Why We Worship the Way we Do: Part Four

From the very beginning of the New Testament church, worship was always expressed corporately as a liturgy, which comes from the Greek “leitourgeia” meaning, “work of the people.” This work involves a specific structure for worship and takes the church on a journey to the throne room of God, and there in His presence, allows us to offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. This discipline of liturgy with scripted and non-scripted prayers opened the people to the move of the Holy Spirit while preventing the whims of the worshipper to take precedence. Thus, the major focus is on the one God in three persons, the God of creation and order. God’s people benefit from this work of adoration as the bonds between each other and with God are strengthened. This four-part liturgy, includes, The Gathering (hymns and prayers), The Service of the Word (Scripture and preaching), The Service of the Table (bread and wine shared) and the Departure (Going Forth to Serve God).

We have already talked about the particulars of the Procession and the Reading of Holy Scripture. After we have heard God’s Word read, those who have been called by God and appointed by the Church are to explain and expound upon this Word. We call this person by many names. Some call this person the preacher, the pastor, the minister, the priest, the teaching elder, or even, from the original language of the Bible, the “presbyter.” Most of these names reflect various functions of the office, but the job of the preacher is to speak God’s Truth from Holy Scripture. This is a frightening task. In the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), to be an ordained preacher “with standing,” which means that whole Church has approved or ordained this person to preach, is a long process and can be very difficult. The sign of ordination is the stole, the long piece of cloth worn around the preacher’s neck. The preacher does not work alone. The Holy Spirit, the Bible and the prayers of the people who are listening all play apart in the proclamation of God’s Word. At the conclusion of the sermon, an invitation for people to respond is offered. This is where the Church declares the faith by a creed or, most commonly in the Disciples Church, we make the invitation for those present to affirm the greatest creed: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Lord and Savior of the world.

Why We Worship the Way we Do: Part Three

“Your word is a lantern to my feet and a light upon my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

As the congregation symbolically comes to worship in the procession of the Choir and worship leaders, the hymn of praise ends with the Invocation. This opening prayer is the intentional request that the presence of the Holy Spirit be in our midst. It is were we “invoke” God to come and be among us. We believe that God is always with us, but in worship we recognize the presence of God in a very special way and our attentiveness to God’s presence.

As one takes their seat in the Nave, or what we know call the Sanctuary, you will see in front a lectern on your left and a pulpit on your right. “Lectern” comes from the Latin word “to read.” From this lectern is read Holy Scripture. The Gospel, Greek for “the Good News,” is the story of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is not read from here, but is read from the middle of the Sanctuary. This symbolizes three things: first, the Gospel of Jesus is to be the heart of the community, remembering that the heart is central to giving life to the body. “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). Secondly, it reminds us that Jesus still comes to be among His disciples as teacher (see Matthew 18:20). Thirdly, carrying the Gospel out to the people reminds us that we too must carry the Gospel out into the world. “Go out to the whole world; proclaim the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15).

After each of the two lessons the reader says, “The Word of the Lord.” To this the congregation responds, “Thanks be to God!” More than an automatic response, this acclamation of the people confirms their agreement that what we have just spoken is, in fact, the Truth of God. The Gospel retains an emphasis of being the words of Christ as the Minister proclaims it to be “…the Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ.” The people offer their allegiance and loyalty to Christ as they respond, “Praise be to Thee, Lord Christ!”

Why We Worship the Way we Do: Part Two

In the New Testament, the Church would gather in synagogues and in people’s homes for worship. The earliest archeological evidence of a building used solely for Christian worship is in 257 A.D. By the early fourth century, pagan temples were stripped of their idols and consecrated for Christian worship. In these early churches, there were no pews and people gathered and stood as a crowd throughout the services. The elders and bishops led worship from a raised area called an “apse,” an architectural term meaning “vault,” or a “chancel,” meaning “rail,” an area reserved for instruction. These areas often featured vaulted ceilings and rails to both enhance the sound and protect the preachers from pressing crowds who had come to hear the Gospel. As the early choirs led processions into the church carrying the Gospels, the candles, the cross, the chalice and the bread, the crowds made way to allow the procession to come through the center of the church.

This center aisle led from the Narthex doors all the way up to the Chancel, an area also called a “Sanctuary,” meaning “holy or set apart,” symbolic of the Jewish Temple’s Holy of Holies. The center aisle symbolized the seeker’s journey on the straight and narrow road that leads to salvation (Matthew 7:14). Today, we refer to the whole room as a “Sanctuary” and the area where the Communion Table, Lectern and Pulpit are placed as the “Chancel.” This procession down the center aisle was a symbolic act of the entire church coming in to worship. On special days, the congregation would often gather with the choir and clergy outside of the church and process through the streets, into the church building and down the center aisle. As the years passed, the center aisle became a sacred space and worshippers gathered on opposite sides of the room to remember that they were supported on either side by fellow Christians in this journey, as well as surrounded and aided by the angels and saints above (Hebrews 12:1-2). The leaders of the early church officiated many rites and acts of worship from the center aisle as a sign that worship is done among the people and by the people, rather than for the people and to the people.