Understanding the Divine Service: Overall

It's been a while, but... looking at the Divine Service as a whole, 3 major themes emerge. First, the Divine Service celebrates the incarnation, when God the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Service of the Word builds up to the hearing of God's Word by greeting Him, praising Him, and asking the Holy Spirit to open our ears, mind, and body to Him. And yet the focus is very much on the fact that the Word is coming to us. (This is why it might be best to have the lessons read, and even the sermon given, from within the midst of the congregation.) Then the Service of the Sacrament builds up to the eating and drinking of the Word-Made-Flesh, again by greeting Him, praising Him, and asking the Holy Spirit to make us worthy partakers of Him. Again, the focus is very much on the fact that the Word-Made-Flesh is coming to us.

Second, the Divine Service models the life of the believer. Just like our baptism/acquittal shoves us into walking the path of righteousness, so also the Invocation is the catalyst for the rest of the Divine Service; like the Christian life is spent receiving Christ’s Spirit and doing His work, so also everything after the Invocation is for the believer’s sanctification. And what is sanctification, but seeing one's utter need for and full dependence on Christ? Thus, the back and forth rocking of the Law and Gospel, cradled in the many parts of the Divine Service (Confession then Absolution, Kyrie then Gloria, etc.), mimics the believers' acknowledgement of their need for Christ (hallowing) and the joy that comes from getting Him (hallowed living).

In this way, the Divine Service has a decidedly missional focus. Furthermore, the almost constant recitation of Who Christ is and what He has done for His people (in the Gloria/Hymn of Praise, Creed, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, Nunc Dimittis, Prayer of Thanksgiving, etc.) mimics the kind of witness that believers give, not merely in the layout of words or because the witness comes from the joy of getting Christ, but in the fact that since the witness is scripted, the worshiper need only read the words given them, so as to repeat them out loud. This is almost exactly like the Holy Spirit speaking words of witness, Mark 13:9-11.

So, if one were to summarize the whole Divine Service, one might say that Christ comes down into the midst of His people and changes their lives, turning them from looking down at their navels, and up, out at their neighbor in need.

(In posts to come, I hope to talk about other themes and doctrines, and orders of service that might portray them.)