rd Setting of the Divine Service, in the Lutheran Service Book, the petitions are pointed for chanting by the Pastor and the ending is to be sung by the congregation. Some congregations forego the chanting altogether and speak the Prayer aloud. We ought to remember that Matthew and Luke do not record such a conclusion, “For thine is Kingdom and the Power…” That addition, while a good and right addition, came out of the wisdom of the Church. For with those words, the Church confesses of the Father that He is able to bring all these petitions to actualization. And perhaps that is why the entire congregation is encouraged to sing joyfully the conclusion. They confess with own voices the whole Church’s belief in the Father to whom the Pastor just prayed on the congregation’s collected behalf.

Now to the prayer that no longer shows up in Lutheran Divine Services: The Eucharistic Prayer. In the Early Church (and still found in The Roman Catholic Church) the Eucharistic Prayer came right on the heels of the Lord’s Prayer. Eucharist means “Thanksgiving” so in a way this prayer was a prayer of thanksgiving recounting and rehearsing the deeds of salvation the Lord has done on behalf of His people. Many of the ancient Eucharist prayers rehearse the stories of the Old Testament stretching into the story of Jesus and also including the night of Christ’s betrayal (the Greek word, παραδίδωμι, means betrayal as well as handing down a tradition), which as Jesus says should be remembered.

However, these Eucharistic Prayers began to get quite long, and unfortunately, poor theology crept into the prayers. With that came poor and bad practice from the priests and the believers. In particular, the Eucharistic Prayers because to weave in the idea that the priest was actually “re-sacrificing” Christ on the Altar as an “un-bloody” sacrifice. And this sacrifice was not just a sacrifice of thanksgiving, but a sacrifice given to God that was considered to be propitiatory (See Council of Trent Sess. XXII, can. iii; also see The Apology of the Augsburg Confession about this HERE.) Let us remember there is only one sacrifice for the propitiation for sins: Jesus Christ. Also inside the Eucharistic Prayer was the oblation and intercession for all living as well as all those dead (see a contemporary document concerning oblation and intercession HERE.)

On top of all that, the Words of our Lord were prone to get lost in the middle of the Eucharistic Prayers because of all the extra stuff that came after the recounting of the deeds of the Lord (oblation, intercession, etc.). With that, you should begin to see why Lutherans have shied away from the use of the Eucharistic Prayer within the Divine Service. However, there are some pieces of the concept which still are found in our Liturgy of the Sacrament. For instance, it is good and right that we should recall the works of God, and we in the Proper Preface. The Words of our Lord from the night of his betrayal take center stage, and next time will pick the service with those precious words of our Lord. Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Sanctus

Encore Post: [Fifteenth post in a series on the Divine Service] 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.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

Worship is About God’s Gifts to You

Encore Post: In most churches, worship is about what Christians do to glorify God. It is about praying, giving contributions to support the work of the Church, singing your song, and dedicating yourself to follow Jesus. Lutherans understand worship as all about what God gives to us — Absolution, God’s Word read, sung by us and preached to us, and the Sacraments, especially the Lord’s Supper, where Jesus gives us his body to eat with bread and his blood to drink with wine. In these gifts, his means of grace, mysteriously, God places and strengthens faith in our hearts, gives us the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. We sing his praises, pray to him at his invitation, and offer the sacrifice of our lives to thank him for these gifts.

So, worship really is not about us — it is about God’s gifts. God invites us to gather together the same way that our mothers and fathers gathered for dinner. When we call us to eat a well-prepared, delicious feast, we don’t say “Do I have to eat it?” or “But we just had a big dinner last week!” We get up and hurry to receive this wonderful gift of our host’s love and enjoy the time together with those we love.

So, the question we should ask ourselves and each other is not: “Do we have to go to church?” but really is “Do we get to go to church?” The Lord and Creator of the Universe is coming to church. He is the same Jesus who loved us so much that he became one of us, suffered, died and rose again so that he could give us his gifts, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. So, let’s go and unwrap them!

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2018-2024 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

The Sabbath Rest

Encore Post: The Sabbath rest is ancient. God himself rested on the seventh day, just after he created the world in six days. When God gave his law to his people the command to rest on the seventh day made the top ten. God knew that working without rest would damage his creatures. So he built it in — rest every night and the seventh day. It provided time for his people to worship and to meditate on his word.

Yet for Christians the day they worship — and rest — is a matter of freedom. It belongs to the civil law, the law for the nation of Israel. It is not a part of the moral law, the law for all people. We know this because Jesus called himself “the Lord of the Sabbath” and St. Paul describes that freedom in Romans and Colossians. Still the church chose from the beginning to rest every Sunday, the first day of the week, to remember the Resurrection of Jesus.

While Christians should worship God every and any day, resting on Sunday brings with it the opportunity to hear God’s word preached, to receive his gifts of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, to meet with each other and pray for each other and to study the Word of God. It not so much that we have to go to church than that we get to go to church. At many times and in many places that freedom does not exist.

So we honor Sundays and Holy Days. We use the opportunity to receive the forgiveness of sins and bread for our daily lives. We rejoice to honor our Lord Jesus, who died for us, rested in the tomb three days and rose again, so that we might rest with him forever.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Concordia Theological Seminary

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Blog Post Series

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Benediction

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.

And the congregation upon receiving this blessing sings the Triple Amen. Yes, yes, it shall be so. Yes, Lord let is be so, now and always.

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

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Benedicamus

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

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Nunc Dimittis

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.

We should not miss the richness of the event when Simeon first uttered these words which we now sing after receiving the Sacrament. Simeon had been promised he would see the Lord’s Christ before he would die. We don’t know how long he had to wait for this to happen, but if was anything like the Old Testament, Simeon had been expecting Jesus for a good long while. And finally, he finds Jesus right where He ought to be found, in His Father’s House! And it is with joy that Simeon sings, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

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

To Block Post Series

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Agnus Dei

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

It’s a Good Friday For You

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.

The author of the sermon letter to the Hebrews speaks of our Lord going to the cross with joy. He saw the joy that would come from his sacrifice on the cross. He saw the joy of your salvation. You and the world being welcomed back into the Father’s embrace. Christ our Lord cries out on the cross, in agony and pain, but he carries it through to the end. Until your salvation is accomplished. Then like he said, he laid down his life on his own accord. He gave up his spirit and said, “It is finished.”

The great high priest, the God Man Jesus came with his body and offered it as the once and for all sacrifice for sins. This He does to fulfill all righteousness and all the words of the prophets. God with us from the womb unto the tomb. He endured it all and did it with joy because He knew what His sacrifice would win: your salvation. 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