This entry is part 9 of 10 in the series Divine Service.

Divine Service

In the previous post we covered the beginning of the Sacrament of the Altar. The Preface reminds us that the Lord is with us, body and spirit, and we give thanks. We are reminded various things about God throughout the year, and in the end of the Preface, we acknowledge that Holy Communion is not just communion with Jesus and everyone in the room, but “with angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven.” Looking for heaven on earth? It is at the Lord’s table.

We continue in Divine Service III with the Lord’s Prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer has been documented to have been a part of worship since the second century. It is delivered twice is the Gospels, Luke 11:2-4 and Matthew 6:9-13). The New Advent Encyclopedia notes that the “for Thine is the kingdom…” appears in the Greek textus receptus, which was used to generate Luther’s German bible and the King James Version. See the footnote for Matthew 6:13(d) if you’re clicking on the scripture links.

The Lord’s Prayer is how Jesus taught his disciples and us how to pray. It is important enough in worship that it is included not only in the Divine Service settings, but also Matins, Vespers, Compline, and other services. Out of all the petitions that we ask for, only one deals with our physical needs. Our spiritual needs take priority.

The Words of our Lord (Words of Institution)

Martin Chemnitz wrote:

…the Son of God has put His Word by which He has given the sacraments in opposition to our thoughts and has willed to do so in such a way that we must learn from His Word whatever we need to know about these mysteries and must oppose all the absurdities that can be raised in objection to His Word, because he who is true, wise, and powerful has spoken it.

Some say it’s transubstantiation, that somehow bread and wine are changed into body and blood while yet still tasting like bread and wine. “Consubstantiation” is yet another invention. Others dismiss Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; and 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 as mere metaphor and reject the notion of an all powerful God doing what he wants with his body and blood.

Truly it is hard for us to take Jesus at his word. Our rational minds demand an answer, either adding to the Gospel or taking away from it. The Jews in Jesus’ day were no different: see John 6:35-65. We by faith believe what Jesus says and let Jesus take care of the “how”. It is God’s work, after all.

Pax Domini

Literally, “Peace of the Lord”, taken from John 20:19. A good place to close this post. :)

Next we visit one of the chillier melodies in Divine Service III, the Agnus Dei. We’ll also hit the Distribution with a quote from Herman Sasse.

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