In retrospect it was rather bold and brash of us to come to this house. One might even say it was arrogance that moved us, the fallen, corrupt, sinful descendants of Adam and Eve to come and knock on the door of The Divine. Having just been reminded by the Word of God how far we fall short of the glory of God I am shocked we had the courage to stand before a righteous God. I imagine we, like Adam and Eve, would have run and hid from the Lord, too ashamed to have him look upon us and see our sin. I can’t believe we knocked on the door of the Divine! More than that, I can’t believe He let us in. I can’t believe he sacrificed His only Son as payment for our sins! I can’t believe that in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit we are forgiven. I can’t believe it… and yet I do! By the power of the Holy Spirit, I do.
I do believe it! I must believe it! For not only did He let us into His house but because of His great love for us He took time out of His busy schedule of ruling the heavens and the earth, and He lowered himself, condescended without being condescending and sat down to visit with us. The Alpha and the Omega, the Almighty, visited with us. How patient He was! How foolish we were! We, for a moment, forgot whom it was we had come to see, we, for a moment, presumed that we had something to say to Him. We came to criticize and complain; we came to air our grievances and get answers. Oh, how we like the sound of our own voice! Thankfully His butler gently encouraged us to be quick to listen and slow to speak. And oh what great encouragement that was for we heard Him speak. We got to hear Him speak to us about what has been on His mind from the dawn of time. We got to hear Him speak to us about life! We got to hear Him speak to us about salvation! My life! My salvation! Your life! Your salvation! Gathered around His Word, we heard the Lord speak to us about Life and salvation. Like the Emmaus disciples we ask each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us [on the road] and opened the Scriptures to us?”[1] Like the Psalmist we sing, “The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”[2]
It occurs to us, that up to this point we have been rather passive in our worship. Yes we confessed our sin but that was hardly a work offered, rather it was a fact acknowledged. The Lord is the one who has opened the door for us by the perfect life and innocent death of His Son, Jesus. The Lord is the one who invited us to visit with Him and spoke the words that exposed our sin and showed us our savior. We have up to this point been largely passive in our worship. We have been the recipients of God’s grace. But now stirring within us is a desire to be good. We want to, “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”[3] We want to do good for mankind! “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”[4]
God knows that you desire to express your gratitude by doing good and so He provides you the opportunity to do the good you want to do. It is for this reason the butler steps forward and invites you to please stand for prayer. The Lord knows that the thankful Christian is a caring Christian and so He provides for you the opportunity to pray for others. This is a powerful good. This is an effective good. Saint James reminds us, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”[5] With hearts full of gratitude to God we join together to pray for others.
Prayer of the Church
P Eternal Lord, you speak to us in words of love and light and power. Fill us with peace today as we ponder the good news that you forgive our sins in Christ. Guide our lives today as we see clearly the path you have laid out for us. Work in us today through your Spirit that our thoughts, words, and actions glorify you and serve our neighbor.
C Fill us with the Word we have heard today and move us to believe it and live it.
P Guard and guide us as we live in a society that despises what you say about marriage. Lead husbands and wives to love each other with commitment, respect, and patience. Move parents to grasp the eternal value of keeping their children close to Jesus even when their children grow up.
C Protect us from the evil that surrounds us; give us pure hearts and minds.
P Provide your divine compass for those who govern us by making laws and setting policies. Give us respect for those who protect us from crime and aggression. Lead us to value the rights of our fellow citizens and to care for those who cannot care for themselves.
C Bless our land with peace and prosperity so that the gospel may be proclaimed to all.
P Give us passion to share the story of your love with our family and friends. Overcome unbelief and open the hearts of people everywhere to believe the good news that Jesus has forgiven their sins and opened the gates of heaven.
C Fill us with joy over every sinner who repents and comes to trust in your grace.
P Extend your healing power to those who are sick and suffering in body or mind. Fill eager minds with wisdom to discover new ways to treat disease and illness. Give patience and compassion to those who care for the sick and dying.
C Lift the eyes of the dying to your love in Christ.
Hear us, Lord, as we pray in silence. Silent prayer
P Eternal Lord, you guide the world with your mighty power and love all people because your Son lived and died and rose again. Hear our prayers, spoken and in silence, and answer them in your wisdom and grace.
C In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
It feels good to prayer for the needs of others; so good that we start to look around for more good that needs to be done. We might start a row in our row asking our fellow worshipers, “can I do good for you, can I do good for you, how about you do you have any good I can do?” But before all you do-gooders get out of control the butler distributes the offering plates.
Offering
As the plates get closer, you realize this offering is also a good work that God has prepared in advance for you to do. With your offering you support the work of the church, you maintain this house of prayer and praise, you meet the needs of the LORD’s butler and his family, and send out invitations to your community and missionaries in the world so that more people will be called out of darkness of unbelief into the light of salvation. This offering is an amazing good God has prepared in advance for you to do.
As you place your offering in the plate you understand that you are not tipping the butler for services rendered. You are not paying the price of admission into the house of the Lord. You are neither bribing a favor nor buying a vote. You are doing good for goodness sake. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”[6] You are doing this good from a willing heart for you know “God loves a cheerful giver.”[7] You are doing this good to “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first-fruits of all your crops.”[8] You are doing this good trusting that the Lord will “throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”[9] You are doing this good as an expression of the gratitude you have for God.
It feels good to express your gratitude for God’s grace. You want to keep on doing good even after you leave this place. But like Saint Paul you “know that nothing good lives in [you]me, that is, in [your]my sinful nature. For [you]I have the desire to do what is good, but [you]I cannot carry it out. For what [you]I do is not the good [you]I want to do; no, the evil [you]I do not want to do—this [you]I keep on doing.”[10] On your own you cannot do the good you want to keep on doing. But you are not on your own. The butler steps forward to remind you that Jesus is with you.
Preface
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them up to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give him thanks and praise.
P It is truly good and right that we should at all times and in all places give you thanks, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who preserves his Church to the end of time when he will come again as king to judge all people and take his own to glory. Therefore, with all the saints on earth and hosts of heaven, we praise your holy name and join their glorious song:
Holy, Holy, Holy
Sanctus
For over a thousand years the saints on earth and the hosts of heaven have sung that song. It is the song one sings when they find themselves in the company of the LORD. It has just now been sung by you, because you are not alone. Jesus is with you.
To reassure you of this fact and refresh you for the good work you wish to do, Jesus comes to you in the sacrament. But before we are reassured and refreshed by this feast, it seems right that we should give thanks for that which we are about to eat and drink in this meal. On behalf of the congregation the butler prays...
Prayer of Thanksgiving
P Blessed are you, Lord God, eternal King and gracious Father. In love you made us the crown of your creation. In mercy you planned our salvation. In grace you sent your Son to redeem us from sin.
We remember and give you thanks that your eternal Son, Jesus Christ, became flesh and made his dwelling among us, that he willingly placed himself under law to redeem those under law, that he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death on a cross, that he has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Bless us as we receive your Son’s body and blood in this Sacrament. Forgive our sins, increase our faith, strengthen our fellowship, and deepen our longing for the day when Christ will welcome us to his eternal feast. Praise and thanks and honor and glory be to you, O God and Father, and to your Son and to the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
There is so much that could be said about our next prayer, each petition could be it’s own sermon. Permit me please perhaps just a word or two. We are after all about to pray the prayer our Lord taught us; to pray that our heavenly Father’s name be hallowed as we teach His word in truth and purity. We are about to pray that His kingdom come not just on the last day but here in my heart as He rules my life. We are about to pray His will be done as faithfully here on earth by me as the angels serve Him in heaven. We are about to pray for daily bread in recognition that all that we have and all that we own is a gift from the Lord. We are about to pray that He forgive us as we forgive or that we forgive others as unconditionally and completely as He has forgiven us. We are about to pray Lead us not and deliver us from temptation and evil because our hearts are overflowing with gratitude to God that we want to do only what is good.
Lord’s Prayer
A Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Before we come to the Lord’s table, Jesus Himself explains to us what it is we are about to eat and drink. Strangely there is confusion among some about what is on the menu. But Jesus makes it very clear that in this supper He serves us His body and blood in with and under the bread and wine in a miraculous union that offers us forgiveness of sins. But do not take my word for it, listen instead to the words of God Himself.
Words of Institution
P Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C Amen.
For thousands of years God has been teaching His people that blood must be shed for the forgiveness of sins. From the blood of the first Passover lamb that was painted on the doorframes in Egypt to the blood of The Lamb of God that dripped from the cross, God’s people have been taught that salvation comes only through sacrifice. With the singing of the Agnus Dei, we express our gratitude to Jesus for becoming that sacrifice.
Lamb of God
Agnus Dei
As you come forward at the direction of the ushers you gather together as a family gathers at the dinner table. Indeed, that is what you are; family. Look to your left and to your right and you will see your brothers and sisters in faith. They, like you, have come to this table empty handed. They, like you, have come seeking not merit but mercy. They, like you, seek the strength to go out into the world and show their gratitude to God.
Distribution
Sensing that the end of our visit is near, that soon you will leave this place in search for more of the good God has prepared in advance for you to do, you are grateful that the butler invites you one more time to ask for the Lord’s blessing on that good you are now planning to do. You know there will be challenges. You know the devil will try to hinder you from expressing your gratitude to God. And so, you join the butler in yet another prayer.
P Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
C His mercy endures forever.
P Whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup,
C We proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
P We give thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us with this holy supper. We pray that through it you will strengthen our faith in you and increase our love for one another. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
We have come to the end. Our hour of worship is almost over. But before the butler dismisses you from the Lord’s house there is one thing left to be done. A blessing must be placed upon you. A blessing that The Lord himself commanded His butlers to give saying in Numbers 6:27, “put my name on [them] the Israelites, and I will bless them.” And so the butler raises his hands above the heads of the Lord’s people and we close our worship as we began, with a threefold blessing, with the Trinity. We close as we began, with the sign of the cross by which every blessing is ours. We close as we began, with knees trembling at the awesome work that has been entrusted to us.
Blessing
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.
C Amen.
Just as the disciples in the upper room sang a hymn at the conclusion of their visit with Jesus, so also we sing a hymn as at the conclusion to our visit.
Closing Hymn We Thank You For Your Blessings - CW #615
[1] Luke 24:32
[2] Psalm 126:3
[3] Hebrews 12:1
[4] Ephesians 2:10
[5] James 5:16
[6] 2 Corinthians 8:9
[7] 2 Corinthians 9:7
[8] Proverbs 3:9
[9] Malachi 3:10
[10] Romans 7:18-19