The Liturgy

Hello, internet. I've decided to start a mini series on discussing the various parts of the liturgy. The Lutheran Church is a liturgical church. Other liturgical churches include the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches (Greek, Russian, etc.), and the Anglican/Episcopal Churches. This evening I want to begin by looking at the word "liturgy". What does the word mean? The English word "liturgy" comes from the Greek word λειτουργία (leitourgía), which in Ancient Greece meant a public service done for the people. Nowadays, it means "a fixed set of ceremonies, words, etc., that are used during public worship in a religion" (according to Merriam Webster). Something that I've really come to love and appreciate during my journey into the Lutheran Church is the fact that, aside from a couple of minor changes, if you go to any of the liturgical church denominations I mentioned above, the liturgy is pretty much the same in all of them. So, why does the Lutheran Church (and other denominations) worship liturgically? This is a great question, but one that takes a bit of explaining to answer. I was searching around the internet to find an answer, and here is the best one I found: "The Lutheran Church is a liturgical church because it is a catholic church. The Lutheran Reformers of the sixteenth century were not sectarian innovators who set out to create a new church, but they acknowledged, and rejoiced in, their continuity with the church of the apostles and ancient Christian Fathers. They recognized that many of the centuries-old liturgical customs which they had inherited were both useful and beneficial, and they saw no reason to discard them. With humble gratitude Confessional Lutherans embrace the edifying liturgical usages of the pre-Reformation catholic church as important components of their own heritage and identity. They do not believe that such historic Christian customs are unique to the Roman Catholic Church (or to any other individual church body or denomination). The Book of Acts indicates that the corporate worship of the Christian church has always been liturgical in character. The Christians in Jerusalem “continued steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles and in the communion of the breaking of the bread and in the prayers” (Acts 2:42, RCRV); on one occasion the Holy Spirit spoke to the Christians in Antioch “while they were engaged in the liturgy of the Lord” (Acts 13:2, NAB); and in regard to the Christians at Troas St. Luke reports that “On the first day of the week when we gathered for the breaking of bread, Paul preached to them” (Acts 20:7, NAB). The New Testament encourages all Christians to “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings” (Hebrews 13:7-9, NASB). In the forms for public worship which they employ, Lutherans do indeed “remember” and “imitate” those who have served the cause of Christ’s unchanging Gospel throughout the church’s history. The main elements of the historic Lutheran Liturgy are not distinctively “Lutheran” and do not simply reflect the culture of sixteenth-century Germany and Scandinavia (or of twentieth-century America). They reflect instead the faith and devotion of God’s people of all times and places." (http://www.blc.edu/comm/gargy/gargy1/liturgical_church.html)

Why do I embrace this tradition? Had you asked me when I first started attending the Divine Service, I would have said, "Because it looks and sounds completely awesome!" I now realize the naïveté of my former understanding. If you were to ask me in the present, I would say: “The music, the prayers, the bowing and rising, --all of it was breaking down my defenses. That's what good liturgy does. It breaks your heart open and turns you toward God.” (Fred Bahnson) If this was something that you enjoyed and are interested in, I'll be back tomorrow looking at the first part of the liturgy: the Invocation.

God bless, Manny