That's the question on everyone's mind when he comes into a Lutheran church for the first time. Rightly so. Here are some answers to different variations of that question, even if you're not asking it. More of these will be posted as they become available. If you have questions you'd like answered, feel free to ask.
We worship our Lord in a building with ornate architecture, lots of flowers, and stained glass windows, not just a house. We dress our pastor in vestments, not just everyday clothes. And we sing and chant rather than simply speaking. Why?
We adorn everything in the Church with beauty. Sung words are arguably more beautiful than spoken words. Simply, God gets our best, not just our everyday. Because chanting is something we never encounter in our everyday lives, it marks the time in the Divine Service as something truly unique. Like nothing else in our lives, in the Divine Service, our Lord meets us with his good gifts. That simply doesn’t happen in the same way anywhere else. So it should feel, look, and sound different when we gather in the Lord’s house.
Song is also the Biblical pattern of worship. The hymn book of the Bible? Psalms, which simply means “songs” in Greek. And from its earliest days, the Christian Church has always chanted and sung in worship. The Te Deum, which is part of the Matins service, is as old as the creeds and held in the same high regard. Imagine the difference if the Te Deum were only spoken. O Come, O Come Emmanuel is a collection of seven ancient chants known as the O Antiphons.
Chanting also allows us to hear things differently than if they were simply spoken. In song we can vary things like cadence and pitch in order to stress certain words and elements. While chanting parts of the service like the Introit, Gradual, Prayers, and Scripture readings dates back to first centuries of the church, chanting the Words of Institution is a relatively recent, Lutheran-only invention. Until the Reformation, the Words of Institution were mumbled by the priest, inaudible to parishioners. Because, through the Reformation, the Lord restored His Word and Sacraments to their proper places in the life of the Church, we gladly chant the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and our responses as a congregation.
Through chants and song, we repeat to the Lord His words which He has given to us. In this, the Lord is praised and His people are edified by His promises.
Christians aren’t very creative. We seem to get stuck in the same old habits, telling the same old stories. Every Christmas heralds the same story of the birth of Jesus. And, as sorrowful as we might get on Good Friday, we know that Easter will bring the same good news of the same Resurrection we celebrated last year.
That’s a good thing. The story of salvation is so counter to what we’re prone to believe that it needs to be repeated yearly, weekly, even daily. And the way that the Lord has preserved this repetition through His Church is with the Church Year.
The Year of the Church, like the calendar year, has seasons and patterns. But it focuses on three significant events. Easter, the Resurrection of our Lord, is the most significant. After that, Christmas, the Nativity of our Lord, is second. And the season of Pentecost is third.
The year begins with Advent, the season of anticipation for the “coming” of Jesus. This season anticipates both His coming at Christmas and also His coming once-and-for-all at His return. Advent has both a preparatory as well as a penitential mood to it. Then follows Christmas, always on December 25th. The Season of Christmas continues until the season of Epiphany. Epiphany is actually an older celebration than Christmas (second only to Easter) that celebrates the manifestation of Jesus as both God and man. Epiphany is also when we celebrate the Magi (who represent all nations) coming to visit Jesus. After Epiphany is Lent, the penitential season preparing us for Easter. Lent culminates in Holy Week, and the season of Easter begins with the Easter Eve service, the Easter Vigil. 50 days after Easter is Pentecost, an Old Testament harvest festival that now celebrates the “harvest” of believers for Christ. Marking the outpouring of the Holy Spirit onto the disciples, Pentecost is also the birthday of the Church.
Throughout these seasons, we celebrate significant events in the life of Jesus. 8 days after his birth, he was circumcised and given His Name (this coincides with New Years). During Epiphany, we celebrate our Lord’s Baptism as well as his first miracle. Epiphany ends with the Festival of the Transfiguration, the manifestation of Jesus’ glory to His disciples.
The Church Year also marks several other festivals, including the commemoration of Saints and Martyrs of the faith, Festivals of Mary that were significant in our Lord’s life (the Annunciation, the Purification of Mary, and the Visitation), the Lutheran Reformation, commemorations of other Church Fathers, and more.
The Church Year patterns our lives around the story of Salvation and keeps it at the forefront of our minds year after year.
Epiphany is one of the oldest seasons in the church year, second only to Easter (Yes, Virginia, even older than Christmas). From the Greek word meaning “manifestation,” Epiphany celebrated the events of Jesus’ early life and ministry, particularly emphasizing His Baptism in the Jordan and His first miracle, making wine from water at the wedding in Cana. Epiphany was also the earliest celebration of Christ’s birth, his manifestation as God and Man. Later, with the inclusion of Matthew 2:1-12 as the Gospel reading for the day, Christians used the day to celebrate Christ’s manifestation to the Gentiles.
Epiphany is always celebrated on January 6 (this year, it just happens to be on a Sunday) as a festival of light. Jesus is the Light of the world (John 8:12), the Light who shines in darkness (John 1:5), the One in whose presence we have no need of sun or moon (Revelation 21:23). He was born as God’s promised Redeemer not just for the Jews but for all people. As wise men came from the East to worship this young Savior and adore Him with gifts, so we celebrate that the Lord took on human flesh to redeem all people.
Because of its celebration of Christ’s manifestation to all people, Epiphany is a season to emphasize evangelism. Preaching on today’s Gospel reading C.F.W. Walther, the first president of the Missouri Synod said, “Unfortunately, in our day, far too many people, including those who are undeniably Christians, think that the mission to the Gentiles, while laudable, is something they can do or not do. With so much distress in the worls, they believe that the burden of missions should not be imposed on the Church as a potential hindrance to other important work. Such Christians are in error. The Christian Church is a debtor to the whole world that remains outside Christ. They are responsible for the lighting of the heavenly star of the Word for the poor Gentiles and leading them to Bethlehem. The Church is the fruitful mother out of whose womb more children should be born for God.”
The Lord continues to shine the star of His Gospel, His Word and Sacraments, His gifts that bestow forgiveness and new life, for all nations.
The three Sundays prior to Lent are the short season of Pre-Lent. Septuagesima, from the Latin word for “seventy” is three weeks before the start of Lent, or roughly 70 days before Easter. Sexagesima, the next Sunday, comes from the Latin word for sixty. And Quinquagesima, the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday, comes from the Latin word for fifty. These Sundays are also called the Gesima Sundays, after their names.
This short season of Pre-Lent causes us to prepare for the Lenten fast. As we consider what we will be lacking for the season of Lent, these Sundays focus our attention on the only things needful. Against the false theology of the Roman church, the 16th century Lutheran reformers emphasized the sufficiency of God’s grace, His Word, and Faith in Christ. From these emphases came the Reformation solas: “Sola Gratia, Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide” (Grace alone, Scripture alone, Faith alone).
Each of these three Sundays emphasizes one of these three solas. The readings and prayers for Septuagesima emphasize God’s Grace as sufficient to save us. His grace is a gift, which He gives to those who have received the gift of faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:24). Sexagesima emphasizes the sufficiency of God’s Word alone. Jesus Christ, the Divine Word of God, became flesh (John 1:14), lived, died on the cross, and rose for us. This Word, Jesus Christ, is also the preached and written Word of God. All Scripture and all sermons proclaim Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23). Quinquagesima emphasizes the sufficiency of God’s gift of faith. He saves us apart from our ability to earn His favor and gives us saving faith in Jesus as a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Given the clear focus of these Sundays on the sufficiency of Christ’s death on the cross to reconcile sinners to God, it’s little wonder that the Roman church, with its emphasis on works as the means to merit God’s good favor, eliminated this little season when creating the three-year lectionary in 1969.
As we prepare for the penitential season of Lent, our joy is muted a bit in Pre-Lent. Having sung goodbye to “Alleluia,” we will not sing or speak it again until the Vigil of Easter or with fellow saints around the throne of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. We also refrain from singing the Gloria in Excelsis, the joyous song of the angels at the birth of Jesus, until Easter Sunrise. The paraments and vestments are violet, a color of sorrow and repentance, and there are no flowers on the altar.
This season focuses our attention on the work of Christ to atone for our sins completely and to give us this forgiveness freely. It also makes us look forward with longing for the day of the celebration of our Lord’s triumph over death: both at the Festival of His Resurrection and at His ultimate return.
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8-10)
Before the Divine Service begins (at the Introit, which begins the Service of the Word), we confess our sins. In Confession, “God’s Word has its way with us,” causing us Godly sorrow over our sins. Struck by the truth of our failure to obey the Lord’s Commandments, we speak words of repentance. We confess how we have sinned “in what we have done and in what we have left undone.” We sin both by action and by inaction. Some sins we know of; some sins we don’t. Even our very nature is sinful, as the words of Confession indicate.
But no sooner do we speak of our sinfulness than the Lord responds in Holy Absolution. Through the words of His appointed servant the pastor, Jesus says “I forgive you.” We can have confidence that these words, though spoken by a human mouth, are words from God himself. Jesus said to the disciples, the first ones to occupy this Office of the Holy Ministry, “If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” (John 20:23) The Lutheran Confessions, a summary and explanation of Holy Scripture, say “It is not the voice or word of the man who speaks it, but it is the Word of God, who forgives sin, for it is spoken in God’s stead and by God’s command.” (AC XXV.3) And when the Lord speaks words of forgiveness, because He is the One who died to forgive all sins, we have great confidence and comfort in these words.
Confession and Absolution has not always been a public service. For centuries, it was something done privately to one’s pastor. There, in private, a person could confess the sins that were particularly troubling him. Then to that person and especially of those particular sins, the pastor would speak the Lord’s words: “I forgive you.” While Private Confession and Absolution has fallen out of disuse in the Church in the past century, this is not healthy. The Lutheran Confessions say “Private absolution should be retained in the churches and not be allowed to fall into disuse.” (AC XI) This is not an obligation but a wonderful opportunity which our Lord gives to us to hear His forgiveness applied to the sins which trouble our consciences most. When the Small Catechism speaks of Confession and Absolution, it refers mostly to its being done in private. Even our hymnals (Lutheran Worship and Lutheran Service Book) contain orders for Private Confession and Absolution. Because this is a treasure which our Lord gives us, the opportunity will be available weekly for you to confess your sins and receive absolution privately. Check the weekly calendar.
Confession and Absolution is just the beginning of our dialogue with our Lord as we gather for His Service.
“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?’” (John 3:1-4)
Born again? You’ve heard that phrase before, no doubt. Jesus was the first one to use it. And it confused Nicodemus. What does it mean to be born again? Jesus answered Nicodemus: “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (Jn. 3:5)
Reborn. Of water and the Spirit. That’s Holy Baptism. But not until the end of Jesus’ ministry do we learn exactly what this means: “Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
Baptism and teaching go hand-in-hand to “make disciples” of Jesus, those who are “born again,” who will enter the kingdom of God. But watching a Baptism seems fairly ordinary. There’s nothing special about the water that’s used. Plain, ordinary tap water. But ordinary water, combined with the extraordinary name of God, because of the Lord’s promise, makes disciples. Of Baptism, the Apostle Paul says, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” In ordinary water, the Lord places his extraordinary name upon you, making you his disciple, his child, and the heir to eternal life. Baptism is death and new life.
And just like you had no hand in choosing when and how (or even if) your first birth happened, such is your role in your second birth. The Lord does it all. He forgives your sins (Acts 2:38); He saves you (1 Peter 3:21); He gives you faith and raises you to new life (Colossians 2:12). “Although is it performed by human hands, it is nevertheless truly God’s own act.” (Large Catechism, “Concerning Baptism,” 10)
Holy Baptism, like Holy Absolution, is just another marvelous way our Lord lavishes His gifts upon us. He works in ways that seem altogether simple (water, words) to accomplish the impossible: salvation. Because He is the one who acts, we have confidence in the new birth He gives to us.
“’I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘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. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.’” (John 6:51-56)
Eating flesh? Drinking blood? What in the world is Jesus talking about?
When He institutes His Supper (recorded in Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and 1 Corinthians 11), taking bread, breaking it and giving thanks, Jesus says “Take and eat. This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Then he takes a cup of wine, gives thanks, and says to his disciples, “Take and drink. This is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Just as through Baptism the Lord gave to us the gift of faith, whereby we receive the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation, so in His holy Supper, he feeds us with His Body and His Blood which, when received by faith, give to us the same forgiveness, life, and salvation.
But Jesus’ body has ascended and “sits at the right hand of God the Father.” How can we eat of His Body and drink of His Blood? Who knows exactly “how,” but the Lord’s words “This is my body…This is my blood” leave no room for doubt. Certainly the one who created all things with a Word can likewise make ordinary bread and ordinary wine to be His very Body and Blood. The Apostle Paul says, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16)
This holy meal gives us a “foretaste of the feast to come,” that is, the eternal banquet of our Lord with His people when He returns in glory. The Divine Service builds to and climaxes here: in the Lord’s Supper. Here we see, touch, smell, and taste the very Body and Blood of our Lord which he gave for our salvation. There simply is no greater interaction with the Lord anywhere in our lives than here at His Altar, where He has promised to meet us.
Here again, we have confidence in our Lord’s words and in His promise, because He alone is the Actor. He gives; we receive. It’s the nature of a gift.
“Catholic” is not a bad word. Nothing should be avoided simply because it is “too Catholic.” The word “catholic” comes from the combination of two Greek words: kata + holos; it means universal, or “according to the whole Christian Church.” The true, catholic Church may be found where the Gospel is rightly proclaimed and the Sacraments rightly administered (Augsburg Confession, Article VII).
Christians have since the earliest years of the Church used the sign of the cross as a mark of faith. The first time the sign of the cross is made is at a person’s Baptism, when the Lord places His holy Triune Name upon a person, giving him the gift of faith and the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation.
The sign of the cross eventually was used by all the baptized as a reminder of their baptisms and a mark of the faith which has been given to them.
You may likewise make the sign of the cross. The sign of the cross is made by placing the thumb together with the first two fingers (as a reminder of the three-fold Name of God which was placed upon us at Baptism). Touch your head at the Name of the Father, the center of the chest at the Name of the Son, and the right shoulder then the left shoulder at the Name of the Holy Spirit.
Because the Lord’s Service begins in His Triune Name, and because our Christian lives began in the same name, the first place in the Service to make the sign of the cross is at the Invocation. At Holy Absolution, forgiveness is given to those who, by faith, repent of their sins. As the pastor makes the sign of the cross before you, it is appropriate to make it over yourself, as well. As the Service officially begins with the Introit, you may make the sign of the cross as the first line of the Introit is chanted.
At the reading of the Holy Gospel, you either may make the sign of the cross before you or you may make a small cross upon your forehead, your lips, and your heart, praying “May the Gospel be upon my mind, my lips, and my heart.” Because the Creeds are statements of the faith given to us, you may make the sign of the cross at the conclusion of any Creed.
As you receive the Lord’s Holy Body and Blood, it is also appropriate to make the sign of the cross. And as the pastor speaks the Lord’s Benediction to you, you may again make the sign of the cross.
Outside the Service, Luther encouraged Christians to make the sign of the cross at each hour of prayer: morning, noon, evening, and bedtime. This is a simple reminder Christians may use (though is not required) to remind themselves of the faith given to them and the Triune Name of God which was placed upon us at Baptism. It is also an easy thing to teach children to help them recall the gifts the Lord has given to them.
The word “vestment” comes from the Latin vestimentum, meaning “clothing.” Vestments are the official clothing, or “uniforms,” for those who preside at the Lord’s Service. They serve a dual role: they cover up the man and point instead to the Office of Christ, the Office through which the Lord distributes His gifts; and they demonstrate a continuity with the Christian community throughout history.
Special uniforms for the clergy date into the Old Testament, where God instructs Moses to “make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty” (Ex. 28:2). Paul was likely speaking of vestments when he instructs Timothy to bring to him a cloak he left behind (2 Tim. 4:13). Around 330 AXD the Emperor Constantine gave a gold robe to Macarius to preside over Easter baptisms. And in the sixth century, a Church council in Narbonne declared the alb the official dress for Christian worship.
The use of vestments continued in the church until, at the time of the Reformation (16th century), radical reformers sought to jettison vestments altogether to demonstrate their break with Roman Catholicism. While most Lutherans retained the traditional vestments, followers of other reformers favored the black gowns of the academic elite. These black “Geneva gowns” even came to predominate in American Lutheranism until the mid 20th century when the historic vestments were reintroduced.
Different from the flowing black Geneva gown, the black Cassock is not technically a vestment. It was simply the common, every-day “uniform” of the clergy. Nowadays, the clergy shirt has come to replace the cassock as everyday apparel. It’s a sign of service, not of prestige. Just like policemen are identifiable by their uniforms and doctors by their scrubs (while police chiefs and hospital administrators are found in less-humble attire), so are pastors identifiable by their uniform.
For services where the Lord’s Supper is not celebrated, a Surplice, a white flowing robe, is worn over the cassock. For services with the Lord’s Supper, the white robe is the Alb. These white garments are like the white robes given to all the Saints (Rev. 6:11) who await the Lord’s return.
The Stole is a long, thin scarf-like cloth draped over the pastor’s shoulders that matches the liturgical color of the Church Year. This is a preaching vestment. In services where the Lord’s Supper is received, the presiding minister wears a Cassock over the alb and stole. This large, poncho-like vestment also follows the colors of the Church Year. This, more than any other vestment, covers up the man and focuses the attention of the communicants to the Office through which the Lord gives out His gifts.
Like everything else around us in the Service, vestments serve to draw our attention away from ourselves and our everyday lives to see the Lord’s Day and have confidence in His extraordinary gifts.
As the changing colors of the leaves tells of the changing seasons, so the changing colors in the church mark the changing seasons of the Church Year. The paraments, “clothing” for the sanctuary, change color with the seasons, as do some of the pastor’s vestments.
White, the color of innocence and purity, is the color for major festivals in the Church Year: the Lord’s Birth, Baptism, Resurrection, and Transfiguration. White is also the color for Trinity Sunday. As the Lord gives His righteousness to His saints white is the color for the feast days of saints who were not martyred (killed for their faith).
Purple is a royal color. It was also an expensive color to manufacture. As such, it required much sacrifice for most people to be able to purchase purple garments. So purple is the color of repentance and preparation in Lent. Purple was the traditional color for Advent, too.
While blue is usually a Marian color (the Virgin Mary is often depicted in blue), in the last 30 years it has become a popular color for Advent even in many Lutheran churches. Like purple, blue dye was expensive, so it was used for royalty and evoked feelings of self-sacrifice, as well. The use of blue distinguishes Advent from Lent as a slightly less penitential season.
Red is the color of blood and fire. As such, it is used on Pentecost and other festivals of the Holy Spirit (Reformation, missions, ordination). Red is also used on feast days of saints who were martyred.
Green is the color of growth and is used for the season of the Church (After Pentecost until the end of the Church Year).
Black is used on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as the color of sorrow over sins. Rose or pink is used on Sundays of Joy amid otherwise penitential seasons. The 3rd Sunday of Advent is Gaudate Sunday, a slight break in the penitential nature of Advent. And the 4th Sunday in Lent is Laetare Sunday, a slight break from the penitential season of Lent. Gold is an alternate color for Christmas and Easter. Scarlet (darker than red) is often the color of Passion Week (Palm Sunday, Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Holy Saturday).
As the changing colors of the calendar seasons can affect our moods and tell the story of the changing year, so also the changing colors of the Church Year are designed to guide us along with the “mood” of the Church’s seasons. Some times are more festive and joyous; some are more somber and penitent. All the while, the Church retells the story of Christ born and crucified for sinners both each Sunday and each year.
We communicate not only with words, but also with our actions. Body language communicates what words cannot and makes emphases that words cannot. So it is in church. We “speak” with our bodies, as well as our mouths, especially given the profound mysteries of Salvation (Ephesians 3; 6:19; Colossians 1:26-27).
Sometimes the pastor faces the congregation; sometimes the altar. Facing the congregation is called the sacramental position and is done when the pastor is speaking to the congregation on behalf of the Lord. Facing the altar is called the sacrificial position, when the pastor is speaking to the Lord on behalf of the congregation. “He is not a mediator between God and man, but he is the ordained and authorized ambassador of God to the people and the mouthpiece and delegate of the priestly body, the church, before God.”
At times we stand; other times we sit. Standing is reverential and is done to honor and praise the Lord. Sitting is something we do to learn, which is why we do it during the readings from Holy Scripture and during hymns. We stand for the reading of the Holy Gospel to praise and honor Christ, and we stand for hymn verses that praise the Triune God.
Kneeling is an expression of repentance and humility. It is the normal posture for confession of sins and prayer on penitential days. Bowing and genuflecting are signs of adoration and respect. Genuflecting is touching the ground with one knee, the most profound bow. As the altar is the symbol of God’s presence, it is always appropriate to bow or genuflect toward the altar: when entering or leaving the church, when approaching or departing the altar for the Lord’s Supper, and when entering or leaving the chancel.
Because of the profound mystery of Christ’s taking on human flesh to save us, it is appropriate to genuflect or to bow deeply during the Nicene Creed when one confesses “and was made man.” And because Jesus is truly present in, with, and under visible bread and wine, it is proper to worship Him even in these elements. As the pastor raises the host and the chalice in the consecration, you may worship Jesus as Thomas did: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). When the pastor holds the host before your eyes, it is also proper to adore Jesus’ body. At the words “The Body of Christ, given for you,” you may look at the host and say quietly “Amen.”
A head bow, done by bending the neck, is slightly less profound than a body bow (bending at the waist). It has long been a custom in the church to bow one’s head at the holy name of Jesus whenever it is spoken in the service (Philippians 2:10). We also bow our heads to receive gifts. Thus it is appropriate to bow one’s head when the pastor says “The Lord be with you,” and he bows his head as you speak to him “And with thy spirit.”
These simple gestures and postures teach and remind us of the One we worship: the One who created us, redeemed us, and daily provides for us.
Music is a vital part of the Church’s worship. Moses sang a hymn recounting the work of the Lord delivering His people from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 15:2-21). Mary sang a hymn when Gabriel announced she would give birth to the Messiah (Luke 1:46-55). The Church that the Lord will gather at His return will also sing with the angels and all Saints the 7-stanza hymn in Revelation (19:6-8-the final stanza). And all times in between, the Church is singing.
Jesus sang Psalms with His disciples after instituting the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:30). Paul and Silas witness to the Lord’s saving work, singing hymns in prison (Acts 16:25). Paul exhorted congregations to sing “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19). Clearly hymns are important.
As music grew more and more elaborate, it eventually was relegated only to choirs and cantors. By the fifteenth century, worshippers were only listening to hymns sung by choirs. The unique participatory nature of the Lord’s Service was being lost. In response to this error and in opposition to other reformers who sought to eliminate eusic altogether, Luther wrote, “I am not pleased with those who, like all the fanatics, despise music. Music is a gift of God, not of men. Music drives away the devil and makes people happy; in the presence of music, one forgets all hate, unchastity, pride, and other vices. After theology I accord music the highest place and the greatest honor.” Because of this biblical emphasis on music and participation, the Lutheran reformers reintroduced hymns and congregational singing to the Church.
The chief function of music in worship is “to communicate the truths of God’s Word to His gathered guests.” Hymns are both instruments to teach and also vessels for praise. As the congregation learns through the pattern of the liturgy of God’s work to redeem humanity through Jesus death on the cross, she responds in praise and in confession of faith.
“Hymns are sacred poetry set to music.” We do well to use hymns as tools to teach our selves and each other truths of the Christian faith. The texts of hymns work well to be memorized and recalled at important times. In times of doubt or distress, a memorized hymn or verse can remind one of the work God has done for us through Jesus.
Hymn tunes are also important as they fit within the mood of the season of the Church year. During penitential, reflective times like Advent and Lent, hymn tunes are more somber-sounding. During joyous seasons like Easter and Epiphany, festive, jubilant tunes join with celebrative texts.
Hymns and music in the Service, unlike normal speech, are the highest form of worship and praise. They unite us not only with those around us as we sing together but also with all the faithful departed who await the Lord’s return and with all angels around the Lord’s throne.
Everyone loves a parade.
You may notice a new cross and candles in the front of the church today. This is a processional crucifix and processional torches. These are reminiscent of the most ancient crosses used in worship. Before crosses and candles were on the altar, they were carried into the church in a procession at the beginning of the service.
This procession at the beginning of the service drew the focus of the worshippers to the One whose presence drew them together for worship. One of the Greek words for “worship” means “to bow” and comes from the combination of the Greek words for “kiss” and “toward.” It meant to prostrate your self and kiss the ground or the feet of a more important person who had come into your presence. We gather in the Lord’s house for the Divine Service because He comes to us. This is emphasized as the cross processes in. This processional “invites worshippers to visualize themselves as a pilgrim people who follow the Lord Jesus, who is represented by the processional cross.”
Entrance processionals still happen at all the major festivals of the Church Year: Christmas, Epiphany, Palm Sunday, Easter, Ascension, as well as some minor festivals. We always stand and face the cross for a processional.
Another type of processional happens in the middle of the Service of the Word. Just as the Word of God took on human flesh and “made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14), so the Gospel has come to us. In a full Gospel processional, the Word of God comes out into the midst of the congregation, and the Gospel is read or chanted from the middle of the aisle. The crucifer, carrying the processional crucifix, followed by the torchbearers, followed by the book bearer lead the procession out into the congregation. In a minor Gospel processional, the pastor processes with the Gospel book from the altar to the edge of the chancel, where the Gospel is read to the Lord’s gathered guests.
Processionals are also used at funerals, weddings, and ordinations. In a funeral procession, as a casket is brought into the church, the processional crucifix reminds us that, as Christians, our Lord leads us not only in life, but also through death to life eternal. The processional cross is then carried to the graveside for the Rite of Christian Burial. In a wedding processional, the crucifer brings the cross in before the wedding party, reminding us weddings are worship services, wherein we gather around our Lord’s presence, who leads us into His gift of marriage.
Like other signs and symbols, the procession and the processional crucifix point our attention to the only thing that matters: “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
The earliest Christian manual detailing the practice of the church is called the Didache. “Didache” means “teaching” in Green and referred to the teaching of the Apostles (dating to around A+D 50-100). The Didache instructs Christians to pray three times daily, beginning with the Lord’s Prayer. Praying at three particular hours of the day is older than the Christian church, though, as Daniel 6:10 and Psalm 55:17 refer to prayer at three times during the day. These regular hours of prayer were the daily routines for the early Christians.
By the third century, the hours had expanded from 3 (morning, noon, evening) to seven, each marking an event in the crucifixion of Jesus. According to Scripture and tradition, Jesus was bound at Matins (Midnight/3 a.m.), reviled at Lauds or Prime (3 a.m. or 6 a.m.), condemned to die at Terce (9 a.m.), nailed to the cross at Sext (Noon), pierced and died at None (3 p.m.), taken from the cross at Vespers (6 p.m.), and placed in the tomb at Compline (9 p.m.). Thus praying at these hours was a way to meditate upon Christ and His crucifixion (1 Corinthians 2:2). Once Christianity becomes an accepted religion, these become public services, called the daily offices (from the Latin officium, meaning “service”).
While seven hours a day were usually only observed by the monks, the services of Matins (Morning) and Vespers (Evening) and occasionally Compline were well attended by laity through the time of the Reformation. Luther carried on the practice, saying, “We should assemble daily at four or five in the morning and have [God’s Word] read…in the same manner as the lesson is still read at matins…In like manner, come together at five or six in the evening.”
These services of Matins and Vespers have been preserved in the treasury of Christian Liturgies in the Lutheran hymnals. More recent innovations include Morning Prayer as an alternative to Matins and Evening Prayer as an alternative for Vespers. Compline is retained as the Service at Close of Day. “Four major elements of corporate worship developed within the [daily] office: psalmody, hymnody, readings, and prayers.” The aim of these services throughout the week was and is to prepare people for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper on Sunday.
Nowadays, the pattern of our lives revolves around business schedules, sports schedules, TV schedules, and many other secular time demands. Perhaps we would do well to learn from the ancient church the practice of patterning our days after an altogether different schedule: the schedule of the canonical hours. Such a schedule reorients our thinking from ourselves and how we can best satisfy our own desires to thinking of the Lord, reflecting out His Passion, and molding our will and desires to His.
Watch the weekly calendar for opportunities to gather as the Body of Christ in these daily offices.
A “creed” is a statement of belief. The word “creed” comes from the Latin credo, “I believe.” Most Christian churches throughout the world confess three creeds: the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. By confessing these statements of faith weekly in the Divine Service, we join with countless saints who have preceded us in the faith, many of whom gave their lives in defense of the very words of the creeds. These creeds are statements of the belief of the whole Christian church and guard against imprecise, sometimes erroneous, personal statements of faith.
The Apostles’ Creed is the oldest of the creeds. It was used as the basis for instruction of adult catechumens prior to baptism. The creed takes its name from the fact that it confesses the faith handed by the Lord to His apostles and by them to the Church throughout the ages. While the creed is likely very early (within the first two centuries of the Church), its precise date and author are unknown. The creed is still used today in the sacrament of Holy Baptism as an opportunity for the baptized to confess the faith given to them in the waters of Baptism. The Apostles’ Creed confesses the truth of Christianity against the early (yet still prevalent) heresy of Gnosticism, the belief that, among other things, Christ only appeared to be man and did not really suffer.
The Nicene Creed does have a more precise date. After Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the newly-converted Emperor Constantine sought to unite his empire by settling divisions within the church. At the first Ecumenical Council of the Church in Nicaea in A+D 325, the leaders of the church penned the Creed to answer Arian heresies about the divinity of Jesus. Arius and his followers taught that Jesus was a created being, not co-eternal with the Father, and not an equal part of the Triune God. After the Council, the Nicene Creed ended with the short “And in the Holy Spirit.” Not until the second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in A+D 381 was the Third Article lengthened to confess the truth of Scripture against further heresies that confessed the Holy Spirit was not co-eternal or co-equal with the Father and the Son.
The third Ecumenical Creed, the Athanasian Creed, takes its name from Athanasius, a staunch defender of Trinitarian theology in the fourth century. The creed’s author and date are not known, although it seems to have originated in France a century or so after Athanasius. This creed is longer and more poetic than the other two and more thoroughly confesses the intricacies of Trinitarian theology. This Creed is used most often on Trinity Sunday, the Sunday after Pentecost.
Creeds are a way we speak back to God the words He has given to us. We speak these words joyfully as they are the faith which our Lord has given us. We may have confidence that they are true summaries of Holy Scripture. We do well to memorize them and speak them daily to each other.
When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He gave them the words of the Lord’s Prayer (Lk 11:1-4; Mt 6:5-15). It’s a common concern: how should we pray?
The first words Jesus gives us to pray, “Our Father who art in heaven,” are an invitation to us to pray. Only those who may call God “Father” may pray this way. Who are they? Those who have become His children through the waters and promise of Holy Baptism. Those who, by faith, are heirs of eternal life. “With these words, God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence, we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father.” (Small Catechism)
Prayer is conversation with the Lord, who is truly more loving than even the most perfect earthly father. He knows our needs, and He invites us to call on Him to fill those needs (as He does even without our prayer). It would be a terrifying thing for a sinner to have a conversation with a holy God. But because our Heavenly Father has clothed us in the righteousness of Christ (Gal 3:27), when He looks at us, He sees not our sinfulness but Christ’s righteousness. As certainly as Jesus, the Divine Son of God, approached His Father in prayer, so may we.
Imagine if it were left up to us to come up with the words to have such a holy conversation. We can only speak because we have been spoken to. Our Lord’s word “bespeaks us righteous” and we respond in prayer. And so that we might not be left to create our own prayers, Jesus gives us the Lord’s Prayer.
In the Divine Service, the Lord’s Prayer is chanted by the pastor immediately before the Words of Institution. This prayer, too, like the Verba, are words and promises from our Lord. The pastor chants them on behalf of all the Lord’s gathered people, just as he chants the collect (a prayer that changes with the theme of the day). The petitions of the collect belong to the people. They are our thanksgiving and requests of God. So after the pastor chants them, we reply with the “Amen,” saying “Yes, these are indeed our prayers!” So we sing the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer and the Amen “For Thine is the kingdom…” saying likewise, “Yes! This is our prayer!” Only in the Divine Service does the pastor pray this prayer on our behalf. In all other services, our voices join together to pray these words given to us to pray. This sets apart the Divine Service as the highest service, the one in which our Lord gives us His Body and Blood to eat and to drink for the forgiveness of sins. It is not that these words are not ours to pray or that we are not worthy to do so, but as the pastor chants them, we hear them spoken on our behalf even as Jesus prayed for His disciples.
The Lord’s Prayer saves us from ourselves. We do not need to attempt to create a new prayer every time we pray, but we may employ these words given to us by the Lord Himself, knowing He has promised to hear them.
“Liturgy” means service. It is the pattern of the Lord’s Divine Service. He comes to us with His presence and His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation, and we respond with prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.
The pattern of the Divine Liturgy is a conversation. “Every part of the historic liturgy is drawn directly from the Sacred Scriptures. This means that the liturgy is the Word of God in use…What we sing and pray in the liturgy, in every part, is something God has given us…The liturgy is Scripture in action; and so, properly understood, it is right to call it the living Word of God.”
The Divine Liturgy is the drama of salvation. The Chief Actor in this drama is the Lord Jesus Christ. In this service, he continues His high priestly office (Hebrews 7-8). Each time He gathers His Church together, the Lord delivers the gift of forgiveness, which He won by His death on the cross. And the liturgy gives us the words by which we may respond to our Lord’s gracious presence. We speak back to Him the words He has given us.
The Divine Liturgy joins Christians together. In the gathering of God’s people, there is little individualism, little self-will. Instead, there is “one body in Christ, and individually members of one another” (Romans 12:5). Having received together the gift of faith, which “bodies” us together in the Body of Christ, we speak together. We confess together. We sing together. We hear God’s Word together. But we speak together, not just with those living around us; we speak together with the church throughout all time and “with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.” “Liturgy [straddles] the gap of history so that all saints are joined in one worshiping assembly…We are on a historical continuum. The liturgy helps us reinforce where we have the same status in the kingdom of God as both prophets of old and the saints in glory.”
The liturgy is timeless. It transcends generations to unite the Lord’s church together through all ages. Defender of the faith, G. K. Chesterton said “Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who happen to be walking about.” The liturgy does this, joining our voices to those who have gone before us in the faith, those who through the liturgy, continue to instruct us.
The Divine Liturgy is the sum of everything in the Divine Service. It starts with the Invocation and finishes with the Benediction. Every part is Holy Scripture. And the liturgy speaks and reenacts the message of Holy Scripture: “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
The liturgy draws into participation in the Service, responding as our Lord lavishes His gifts upon us. It provides words to speak when we would otherwise be awestruck and silent in the presence of so loving a lord with such gracious gifts.
Sing with the Angels. That’s what you get to do in the Gloria in Excelsis. At the birth of Christ, after the Angel announced “good news of great joy” to the shepherds that “this day is born in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord,” the skies were filled with innumerable angels praising God and singing. What were they singing? The Gloria. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is well pleased.”
The Divine Service joins our voices with the Angels in the Gloria, as it also does in the Sanctus. But we also sing what the angels cannot. The good news of the birth of God in the flesh to redeem mankind through his life, death, and resurrection was good news for the shepherds (and all people), not the angels. God took on human flesh, left His heavenly dwelling, in the person of Jesus to redeem men, not angels. He died for men, not angels. And so our song continues beyond the angels’.
The second part of the Gloria praises God, not for His glory as revealed to angels, but for His glory as revealed to men—through suffering and death. The second part praises God in the person of Jesus Christ, “the only-begotten Son…the Lamb of God.” Through the death of Jesus on the Cross, God answered our prayer to “have mercy upon us” and to “receive our prayer.” The Gloria concludes with a Trinitarian doxology, praising all three Persons of the Triune Godhead. At the conclusion of the Gloria it is appropriate to make the sign of the cross.
In seasons where the mood is more somber and penitential, the Gloria is omitted. In Advent, before the celebration of our Lord’s Nativity, we don’t sing this angelic song so that our hope for the coming Day of His return may be sharpened. And in Pre-Lent and Lent, we don’t sing this joyous song for the same reason we don’t sing “alleluia.” As we fast from enjoyable things in Lent, so our voices fast from the most joyful expressions until we may sing them with the angels again on Easter or with the Angels on the Day of the Lord’s return
.The Service of the Sacrament, what the Liturgy has been building toward since the very beginning Invocation, begins in the same way the entire service began: in the name of the Lord. The dialogue between pastor and congregation known as the preface is probably the oldest part of the Divine Liturgy, dating back to the time of the Apostles, around AXD 60.
The preface is a conversation between the pastor, as the representative of the Lord, and the congregation, the guests of the Lord, whom He has gathered so that He might give them His gifts. The first line sets the tone for the entire celebration of the Lord’s Supper: “The Lord be with you.”
This is performative speech. The words do something. In these words, the Lord does come to us. He has promised “Wherever two or three are gathered in [His] name,” He is certainly there with them (Matthew 18:20). Now, as certainly as the Lord has gathered in us in His holy name in Baptism, and as certainly as the Liturgy began in the same Triune Name, the Lord is truly with us. Coming now to give us His very Body and Blood, He is truly present.
The congregation responds “And with your spirit.” This is a reaffirmation of the pastor’s ordination. Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to the apostles (John 20:22), and they pass it along to those who follow in the Office of the apostles, the Office of the Holy Ministry. With this line, the congregation confirms her belief in the Lord’s promise to work through those whom He sends. In other words: “The Lord’s Spirit be with your spirit. Do what you have been given to do, pastor.”
Then the pastor says “Lift up your hearts.” This is an invitation from the Lord to rejoice in His presence, to acknowledge that the one “seated [above] at the right hand of God comes to this Altar, and so the congregation responds, “We lift them up unto the Lord.”
The final versicle, “Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God” carries on with the already climaxing Liturgy. All things that have gone before (Invocation, Absolution, Gloria in Excelsis, Collect, Holy Gospel, Sermon, Creed, and Prayers) have built up to this point. Yes, the Lord has been here all the while. Yes we have forgiveness of sins throughout the Service. But nowhere else is Jesus present in visible, touchable, testable, smellable forms, giving us His Body and Blood to see, to touch, to taste, to smell for the forgiveness of our sins. This is what is about to happen! Of course “It is right to give Him thanks and praise.” Jesus is “present, welcomed, acclaimed, and to Him we are bidden to give thanks.”
These words of the Preface are followed by the Proper Preface, a prayer that changes slightly with the season of the Church Year, recounting to the Lord’s work in saving us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The words of the Preface confirm that the Lord’s Supper is His: His table, His banquet, His action. Likewise we are His: His honored guests as His holy Supper.
As the Service of the Word began with a Hymn of Praise (“Glory to God in the highest…”), so the Service of the Sacrament begins with a similar Hymn of Praise, the Sanctus. Sanctus is a Latin word meaning “holy.” (Whenever a part of the Divine Liturgy has a Latin name, you can almost be sure that it is the Latin for the first word or two.) So we sing “Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus…”
This is the song of the angels, the seraphim Isaiah sees around the throne of the Lord (Isaiah 6). In the presence of the Lord, they cover themselves with their wings while calling, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” At the sight of the Lord in His glory, Isaiah cries out “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” “Hosts” means heavenly armies. It’s the translation of “Sabaoth” that we sing in the Sanctus. What Isaiah and the angels beheld in Isaiah 6, we are about to behold at this Altar: the Lord Almighty, in whose presence sinners can not dwell.
Immediately following the song from Isaiah 6, we sing the song of the people who greeted Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9, Mark 11:9, John 12:13) This quotation of Psalm 11819-20 is a confession that the one who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, who was crucified later that week on a cross on Calvary, is the Lord Almighty whom Isaiah beheld.
The word “Hosanna” means “Save us, we pray.” When our sin causes us to say, like Isaiah, “Woe is me!” only One can save us, the One who dies to pay for our sins. As He came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, as He came to earth to be crucified on a cross, so He comes now in His holy Supper, to give us that same Body and Blood for the forgiveness of our sins. He does what we ask in the Hosanna: He saves us. The words “Blessed is He” in Latin are “Benedictus,” and this is what that line in the Sanctus is called.
“A Lutheran tradition that has been lost in most congregations is to bow during the singing of the Sanctus and to make the sign of the cross at the Benedictus. These two actions provide a physical response to the awesome awareness of God’s graciousness in Christ.”
After Isaiah’s confession of His sin, the Lord touched his lips with a burning coal from the Altar and forgave his sin. So, too, when we confess our sin, the Lord touches our lips with His very Body and Blood, given for us, to take away our sin. The forgiveness won by Jesus on the cross is here given out to you at the Altar. All of this is confessed in the words of the Sanctus.
“Our Lord speaks and we listen.” This is the beginning of the introduction to Lutheran Worship. Nowhere is this more apparent than at his very words with which He instituted His holy Supper. These are the Words of Institution.
Prior to the Reformation, when the Priest spoke the Verba (Latin for “words”), he mumbled them quietly. The Roman Mass viewed the Supper as a sacrifice offered to God. So it mattered little whether the people heard the words or not; they were not spoken for them. But with a proper understanding of the Lord’s Supper as a meal of His Body and Blood “in, with, and under” bread and wine, which Jesus gives to us for the forgiveness of our sins, it is important that these words be heard by the Lord’s gathered guests.
These words were thought to be magic words that changed bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood. (As the words were spoken in Latin, they began “Hoc est corpus meam,” from which we get the phrase “Hocus pocus.”) The words are not magical; they are the very words of Jesus, which promise His Body and Blood for us. So the Reformers began to chant the words, often in German instead of Latin, so that people could hear Christ’s promise for them.
The Words of Institution can be divided into two parts: words which tell the historical context of the words and the very words (“Ipsissima Verba”) of Jesus. The Verba are a combination of all four accounts of Jesus’ institution of the Supper (Matt. 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22-19-20, and 1 Cor. 11:23-25). They have a very specific historical context: “the night when Jesus was betrayed,” that is, the night before His crucifixion. But the fact that Jesus died on the cross to forgive your sins doesn’t complete the picture. On the cross, forgiveness of sins was earned, but not distributed. Here, at the Supper, among other places, forgiveness is distributed.
When the Verba are chanted, you can tell the very words of Christ because the tone gets lower and the cadence slows. Pay careful attention to these words. Jesus promises “Take, eat, this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me…Drink of it, all of you. This cup is the new testament in My blood which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of Me.” For you! There are no greater words in the English language! Here, in His supper, the Lord is present for you! The elevation of the host and of the chalice are toward the congregation because these are the Lord’s gifts for you.
The Words of our Lord do what they say. At these words, Jesus is present in His real Body and Blood, on the Altar, in, with, and under bread and wine. The pastor genuflects to confess that because of His words, because of His promise, the Lord is truly present with His Body and Blood on the Altar for you. Jesus died only once. But He gives His Body and Blood time and again to us at His Altar, to place forgiveness into our mouths. For you!
When John the Baptist first saw Jesus approaching, he proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29) Agnus Dei means “Lamb of God.”
At the first Passover, the night before the Lord led His people out of slavery in Egypt, the Israelites sacrificed the Passover lamb, a male lamb, one-year-old, without blemish. They ate the lamb at the Passover meal and put its blood on the doorposts of their houses. The Angel of Death passed over the houses that were marked with the blood of the lamb and did not kill anyone therein. The celebration of the Passover year after year was a reminder of how the Lord delivered His people from bondage in Egypt.
Worse than physical slavery is the spiritual slavery of sin. The Lord’s deliverance of His people from physical slavery foreshadowed His ultimate delivery of His people from slavery to sin and death. But lambs sacrificed for Passover meals pointed to the perfect sacrifice, the sacrifice of God in the place of sinners, the Lamb who would die for the sheep. This is what John declares when he sees Jesus, and this is what we sing in the great hymn, the Agnus Dei.
Luther’s Easter hymn confesses, “See, His blood now marks our door; faith points to it; death passes o’er, and Satan cannot harm us. Alleluia!” The Agnus Dei confesses that Jesus is the once-and-for-all Sacrifice. He took our human flesh in order to bear the punishment for all the world’s sin. And the blood of the Lamb Jesus was smeared on the post of the cross. This true Lamb of God took the sin of the world away. And He gives to the world, to those to whom He gives His gift of faith, His very righteousness.
The Agnus Dei fixes our faith on the Lamb of God, for sinners slain. And the hymn causes us to anticipate the penultimate Passover meal: feasting on the body and blood of the Lamb of God. His very Body and Blood is here in this holy supper just as the Israelites ate real lamb on that first Passover. And our deliverance from sin, death, and the devil comes as our sins are forgiven in this meal just as surely as the Lord led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
After the distribution of the Lord’s Supper, the congregation joins in singing the Nunc Dimittis. This is the song Simeon sings when he holds the infant Savior in his arms (Luke 2:29-32). Simeon had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
After the 40-day old Jesus was brought to the temple for the rite of purification of a woman after childbirth, Simeon knew the Lord’s promise to him had been fulfilled. So he prayed, “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.” We don’t know how old Simeon was when the promise was made or fulfilled, but we do know that his song, the Nunc Dimittis (Latin for “now dismiss”), was his death song. Having seen the One whom the Lord sent to save His people, Simeon could die in peace.
This is the song we sing after seeing this same one. The same Lord who was born as an infant to the Virgin Mary, whom Simeon held in the temple, who grew up to be tortured by Roman soldiers and put to death on a cross, who rose victorious over death, and who ascended into heaven is the Jesus who has come to us in His Supper. As Simeon held the Savior in his arms, so you who receive what the Lord gives at His Supper hold the Savior—in his true Body and Blood—in your mouths. Your eyes, too, have seen the salvation, which God has prepared before all time.
It is our death song, as well. Having received the gifts the Lord offers in His Supper: forgiveness, eternal life, salvation, we are prepared for death. Though the though of death may trouble us, it can do us no harm. We who have feasted on the Lord’s Body and Blood know that, as He did for Simeon, the Lord will fulfill His promise to us. He promises not to abandon us to the grave or let His holy ones see eternal corruption (Psalm 16:10).
With this song, the Divine Service is drawing to a rapid close. All of what we have been building toward and hoping for in the Service: the Lord’s Bodily presence in the Supper, the earthly foretaste of the feast to come, has happened. This same Jesus Christ is a light to the nations and the glory of the Lord’s people Israel, His beloved Church. Having forgiven us our sins and bodied us together into the Body of Christ, the Lord send us out as His people, to bear this light to the nations, that we “may proclaim the excellencies of His who called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
As the Divine Service begins with the Triune name of God, so also it ends in His name. The Lord commanded Aaron, the first priest, “Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, ‘The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.’ So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:23-27)
This is called the Aaronic Benediction, or simply, the Benediction. With these words, the Lord does what he says: places His name upon His people and blesses them. He first placed His Triune name upon you and made you a part of His people in the waters of Holy Baptism, giving you forgiveness of sins and joining you into the death and resurrection of Christ. Now, in the Benediction, He makes that same covenant to you. Just as it is appropriate to make the sign of the cross at the Invocation and other reminders of the new life given to you in Holy Baptism, so it is appropriate to make the sign of the cross over yourself at the Benediction.
God’s words do what they say. Baptism is not a wish for a blessed, Christian life. It is not the action of parents, congregation, or pastor. It is the Lord’s active word—a word that does what it says—to claim us as His own. In the Verba, the Words of Institution, the Lord’s words do what they say, creating the presence of the true Body and Blood of Jesus with otherwise ordinary bread and wine at His altar. So the Benediction is not a wish. It’s not a hope. It’s the performative word of the Lord. It does what He promises. In the benediction, the Lord does bless you and keep you. He does make His face shine upon you and is gracious to you. He does life up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
The Divine Service is the Lord’s. He serves us. He comes to us in His Word and Sacraments, serving us with forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation. So the final word, the Benediction, is His, as well. He has been our Divine Host at this Service, and we have been His guests. So now He sends us forth with His name upon us, prepared to serve those around us.