“Why We Do What We Do”
Part 3
6/12/22
In the name of Jesus, dear friends in Christ. 3 weeks ago, we began a fairly detailed examination of the liturgy together. As I said from the start, this is necessary because of all the confusion that exists surrounding the subject of worship. So it’s been good for us to try and answer the question of “Why we do what we do” within our the Divine Services. You may recall that last time we stopped with just the ending portion of the service to look at. We’ll cover that today. But we also have several other important items to explain that are part of our gathering together here for worship.
The last 2 sections of the liturgy that we need to cover are the Salutation and Benedicamus followed by the Benediction. They appear near the end of our service in your bulletin in case you want to read them while we discuss them. Just like the Salutation at the beginning of the service, here at the close it stands as a reminder of God’s presence as He was among us, feeding our souls through His Word and Sacrament. Benedicamus is simply Latin for the first two words “bless we.” The Pastor is inviting you to bless the Lord for what He has given you. That word “bless” can mean several things. In this case it’s a call to praise and honor God. And you respond by doing just that; by singing “Thanks be to God.”
You can easily see the similarity between the word Benedicamus and Benediction. Here too there is a blessing but in this case it’s from God to you. This is the blessing that the Lord commanded Aaron to speak over the people of Israel. It was and is God’s promise to look favorably upon you and not with anger or wrath. You’ve heard all throughout the service about the forgiveness of your sins by the blood of Jesus. You’ve tasted that forgiveness as you receive His body and blood in Holy Communion. And now that blessing of God’s undeserved favor and peace will go home with you. The triple “Amen” response is a closing reminder of the Triune God who has indeed blessed us.
That concludes our examination of the liturgy but it doesn’t answer why we do certain other things associated with our services. There’s no way we can cover them all but let’s try to tackle the major ones. I would remind you that everything we do in the Divine Service is supposed to point us to our almighty God and what He has done for us. That has to be our focus. Anything that distracts us from it should be avoided. The Bible actually gives us some good direction on how to do that; yes, even in our modern times.
How about this building? It was erected in 1958 which was a vintage year, if you get my drift. Seriously, though, why did your forefathers design and build this church the way they did? The vaulted ceiling is tall and the length of the sanctuary is very deep. It would have been a whole lot cheaper to build a smaller worship area that would be easier to heat and cool. Trust me, it wasn’t because of the acoustics that they made this structure the way they did. In 1 Kings 8:27, Solomon was dedicating the new temple he had built in Jerusalem and he said this in his prayer: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!” And yet, Solomon built an elaborate and costly place for God’s people to gather for worship. Why? Because he wanted a majestic structure that would honor their majestic God. I’m confident that’s why your forefathers built this church the way they did. Not like the tower of Babel that men erected to make a name for themselves. Rather, they built this church to honor the almighty, Triune God who we confess and worship. A building that looks like a warehouse or a gymnasium just wouldn’t cut it. When you consider that we’re gathered here in the presence of almighty God, doesn’t it seem irreverent to make this place look like an auditorium for a concert or a quaint coffee shop? Adorning this church with stained-glass windows serves a related purpose of not looking or feeling “normal.” Those windows keep us from being distracted by things outside, plus, the pictures are intended to be teaching tools of the faith.
By the way, like the building architecture, the pipe organ was chosen for a similar purpose. It can fill this house of God with a rich sound that other instruments can’t compare with. Plus, it matches quite well with the sound our vocal cords make as air passes over them to make music to the Lord. There’s nothing wrong with a piano or keyboard or even a guitar, but the pipe organ is in a league all its own.
That, along with our other furnishings here in the church, are intended to be different. That’s because the time you spend here is supposed to be different than anything you experience during your week. It’s why screens in the sanctuary are not always helpful. Everywhere you go in today’s world, you’re surrounded by screens of one sort or another. You even carry a small one in your pocket on your smartphone. Wouldn’t it be nice to have an hour where you could escape them? Or are we that addicted that we can’t function without them? There are other practical reasons why this technology can defeat our purposes here for worship and distract our focus, but we can discuss that later in Bible class.
Another question that’s often raised is why most of our Pastors wear a robe and a stole? Trust me, it would be a whole lot more comfortable if I just wore a polo shirt and jeans. “So why don’t you Pastor?” There are several reasons. First of all, God directed the priests in the Old Testament to wear special garments like this to show that they were set apart for service to the Lord. It was a visual reminder that these men were called to be ministers and worship leaders. My Dad had a great explanation for this. One of my non-Lutheran relatives jumped him about it and mocked our practice. My father calmly said, “Police officers wear uniforms so that we know who the cops are. Pastors wear their robes so we know who the called minister is.” My father was a smart man. In both the Old and the New Testament there are examples of how people were able to identify the prophets, priests, and rabbis simply by how they dressed. The colored stole that Pastors wear reminds us of the special article of “prophet’s clothing” that Elijah wore and then passed on to Elisha to show that he was taking over that ministry.
The other reason for a Pastor’s robe is frankly to cover him up. God doesn’t take away my personality or appearance but, in a sense, He wants your Pastor to be invisible. Wearing a robe removes some of the distractions that would exist if I just wore everyday clothes. The robe is also a visual reminder of how God has taken a rotten sinner like me, wrapped me in Christ’s righteousness, and made me His representative and spokesman for your benefit. Hand in hand with that, it’s also why I choose to wear a black clergy shirt with the white tab on the collar. Nothing wrong if a Pastor doesn’t wear one. But I do it because both you and I need to be reminded that I’m a sinner just like you, with a heart full of darkness and evil just like you. And yet, God has sanctified my vocal cords for His divine purpose. It’s the only reason why I’m able to speak His holy words of forgiveness to you. Like Isaiah, the Lord has purified my sinful vocal cords to be able to speak His holy word. Therefore, these are God’s own words, not mine. Jesus says, in Luke 10:16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
Hey, did you hear about the Pastor who was giving a children’s sermon and explaining this very question of why he wore a robe and a clergy shirt? The Pastor pointed at his collar and asked, “Do you know why I wear this?” One sharp kid raised his hand and said, “Because it kills fleas and ticks for up to 30 days?” I figured you might need a little humor at this point.
Anyway, let me close on a more serious note. Experience has taught me that using the same divine services over and over has a powerful benefit that you may not realize right now. Over the years I’ve had church members who had lost their eyesight either due to age or a disability. They can’t read the folder that I use for their church services and private communion. But the good news is that due to the repetition in church during their earlier years, they have large portions of the liturgy memorized and can recite it.
Look, folks. The liturgy and our hymns are not meant to bore your children or speak over their heads. Yes, little kids squirm around during the church service and you may wonder if they’re getting anything out of it. But if you stick with it and let them hear the language of the Divine Service week after week, you’ll be giving them a gift that they may not appreciate until they’re elderly. But it’ll be priceless to them. Parents and grandparents, take the time to teach your kids what those big or difficult words mean. Some of the liturgy and hymns have Thee’s and Thou’s and other old English words in them. It’s okay. Like you, if they sing them again and again, they’ll end up cherishing this beautiful language and perhaps these will become the beloved hymns that they memorize and sing to their children someday. All you have to do is patiently teach it to them.
In our Gospel lesson, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” As we’ve seen, every part of the liturgy is taken from that word of life that Christ spoke of. We should reject any substitutes for that precious word, no matter how zippy or contemporary it may sound. God has given us the pattern for how our worship should look and sound if it’s going to be pleasing to Him. It’s a pattern that the church has followed for thousands of years. I pray that we’ve learned to appreciate that as we’ve examined “Why we do what we do” in our services. Above all else, please remember that this is God’s service to you. And we offer up our thankfulness and praise as our appropriate response for His marvelous gifts that we’ve received through His Word and Sacrament ministry to us. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria