PMM 142 LUTHERAN WORSHIP
For
Further Reading: Busher, James. "Worship: The Activity of the Trinity"
Logia (Holy Trinity 1994), 3-9; Kimel, Alvin (editor).
This is My Name Forever: The Trinity and Gender Language for God
(InterVarsity Press) Kleinig, John W. "What's the Use of Naming God?"
Lutheran Theological Journal
(May 1992) 27-34;Pless, John T. "In the Name of..."
Perspectives on Worship: Reflections Toward the 21st
Century edited by Bart Day and Andrew Smith (Concordia Seminary,
St.Louis), 20-22; Reed. Luther. The Lutheran Liturgy
(Fortress), 252-255.
Originally, the invocation
was part of the priest's preparation for the service along with the
confession. The invocation locates the Divine Service in the name of
the Triune God given us in Holy Baptism (Matthew 28:19). With the Lord's
name, we are given His presence. See Exodus 20:24; I Kings 8:18-20.
"When the disciples ask Jesus
to teach them to pray, the language of address 'Our Father' specifies
the God of Israel. The first-person plural 'our' means to include us
with Jesus, who enables us to address the God of Israel, to call on
his name, as had been promised of old for the nations (Is. 56:1-8).
It is the gracious act of bestowal that the language 'Father, Son, Holy
Spirit' recalls and bears witness to, while at the same time it names
God as he truly is. By invoking the triune name at our baptism, we are
ourselves given a name, literally a voice to address the One God of
Israel, his eternal Son, in the unity of the Holy Spirit" (Christopher
R. Seitz, "The Divine Name in Christian Scripture" in
This is My Name Forever, 22).
For
Further Reading: Brunner, Peter. Worship in the Name of Jesus
(Concordia Publishing House), 204-207; Kuhlman, Brent. "Extolling and
Rejoicing in the Gift" Throughout the Church the Song Goes On: Preparing
a Lutheran Hymnal for the 21st Century
edited by Paul Grime et al (Commission on Worship LCMS), 193-202; Moe,
John. "Conditional Forgiveness and the Translation of I John 1:9"
Logia (Epiphany 1994), 11-12.
The versicle is taken from
I John 1:9 and serves as an invitation to the confession of sins. The
confessional prayer is a redaction of the confessional prayer in LBW
which in turn was drawn from the Book of Common Prayer.
The LW prayer is strengthened by the inclusion of the confession "that
we are by nature sinful and unclean.
The prayer itself includes:
LW includes both an "operative-indicative"
form of the Absolution (see John 20:19-23) and a "declaration of grace."
For
Further Reading: Brunner, 239-241; Reed, 261-266.
The word "introit" means "entrance."
It marks the actual beginning of the Service of the Word. "In the fifth
century Pope Celestine I (d. 432) decreed that an entire psalm should
be sung antiphonally by a double choir as the clergy came from the sacristy
to the altar. This was intended to add solemnity to the entrance of
the clergy and to establish the thought or mood appropriate for the
particular service. Later a single verse was chosen for its appropriateness,
and was sung as an antiphon before and after the psalm, and on festivals
after each verse of the psalm. As the melodies which developed with
these processional psalms became more and more elaborate, and as other
features also lengthened the service, Gregory the Great abbreviated
the psalm and established the introit much as we have it today" (Reed,
261-262).
The structure of the introit
is as follows:
A full psalm or entrance hymn
may be used in place of the introit.
For
Further Reading: Reed, 266-272.
Since the Lord had proclaimed
that He was a gracious, merficul God (Exodus 34:6-7), the people of
Israel appealed to His mercy as their heavenly king with this formula
in the psalms which they prayed at the temple (See Psalms 6:2; 9:13;
31:9; 41:4,10; 56:1; 86:3 etc). It is the prayer of beggars in the presence
of a merciful Benefactor and Lord.
The Kyrie is a cry for mercy
to the King who comes to save us. See Matthew 15:22; Mark 10:47; Luke
17:13. Just as citizens in the ancient world would line the streets
to greet the arrival of their ruler with supplications for mercy, so
the church implores our Lord for mercy as He comes to us in His words.
It appears that the Kyrie comes into the Western liturgy from the East
where it was used in the form of a earnest and insistent litany called
Ektenia (or Ektene). In this litany,
Kyrie, eleison was the congregation's response to bids prayed
by a deacon. By the time of Gregory the Great (c.540-604) only the response
Kyrie elesion was used as in the threefold Kyrie of Divine Service
I (LW) and TLH. The earliest evidence we have for the use of the Kyrie
is from Egeria's description of the liturgical life in Jerusalem in
the middle of the 4th century where it was used in the Vespers.
Luther prepared a hymn based on the Kyrie, "Kyrie, God Father" (209
LW).
For
Further Reading:Brunner, Worship in the Name of Jesus,
94-106; Reed, 272-276; Kleinig, John W. "The Mystery of Doxology"
Mysteria Dei: Essays in Honor of Kurt Marquart
edited by Paul McCain and John Stephenson (CTS Press), 129-148; Peterson,
Eric. The Angels and the Liturgy: The Status and Significance of
the Holy Angels in Worship (Darton, Longman, & Todd); Pftzner,
Victor C. "Worshipping with the Angels"
Lutheran Theological Journal
(August 1995), 50-60; Pless, John T. "Holy God, Holy Gifts, Holy People"
Lutheran Forum (Fall 1999), 12-14; Strelan, John.
Where Heaven Meets Earth: A Commentary on Revelation
(Openbook Publishers), 105-115.
The
Gloria in Excelsis Deo is the hymn of the angels announcing the
birth of the incarnate Son of God (see Luke 2:14). This hymn is a "jubilant
anthem of redemption" (Reed, 273) that appears to be of Eastern origin.
The earliest known form of the Gloria
is in the Apostolic Constitutions
of the 4th century. It was known by Athanasius and mentioned
in his writings. Pope Symmachus (458-514) ordered that the Gloria be
sung on every Lord's Day and on feasts of martyrs. Luther called it
"the Angelic Hymn" (AE 53:21-23) and maintained that "it did not grow,
neither was it made on earth, but came down." He retained it in his
1523 Formula Missae and provided a hymnic paraphrase (see AE
53:184-186).
The
Gloria has the following functions in the Divine Service:
"This is the Feast" is given
as an alternative hymn of praise in Divine Service II. This hymn is
based on Revelation 5:9-13, 19:4-9. This hymn fits best with the Season
of Easter and perhaps the final three Sundays of the Church.
Neither the
Gloria nor "This is the Feast" are used in the seasons of Advent
and Lent. "Oh, Come, Oh Come Emmanuel" (Canticle 1, LW) may be used
in place of the Hymn of Praise in Advent. In Lent, "The Royal Banners
Forward Go" (Canticle 2, LW) may be used .
SALUTATION AND COLLECT
For Further Reading: Evanson,
Charles. "The Collect" Perspectives on Worship: Reflections Toward
the 21st Century
edited by by Bart Day and Andrew Smith
(Concordia Seminary, St. Louis), 23-26; Quill, Timothy C.J. "And Why
Your Spirit: Why the Ancient Response Should be Restored in the Pastoral
Greeting" Logia (Eastertide 1998), 27-35; Reed, 277-287; Saar,
David. "Let Us Pray: A Historical Examination of the Collect of the
Day" Logia (Holy Trinity 1994), 13-22; Sasse, Hermann. "Ecclesia
Orans" Logia (Eastertide 1993), 28-34.
The salutation is essentially
a blessing that is uttered by the pastor. In the LBW and LW this blessing
has been transformed into a greeting as the congregation responds "And
also with you." The traditional "And with your spirit" will be restored
in the 2007 hymnal.
The collect is a short prayer
that that draws together what we are imploring God to do for us on the
basis of His Word. The sacramentaries provide us with the earliest known
anthologies of collects used by the priest in the Mass. The most ancient
of these is the Leonine Sacramentary which bears the name of Pope Leo
the Great (440-461). Later enlarged collections, the Gelasian and the
Gregorian are named after Pope Gelasius I (492-496) and Pope Gregory
I (590-604) respectively. The traditional collect follows a classical
pattern:
For
Further Reading: Herrlin, Olof. Divine Service: Liturgy in Perspective
(Fortress);Lanier, Leslie. "On the Public Reading of the Scriptures"
Logia (Trinity 1997), 33-36; Old, Hugh Oliphant.
The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the
Christian Church – 3 Volumes (Eerdmans); Pless, John T. "This is
the Word of the Lord" Lutheran Witness
(March 2000), 22-24; Reed, 288-300.
Central to the Service of the
Word is the reading of the Holy Scriptures and preaching that is governed
by these Scriptures. Here the church re-fashioned the synagogue service.
In the synagogue the Torah, considered the most important part of the
OT was read first. The reading of the Torah was followed by readings
from the Prophets and the historical books. In NT times, the Christian
liturgy followed a similar pattern with readings from the Old Testament,
an apostolic letter (epistle), and a Gospel. Note the reversal as in
the Christian liturgy, the most important reading- the Gospel- is read
last. The readings from the OT and the Epistles lead to the Gospel and
are brought to fulfillment in it.
The gradual, a verse or verses
taken from the Scriptures and reflective of the theme of the day or
season of the church year serves as something of a bridge between the
OT and the Epistle. The reading of the Holy Gospel is the chief reading.
Here Christ imparts Himself speaks to His congregation imparting words
of blessing and salvation. The first two readings function as the voice
of John the Baptist, preparing us to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd
in repentance and faith. The Holy Gospel is rightly seen as the summit
of the Service of the Word. The Holy Gospel is anticipated with the
"alleluia verse" based on John 6:68. In Lent, a verse from Joel 2:13
is substituted. The reading of the Holy Gospel is surrounded with acclamations
of glory and praise.
For
Further Reading: Leaver, Robin. Liturgy and Music
(The Liturgical Press); Leaver, Robin.
The Theological Character of Music in Worship
(Concordia Publishing House); Resch, Richard. "Church Music at the Close
of the Twentieth Century: The Entanglement of Sacred and Secular"
Logia (Eastertide 1993), 21-27; Resch, Richard. "Music: Gift
of God or Tool of the Devil?" Logia
(Eastertide 1994), 33-38; Schalk, Carl.
The Hymn of the Day and Its Use in Lutheran Worship
(Concordia Publishing House).
The Hymn of the Day is based
on the Holy Gospel appointed for the day. These hymns are listed on
pages 976-978 of LW. See Colossians 3:15-17 for a biblical description
of the function of hymnody.
For
Further Reading: Aalen, Leiv. "The Word as Means of Grace"
Logia (Reformation 1993), 26-31; Giertz, Bo. "The Meaning and
Task of the Sermon in the Framework of the Liturgy"
The Unity of the Church: A Symposium
(Augustana Press), 133-142;Grime, Paul (editor).
Liturgical Preaching (CPH); Quill, Timothy C.J. "Law-Gospel Preaching:
Giving the Gifts" Logia (Reformation 1994), 45-50; Reed, 306-307;
Wingren, Gustaf. The Living Word: A Theological Study of Preaching
and the Church (Fortress Press).
"Christ is in the Word, and
approaches us in preaching with his work, just in that regular preaching
that treats one 'part' after another. If we carry this argument to its
logical conclusion, we may say that the
Christian year, 'the Year of the Lord,' is the only true order
of salvation, the order of redemption in which we live, breathe, and
have our being, as we live in the congregation. To be a member of a
congregation anywhere and to hear the readings as they share in the
works of the living God-is to journey, listening all the while to the
Voice" (Wingren, 198).
The sermon is the proclamation
of God's law and Gospel to the Lord's people in His presence. See II
Corinthians 2:17; 12:19. The sermon is always based on Holy Scripture
and proclaims Scripture as law and Gospel to the gathered congregation.
The sermon is the bridge between the Scriptures and the Sacrament.
Korby,
Kenneth F. "Prayer: Pre-Reformation to the Present"
Christians at Prayer edited by John Gallen (Notre Dame Press),
113-136. Reed, 312-320.
The Prayer of the Church grows
out of God's Word. By praying to the Father on behalf of the world,
the congregation performs its priestly service in God's presence. See
I Timothy 2:18. The Prayer of the Church includes:
For
Further Reading: Reed, 308-312.
Having received from the generosity
of the Father who is the Author and Giver of every good and perfect
gift, we now give of the gifts that we have been given. The offertory
from Psalm 116:12-14, 17-19 teaches us that the highest offering is
simply to receive, in faith, the cup of the Lord's salvation.
-Prof. John T.Pless
Revised VII.7.2001