Liturgy is the D
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in the Bible, a blessing is halfway between a prayer (where we ask God for something) and a promise (where God promises something). It always uses a “subjunctive” verb (thus, nei- ther an imperative nor an indicative one).
And that is where we live our lives, between prayer and promise, waiting on God’s blessing each day.
A final word from Jesus After all is said and done, our liturgy closes with echoes from John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”
As we head out the door, the assisting minister reminds us of Jesus’ promise, coupling that peace with our marching orders for the week: to serve the Lord, spread the good news or remember the poor. And the congregation responds with one last shout of praise, one last cheer: “Thanks be to God!” Because if we learned and experienced any- thing in worship this day it was this: everything depends upon God and God’s grace and mercy. Every breath we take, all the for- giveness we receive (or give), God’s voice in the absolution and sermon, Christ’s presence in the meal and in those in need—all of these things— rest only and always on God’s love. Thanks be to God!
24 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org ‘ By Tom Lyberg
oes talk of traditional Lutheran liturgy spark a realization that your congregation falls some- where outside this box? You aren’t alone.
Many ELCA members attend congregations with a less liturgical or even non-liturgical service. If you aren’t paging through a cranberry, green, black or red book of worship on Sundays, you may well wonder: How does the Lutheran liturgy relate to my experience? On the other hand, if you deem the formal liturgy a necessity, you may wonder how some—even Lutherans—live with- out it.
Formal liturgical worship has been part of the Christian church for all its 2,000 years. It is and always will be part of who we are. But it’s not the only option. Liturgy, or the “what” of worship (necessary prayers, certain actions or elements),
shouldn’t cause us to forget the “why” of worship. So what is and isn’t liturgy? Liturgy is the form, not the pur- pose, for worship. Ultimately, wor- ship is about God in Christ encoun- tering God’s people and sending us out by the power of the Spirit to live like Jesus in the world. The essence of worship isn’t liturgical but sacramental. To borrow from Martin Luther, God takes on flesh in, with and through us. We as the church become Christ’s body in the world. While we prize our Lutheran forms of worship, the diversity in the universal church shows us there isn’t one set form for worship, only one set purpose.
Adapting our approach We know people learn differently and no single learning style (e.g., lecture, interactive, self-guided,
Lyberg is a pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Findlay, Ohio, and host of the
Wired Jesus Podcast (
www.wiredjesus.com). He contributes to The Lutheran’s “Popular music, worship” column.
what’ Be ready to adapt the ‘what’ for
the ‘why’ of worship
DESIGN PICS
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