"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." (2 Cor 13:13 NIV)
What a blessing to receive God's grace, love, and fellowship! This greeting is to be heard at most "traditional" (if I can use that word) Lutheran Worship Services. It is not used at the congregation I am currently serving. I am serving a congregation that has, over the years, removed most of the typical Lutheran liturgy from the worship service. I have been able to bring many parts of it back into the service. It is a slow process; though, as most of you are probably aware that mainline denominations are not too big into change. It took about ten years to get rid of the liturgy and it may take that long to get it back without ruffling too many feathers.
What a blessing to receive God's grace, love, and fellowship! This greeting is to be heard at most "traditional" (if I can use that word) Lutheran Worship Services. It is not used at the congregation I am currently serving. I am serving a congregation that has, over the years, removed most of the typical Lutheran liturgy from the worship service. I have been able to bring many parts of it back into the service. It is a slow process; though, as most of you are probably aware that mainline denominations are not too big into change. It took about ten years to get rid of the liturgy and it may take that long to get it back without ruffling too many feathers.
I have heard criticisms against using the various parts of the service that include things like the Kyrie, the hymn of praise, and the greeting. So rote, I am told. I have listened to the accusations that the liturgy is man-made. Yes, the order of service is man-made; but, so are the services without a liturgy. There is an order to even those services that claim they have no liturgy or order of service. Those services also follow a pattern at every worship service.
I have also heard that these formal liturgies make us sound pretentious. What I find pretentious is deciding that our words are more edifying than the word of God. Personally, I find ridding the service of things like the Lord's prayer to replace it with long winded prayers of our own to be very pretentious.
What many, including many Lutherans, fail to understand is that faith comes by hearing God's word (Rom 10:17) and the liturgical service; although it has been ordered by human beings is full of God breathed words. These liturgies that we use are not things people made up. They come from the Holy Scriptures. The Lutheran Worship Service is ordered (or has been in the past) in such a way that you will hear the word in the liturgies, in the prayers, in the readings, in the sermon, and in the hymns or songs that we sing. I thank God for this. According to Scripture "faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." (Rom 10:17) Everything in worship is or should be focused on the word and the Word is Christ. It is not about us. It is about what God the Father has done for us through Jesus Christ, his dear Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
God's Peace - Pr. J
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