By: cholakst

cholakst — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 12:07:52 +0000

Hey Dan! I’ve been a little slow with blog reading lately…so sorry for my tardiness. It is good that we look at the gift of the liturgy, the worship of the church. Lutheran Worship, the blue hymnal, had a great introduction that defined worship as we Lutherans understand it. I applaud the study of the liturgy as it does not belong to one congregation or another but to the entire church, of which we should always be aware. You raise a few really good points and I would like to comment on a few. Is Worship’s primary purpose to teach? Worship does teach. Yes it does. Yet it is there for the sole purpose of bringing Christ to His people. Obviously when Christ comes to His people He is there to forgive them…for who can be in the presence of God and live if He does not forgive them and make them well. “Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” I would be careful to say that the Mass is not the only appropriate worship. The Mass is the Lord’s Supper and it is commanded by our Lord…”Do this in remembrance of me!” The Mass is the giving of Christ’s body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. The Divine Service is what it is all about. Its all about the Mass. Sure, there are ceremonies that are not commanded and Luther even says that we should not be forced or bogged down by man made ceremonies…but if the Mass is not celebrated, then there is not true worship of God. “If the celebration of the Supper should cease, then the preaching of the Word would be struck dumb, with the result that faith would be quenched, love would grow cold, and hope would die.” (Herman Sasse) Remember that our worship of God really isn’t our worship of God, but His service to us. Great posts, keep them coming. –Pastor Cholak

Comments on: Divine Service 2

By: cholakst