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A Walk Through the Trinity Liturgy, 2

A Walk Through the Trinity Liturgy, 2

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 10:45 pm by Peter Leithart

A Walk Through the Trinity Liturgy, 2 2017-09-06T22:45:49+06:00 Peter Leithart

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INTRODUCTION
In this session, we will move ahead in our tour through the Trinity liturgy, covering the Confession and Absolution and the ?ascension.?E

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Confession belongs at the beginning of the service. We enter into God?s house, invited for a meal, and we need to clean up before we do that. Cleansing was a requirement for the priests of the OT before they entered the sanctuary to minister (Exodus 30:17-21). When Yahweh appeared at Sinai, Israel had to prepare through cleansing (Exodus 19:10-15). The most direct link with the OT pattern of worship, however, is with the sin or purification offering, which was an offering that purified the altar and the worshiper in preparation for an ascent (Leviticus 4). In the New Covenant, this translates into an act of Confession, for ?if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness?E(1 John 1:9).

In the Trinity bulletin, the confession looks like this:

GOD CLEANSES US
(the people shall sit)
Exhortation

Call to Confession

Minister Come, let us worship and bow down.
People And kneel before the Lord our Maker
(the people may kneel)
Confession
Minister Almighty and most merciful God,
People join We confess to you that we are by nature sinful and unclean, and that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed; not only in outward transgressions, but also in secret thoughts and desires that we are not able to understand, but which are all known to You. For this reason, we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Silent Confession

Why do we need to confess our sins? Aren?t we already forgiven? John Frame offers this argument in his book, Worship in Spirit and Truth : When worship is seen as a reenactment of redemption, the service tends to obscure the reality of the once-for-all accomplishment of redemption: ?The great fact governing the worship experience from beginning to end is that Christ?s work is complete, that he is raised from the dead. Doubtless there is a place in worship for asking God?s forgiveness of our continuing sins for the sake of Christ. But worshipers should not be led to suppose (as in the Roman Catholic view of the Mass as a repeated sacrifice) that the work of redemption needs to be done over and over again. All churches need to take pains to counter that misunderstanding, but especially churches that lead worshipers week after week through the reading of the law, the confession of sin, and the assurance of pardon?E(pp. 68-69). I agree with Frame that the atonement is once-for-all, but the application of the effects of that atonement is repeated. Calvin said that justification and forgiveness need to be repeatedly given: ?Therefore, God does not, as many stupidly believe, once for all reckon to us as righteousness that forgiveness of sins concerning which we have spoken in order that, having obtained pardon for our past life, we may afterwards seek righteousness in the law; this would be only to lead us into false hope, to laugh at us, and mock us. For since no perfection can come to us so long as we are clothed in this flesh, and the law moreover announces death and judgment to all who do not maintain perfect righteousness in works, it will always have grounds for accusing and condemning us unless, on the contrary, God?s mercy counters it, and by continual forgiveness of sins repeatedly acquits us?E( Institutes 2.4.10). While it is true that we are in Christ, and therefore forgiven, it is also true that we continue to sin, and God forgives sins ?as we go.?E

Several features of the specific confession used at Trinity can be highlighted. First, the confession begins with an exhortation, which is normally based on something in the sermon text. We have made an effort to sprinkle the entire service with the sermon text ?Ein exhortations, prayers, and related Scripture readings. The exhortation also normally focuses on a particular sin or evil that gives a particular focus to our prayer of confession. For example, last week I noted the parallel between Jeroboam?s pragmatic creation of a new liturgy and President Bush?s equally pragmatic participation in an interfaith service. That led into an exhortation that we confess our collective sins as Americans, since the polytheism that Bush symbolized is pervasive in our culture.

Second, following the exhortation, I call the people to kneel for confession with the words from Psalm 95:6. The Psalm as a whole is a Psalm of praise, but the latter part of the Psalm emphasizes Israel?s hardness of heart at Massah and Meribah, and the fact that they were left to die in the desert. Because of Israel?s sins, Yahweh says, ?I loathed that generation?Eand prevented them from entering into rest in the land (vv. 7-11). The fragment of the Psalm thus recalls Israel?s entire history of hardness of heart and covenant unfaithfulness, and includes the implicit warning ?Today, if you would hear his voice, harden not your hearts?E(vv. 7-8).

Kneeling for confession is quite traditional in the church, of course, but only in Psalm 95 is it mentioned in Scripture in the context of worship. The more common posture is ?bowing?Eor ?prostration?E(Exodus 34:8; Psalm 22:29; 45:11; 72:9, 11; 138:2; Isaiah 45:23). That would be preferable to kneeling, but there are logistical difficulties in churches that use pews or chairs. Still, kneeling is part of worship at least in Psalm 95, and that?s sufficient biblical warrant. And it makes sense as an act of contrition. We make ourselves low to manifest in a bodily way our humility in sin before a holy God. Further, there is an implicit petition in our kneeling; we make ourselves low before God and call on Him to pick us up, to raise us from the dust to serve Him. That is what happens in the absolution.

Third, the prayer of confession is a collective prayer (?we?E, spoken together by the congregation, that confesses both the fact that each of us has sinned against God, and the fact that ?we?Ecollectively have sinned against Him by not living as His people together. The prayer is simple and short, yet it is also comprehensive. We pray for all sorts of sins, and even ask God to forgive us for those sins that we cannot name and of which we are only dimly aware (cf. Leviticus 5:2, 4; Psalm 19:12).

Finally, we follow the spoken prayer with a few moments of silent confession, in which each of us is to confess individual sins individually, particular sins particularly. By this method, we cover both our corporate and our individual sins, and emphasize that worship is both a covenant-renewal for the church and for each member.

KYRIE
While still kneeling, we pray a responsive prayer, a form of the ?Kyrie.?EThe name is taken from the Greek ?kyrie eleison?E(?Lord, have mercy?E. The form we use is the following:

Kyrie
Minister In peace let us pray to the Lord.
People Lord have mercy.
Minister For the peace that is from above, and for the salvation of souls, let us pray to the Lord.
People Christ have mercy.
Minister For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the churches of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
People Lord Jesus Christ have mercy.
Minister For this holy household, and for them that in faith, piety, and fear of God offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.
People Lord have mercy.
Minister Help, save, pity, and defend us, O God, by your grace.
People Amen.

The Kyrie is used in many historic liturgies, and is a prayer for mercy, frequently arranged in a Trinitarian pattern of ?Lord-Christ-Lord.?EAs explained on the LCMS web site, the Kyrie is a reminder of the mercy of God: ?Though there have been occasions when these words have been used as a plea for forgiveness, the primary use of Kyrie eleison has been

from the biblical perspective [about God?s mercy to us]. Confident of God’s mercy, we call on him and hold him to his promise to show mercy.?EThus, ?Through its continued use, the Kyrie reminds us that our God is merciful, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, etc. Though the world would love to tempt us to take this mercy for granted and to rely on ourselves, this ancient voice of the liturgy gives us a truly biblical perspective as we come into God’s presence.?EHere at the beginning of the worship service, in the midst of confessing our sins and receiving God?s assurance of cleansing, we recognize our need for God?s mercy. And we are reminded of the biblical assurances that His mercy is everlasting.

The particular form used here is an Eastern form of the Kyrie, which has become popular in Lutheran liturgies. Again, the LCMS web site: ?Here we plead for God’s mercy, not just for ourselves, but on behalf of others as well. We pray, indeed, for our salvation. But we also pray that God would grant peace to our troubled world. We pray for the Church and for all who come to God’s house to receive his good gifts and to thank and praise him. Throughout, the refrain is the same: Lord, have mercy.?EThus, our prayer of confession is not only a confession of our own sins and a plea for mercy for ourselves and our church; it is a recognition of the disorder, the peacelessness, that characterizes the world under sin, and a plea that the Lord would show mercy and bring peace, the shalom of the kingdom.

One of the key liturgical principles that is evident here is that the church worships not only for herself but on behalf of the world. At the feast of booths, Israel offered 70 bulls during the course of the week, representing the 70 nations of the ancient world. Israel kept her temple as the ?house of prayer for all nations.?EThrough our evangelism, we summon the nations to join with us at the house of God, but our prayers for mercy extend even those who do not believe or, at least, have not yet responded in faith.

ABSOLUTION
The minister calls on the people to stand to hear the absolution. Having placed ourselves in the dust in humility, we are invited to stand at the doorway of the Lord?s house, rising to new life and the promise of forgiveness. The absolution is not an additional prayer for forgiveness. It is a declaration that our prayers are heard, and an assurance that the Lord has forgiven us. It is a declaration of the gospel. It should be phrased as a declaration. Not ?let us beseech him to grant us true repentance, and His Holy Spirit, that those things may please him that we do at this present?E(BCO). But rather: ?I declare to you that your sins are forgiven?Eor ?he pardons and absolves all those who truly repent and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel?E(BCO). The minister, as the authorized spokesman for Christ in the midst of the congregation, declares Christ?s forgiveness.

In the Trinity liturgy, the minister speaks a word of pardon from Scripture, and follows with these words: ?Our heavenly Father, in His infinite mercy, has sent His only Son into the world for Your salvation, and for His sake forgives you all your sins. Therefore, by the authority of Jesus Christ and in His name, I declare to you that your sins are forgiven, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.?E

ASCENSION
We have been summoned to the Lord?s house, to the foot of the mountain. We have confessed our sins, seeking cleansing, and have been assured that we are clean, ready to enter into the presence of God. With faith in God?s promise, we now begin our ascent to His presence to hear His word and to fellowship with Him at His table. Our ascension is as follows:

(the people may lift their hands)
Gloria in Excelsis
ASCENSION
Sursum Corda
Minister The Lord be with you.
People And with thy spirit.
Minister Lift up Your hearts.
People We lift them up unto the Lord.
Minister Let us give thanks unto the Lord our God.
People It is meet and right so to do.
Minister It is good, right and beneficial that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty God, heavenly King. Because You gave us Jesus Christ, Your only Son, to be born at this time for us; who, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, was made very man, of the substance of the Virgin Mary His mother, and that without spot of sin, so that He might make us clean from all sin. Therefore, with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, and with all the church on earth, we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and singing:
Sanctus
Collect for the day
Let us pray
Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which Your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to eternal life, through Him who lives and reigns with You and with the Holy Spirit, ever one God. Amen.

Te Deum
Collect for peace
Minister Let us pray.
Minister O God,
People join From whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed, give unto us that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey Your commandments, and also that we, being defended by You from the fear of our enemies, may pass our time in rest and quietness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let me point to several specific features of this. First, much of the substance of this ascension is, in historic liturgies, located at the beginning of the Eucharist. The sursum corda , for instance, played an important role in Calvin?s own theology of the Eucharist. Persuaded by arguments from James Jordan and Jeff Meyers, we have placed the sursum corda , and other features of the ascension after the absolution. We don?t ascend to the mountaintop for the Supper only; we ascend to hear the word of God as well. Putting the ascension at the beginning of the Eucharist divides the service into a liturgy of the word (on earth) and a liturgy of the table (in heaven). In part, this divided service is a leftover of the patristic practice of dismissing the catechumens before the Eucharist, a practice that has not place, I believe, in a biblically-formed liturgy. Putting the ascension here emphasizes the unity of the service, the fact that the service as a whole takes place in heavenly places.

Second, the ascension theme is hammered home in this portion of the liturgy. Every piece of service music expresses the faith that we are actually joining with the heavenly choirs of angels as we enter the Lord?s presence. We sing the Gloria in Excelsis, the song of the angels from Luke 2; the Sursum Corda invites us to ascend by faith into heaven; the Sanctus is the song of the angels in Isaiah 6; in the Te Deum, we join in praise along with the angels, martyrs, apostles and prophets, as well as the whole church throughout the world.

Third, the ascension is heavy with music. As we saw in earlier studies in this series, music is a means of ascension in Chronicles, accompanying the ascension offerings (e.g., 2 Chronicles 29). As the animal ascended in smoke into Yahweh?s presence, so we ascend through song, a song inspired by the Spirit, into heaven.

Fourth, as we ascend, we stop at several ?ledges?Eto offer prayer. There is a general thanksgiving following the Gloria and leading into the Sanctus, reminding us that we enter the Lord?s courts with thanksgiving and praise. Following the Sanctus, there is a seasonally appropriate collect, as we continue to ascend to the Lord in praise and prayer. The conclusion of the Ascension is the Collect for Peace, which prepares us to hear the Word of God that will follow, with our ?hearts set to obey Your commandments.?E

We are now ready to hear Go
d speak to us. Next week, we?ll look at the Scripture readings, and perhaps get as far as the Eucharist.

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