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Thursday, 09 October 2008 15:35
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Lutheran Worship: Our Service of Holy Communion
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Word

The Prayer of the Day marks a hinge or turn in the service.
This prayer gives thanks to God through Jesus Christ
and is prayed in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Led by the presiding minister,
the Prayer of the Day gathers all our praise into one
and highlights themes from the scripture readings we are about to hear.
All Christian worship is biblical.
In scripture reading, preaching, and song,
the church hears the good news of God acting in this and every time and place.
The first reading, usually from the Old Testament,
is followed by a psalm sung in response to the reading.
The second reading, usually from a New Testament letter,
bears the witness of the early church.
After the second reading and before proclaiming the Gospel,
we join in another sung response.
This pattern of “read, sing, read, sing” is a practice Christians inherited
from the ancient synagogue worship of the Jewish people.
Before the Gospel is read, we stand and acclaim the living Word made flesh,
Jesus Christ, who is among us.
The Gospel then leads directly to preaching.
Luther considered preaching to be the first of two peaks
or high points in the worship service.
For Lutherans, preaching is biblical.
Preaching participates in the creating and transforming word of God,
proclaims Jesus Christ crucified and risen,
and brings God’s word of law and gospel into our time and place
to awaken and nourish faith.
The Holy Spirit works through preaching,
forming and empowering us to carry out the mission of God in our daily lives.
This preaching event is a means of grace.
God’s word is now further proclaimed as we sing and confess our faith.
One uniquely Lutheran element in the service of Holy Communion
is the Hymn of the Day.
The Hymn of the Day is the assembly’s response to God’s word read and preached
and echoes themes of the season or the day.
The creed that follows is also both response to the word
and proclamation of the word.
A creed is a statement of the faith of the whole church.
The Apostles’ Creed is anchored in holy baptism.
The Nicene Creed explores the wonder of the incarnation.
Each creed links us to the saints, our ancestors in faith,
and is a confession of faith that unites us with the church around the world
and people of every nation and age, from all tribes, peoples, languages, and times.
(Revelation 7.9).
God’s word read and preached, sung and acclaimed,
leads the assembly to the Prayers of Intercession.
These prayers are the assembly’s prayers
for the wideness of God’s mercy to be known throughout the world.
Prayers for the church, for the well-being of creation,
for peace among nations, for the poor and all in need,
for local needs and special concerns, and for the faithful departed,
take up St. Paul?s invitation that supplications, intercessions, and thanksgivings
be made for everyone (1 Timothy 2.1).
Following the prayers of intercession,
the presiding minister and assembly greet each other in the peace of the risen Christ.
This greeting is more than a “good morning” or “hello.”
This greeting is the very peace by which Jesus greets his disciples
following the resurrection.
The peace we share, which marks another hinge or turn in the service,
is a sign of God”s mission of reconciliation among us
and the reconciliation we have with one another in Christ Jesus.
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