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The Lutheral Liturgy, Part 5: The Communion

For newcomers, I’ve been writing a series of posts on the Lutheran Liturgy as found in the 1958 Service Book & Hymnal, filling it in with other liturgical-related posts.  I’m learning much in the process, and will probably continue to explore the origins, progression and meaning of liturgical worship.  I will probably even dig out a rather large book called The Lutheran Liturgy that was given to me many years ago, and which has looked good on my shelf ever since.

In keeping with the earliest known liturgies (which date back to the Apostles themselves, according to tradition), the Lutheran liturgy is in 2 parts: The Liturgy of the Word, which I’ve covered in the first 4 posts, and the Liturgy of The Communion, which begins with The Thanksgiving, which is generally sung:

The Lord by with you
And with thy spirit.
Lift up your hears.
We life them up unto the Lord.
Let us give thanks unto the Lord our God.
It is meet and right so to do.

It is truly meet, right and salutary, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God:

Therefore with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious Name; evermore praising thee, and saying:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabbaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of they glory;
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest.

Then, the Pastor recites the Words of Institution (1 Cor. 11:22-25).  It is interesting that this, indeed, appears to be a part of the liturgy in use in the 1st Century.  This is followed by the Lord’s Prayer, concluding with:

The peace of the Lord be with you alway.
And with thy spirit.

Then the Angus Dei is sung:

O Christ, thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.
O Christ, thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.
O Christ, thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, grant us thy peace. Amen

Hymns are sung during communion, then the Nunc Dimittis is sung:

Lord, now lettest they servant depart in peace:
according to thy word;
For min eyes have seen thy salvation:
which thou hast prepared vefore the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles:
and the glory of they people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost:
As it was in the the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end, Amen.

“Then shall be said the prayer.”

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

And his mercy endures forever.

We give thanks to thee, Almighty God, that thou hast refreshed us with this thy salutary gift; and we beseech thee, of they mercy , to strengthen us through the same gift, in faith toward thee and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, thy dear Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end.

Amen.

The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.
Bless we the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Then the pastor says or sings the Benediction:

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee.
The Lord make his face shine upon thee
and  gracious unto thee.
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee,
and give thee peace.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

Amen, Amen, Amen.

A recessional hymn is sung, and we go home, or to Grandma’s for lunch.

Written on 20 April 2009 by me under Church, The Liturgy with 4 Comments
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I forgot the Kyrie! Lutheran Liturgy pt. 3

I realized the other day that in my haste to get to the Gloria in Excelsis, I skipped right over the Kyrie!    In the 1958 SB&H, they kept the old titles, and I find it interesting that they are a mixture of Latin and Greek.  One of these days I’m going to pull out my copy of St. John Chrysostom’s Divine Liturgy and see how closely they align.

Kyrie is a Greek word meaning, “O Lord,” from the phrase “Kýrie, eléison,” or “O Lord, have mercy.” You might recall the phrase from the 1985 Mr. Mister song.  Here’s the 1958 Lutheran version (congregation’s response in italics), which is generally sung:

In peace let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For the peace that is from above, and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For the peace of the whole worlds, for the well-being of the churches of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For this holy house, and for them that in faith, piety and fear of God offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

Help, save, pity and defend us, O God, by thy grace.

Amen.

I should mention that the music for the liturgy was adapted by Regina Fryxell from various sources, including older Lutheran liturgies and 10th Century plainsongs.  In my opinion, it has much more character than any of the recent Lutheran liturgies I have heard, which in my opinion are really quite horrible.  This past Sunday I attended a Lutheran church who sung the 5th setting from the new, 2006 hymnal.   It was actually unnatural to sing; for example, they used a familiar tune to “Create in Me,” but changed the phrasing so that it actually interrupted the natural rhythm of the lyrics.  Strange.  I don’t think I’ll go back any time soon.

Written on 30 March 2009 by admin under Church, The Liturgy with No Comments
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The Lutheran Liturgy, Pt 2

Glory be to God on high!

So continues Setting Two of the Lutheran Liturgy from the 1958 Service Book and Hymnal. This is my favorite section of the liturgy, I think, and what most often has been playing in the background of my mind these past couple of weeks. This is the Gloria in Excelsis, adapted by Regina Fryxell:

Glory be to God on high!

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee,
We glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory,
O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.
O Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ;
O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
That takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.
Thou that takest away the sin of the world, receive our prayer.
Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.
For thou only art holy;
Thou only art the Lord;
Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost,
Art most high… in the glory of God the Father. Amen

The Lord be with you.

And with thy spirit.

This is followed by the Collect for the day and the Old Testament and Epistle readings, after which is sung the Alleluia (“Alleluia” sung 3 times). During Lent, instead of the Alleluia we would sing

Christ hath humbled himself,
and become obedient unto death,
even the death of the Cross.

Then, the Gospel lesson is read, prefaced by singing “Glory be to thee, O Lord,” and followed by “Praise be to thee, O Christ.”

At this point either the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed is recited, followed by the sermon.  After the sermon, the Pastor closes with,

The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.

I think you’d be hard-pressed to find many contemporary worship sets that could match the truth contained in the Liturgy. And the good news is, there’s even more! We’ll discuss that, soon.

Written on 23 March 2009 by me under Church, The Liturgy with 1 Comment
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The Lutheran Liturgy

Growing up Lutheran (LCA), I was raised using what is fondly called the Red Hymnal (The Service Book & Hymnal, published in 1958).  That hymnal contained two liturgies, the First Setting and the Second Setting, each having its own options at certain points.  Our church used the First Setting most of the time, but used the Second for communion Sundays and throughout Lent. The Second Setting was by far my favorite, and I always looked forward to those Sundays when it was in use.

Occasionally I will use one of the liturgies as a basis for prayer and mediation (not often… I don’t want to give the wrong impression I am too spiritual); I can read music enough to hear some of the melodies in my head as I read.  Recently I obtained a very poor, but usable, recording of the Second Setting, which helped to recall it as I heard it 35 years ago.

What I find interesting is that this has apparently recalled my own memories of the liturgy (I have only listened to the recording 3 or 4 times), and I have found that it is often going through my head.  It’s there when I wake up, and often throughout the day I will realize that even as I think about something else, the liturgy is playing in the background (or perhaps playing in my soul… I don’t pretend to understand the mind-brain-soul relationship).  And, it’s not just music; in fact, the music is not predominant.  It is the words that carry the tune (where there is a tune).

So, I thought I would reprint some of what’s been going through my head of late:

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart, and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to grant us forgiveness.

Our help is in the Name of the Lord. Who made heaven and earth.
I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord. And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.

Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto thee, that we are by nature sinful and unclean, and that we have sinned against thee by thought, word and deed. Wherefore we flee for refuge to thine infinite mercy, seeking and imploring thy grace, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.

O most merciful God, who has given thine only-begotten Son to die for us, have mercy upon us and for his sake grant us remission of all our sins: and by thy Holy Spirit increase in us true knowledge of thee and of thy will, and true obedience to they Word, that by thy grace we may come to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, hath had mercy upon us, and hath given his only Son to die for us, and for his sake forgiveth us all our sins. To them that believe on his Name, he giveth power to become the sons of God, and bestoweth upon them his Holy Spirit. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved. Grant this, O Lord, unto us all.

Amen.

Now the organ kicks in (the Gloria Patri):

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen

At this point, we’re just ramping up.  In the first 5 minutes of the service, we’ve heard and recited the Gospel, confessed our sins and heard the message of forgiveness.  Many contemporary churches never get to this point.  The basis for church for Lutherans is that church is a gathering of sinners, commonly united by the Gospel message of forgiveness; and this is the only basis for church.

Next, the Kyrie and the Gloria in Excelsis.

Written on 19 March 2009 by me under Church, The Liturgy with 5 Comments
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