Create in Me a Clean Heart

Warning = The 'Gesima Services Have Been Replaced By More Epiphanies

 

Various church bodies that use a liturgical calendar have dropped the Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima Sunday service names. I will follow those minor changes and remain with the historic readings for those Sundays as named, following Luther.

This link from Vanderbilt University provides a good summary of the liturgical calendar, as it is this year.

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/lections.php?year=B&season=Lent

There are many liturgical calendars followed by Lutherans and other groups in the past.

From a Concordia Lutheran Confeference congregation:

THE HISTORIC PERICOPES
The most familiar series of texts for the Church Year are the ancient or historic pericopes, which include lessons from both the Gospels and the Epistles. These have been in use from the earliest times and with only slight variations are still used today in the Lutheran, Episcopalian, and Roman rites. These were read in The Service and usually formed the text for the sermon so that in time they became a sort of Bible for the worshiper containing a great sotre of priceless truths made living through serial preaching upon them. They are supplemented here by a series of Old Testament selections made by the Commission on a Common Liturgy. These Old Testament selections, paralleling the Epistle and the Gospel selections, add variety and stimulation for the preacher without changing the essentials.

THE THOMASIUS SELECTIONS
For seventeen years Gottfried Thomasius was an active pastor in Erlangen and Nurember. In 1842 he accepted the position of professor of dogmatics at the University of Erlangen and exerted an influence equalled by few teachers of his time. In 1865 the General Synod of Bavaria approved a pericope system arranged by him and recommended it for use in the churches in Bavaria. The selections offer a series of Gospel, Epistle, and Old Testament texts

THE WUERTTEMBERG SELECTIONS
The Wuerttemberg Selections date back to 1843 when they were published in the Kirchenbuch (Church Book) of the Evangelical Church of that province. As in other provincial churches, the historic pericopes were supplemented by newer selections which take the entire Scriptures into purview although the Wuerttemberg Selections include only three texts from the Old Testament.

THE HAMBURG PERICOPES
Four series of pericopes were introduce in 1843 in the provincial Church of Hamburg. Of these, two were based on the historic Epistle and Gospel selections with only slight variations and are therefore not listed. Those here given consist of Epistle and Gospel selections with the addition of fifteen texts from the Book of Acts in the non-festival half of the Church Year. In addition, five texts from the Psalms and the Prophets are interspersed among the Gospel selections. The Epistles also contain a number of texts from the Prophets as well as one from the Book of Revelation.

THE EISENACH SELECTIONS
The Evangelische-Kirchliche Konferenz,formed in 1852, became the official bond between the Evangelical State Churches of Germany. Although its decisions were only advisory, the Eisenach Conference accomplished much in the field of hymnology, liturgiology, administration, and policy. In 1896 the Conference approved the work of a committee which had been named to revise the historic pericopes and to supplement them with a series of Epistle, Gospel,and Old Testament selections. These Eisenach Selections came into quite general use in Germany and later also in America. They are included in the General Rubrics of the Common Service Book and will appear also in the Common Lutheran Hymnal.

Liturgy Calendarists Unite Behind a Steady Trinity Count

 

Uniformity is going to win every time.

Let me start on liturgy calendars. Lutherans previously used free (insurance) desk diaries with everything marked on the dates, even allowing for differences in the synods. But lo, the Church of Rome began influencing the Lutherans and other cowards to follow their example, with pink robes, more saints days than saints, and a three-year lectionary.

If you want a definition of dumb, I would start with the three-year lectionary. Today I stumbled on Gottesdienst debating a possible alternative for a certain date. Those are clergy high on incense, opponents of the Traditional Text, and fanatical for Objective Faithless Justification.

My wife was all for the alb, because the cassock and surplice were hard to iron. Germans are practical. But that was not enough for the Smells and Belles who wanted to Roman in everything but the denomination. 

When I was first challenged on my Trinity count, I looked around for free liturgical calendar graphics. They were more mixed up than a gender quota at a university - or anywhere in ELCA. Graphic searches tend to call up calendars from every group and every year but this one. I found one at last, after finishing the bitter dregs of my cold coffee from the morning. To get on course, I need to make August 20th another Trinity 11. Braced with my knowledge of adiaphora, I will make it Trinity 11+ for next Sunday. And for Luther sermon quotes this week. 

That should stop the Liturgy Calendarists from adding more kindling to the house-warming party they are organizing.

We have had a lot of laughs (at my expense) about this.

Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, 2017. The Christ-Centered Liturgy

The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, 2017

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time

The Hymn #  44                    Ye Lands              

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #203            Morning Breaks                  

The Christ-Centered Liturgy

The Communion Hymn # 315            I Come O Savior             

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 361                     O Jesus, King

              

KJV Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

KJV Luke 14:1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. 2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. 3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? 4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; 5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? 6 And they could not answer him again to these things. 7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Seventeenth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We beseech Thee so to guide and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not exalt ourselves, but humbly fear Thee, with our whole hearts hear and keep Thy word, and hallow the Lord's day, that we also may be hallowed by Thy word; help us, first, to place our hope and confidence in Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who alone is our righteousness and Redeemer, and, then, so to amend and better our lives in accordance with Thy word, that we may avoid all offenses and finally obtain eternal salvation, through Thy grace in Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God. world without end. Amen.

The Christ-Centered Liturgy

KJV Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

My family attended the Disciples of Christ congregation in Moline. The members would make remarks about "not being Catholic" and not liking the liturgy, but the entire service was the same each week, each section broken up by "The ritual of..." and "The ritual of".... So they were liturgical in their own feeble way. 

I got out of the family car one morning and began crossing the street to Salem Lutheran Church, where a friend attended. "Where are you going?" my mother asked. I told her - many years later, both of my parents were Lutheran.

A long-time friend and reader asked me to discuss the liturgy, and this Sunday is a good time to begin, especially with Lutherans remembering Luther's 500th anniversary in their own feeble way. 

The most basic description of the liturgy is - Christ-centered. The liturgy is not Lutheran, Catholic, Eastern Orthodoxy, or Episcopal. The origins are Judaism and Jewish worship, because the entire Old Testament is a preparation for the Gospel and is therefore full of Gospel Promises and Blessings.

Therefore, the purpose of the liturgy is not to entertain or to recruit, but to convey Christ and His forgiveness to everyone present. The Word of God does this, through the work of the Holy Spirit. Whatever is faithful to the Scriptures serves as an instrument, a means to bring Christ to us.

The term we use, as shorthand, is the Means of Grace. The invisible Word of teaching and preaching is based upon Christ and His forgiveness of sin. He is already our righteousness, but that righteousness or forgiveness is not ours until we receive it in faith. We need to have this faith in Him sustained because we quickly grow cold to the Gospel and forget it altogether when we that spiritual renewal.

The Hymns

Paul urged Christians to be full of the Spirit - that is the Word - by speaking Psalms to each other, singing hymns and spiritual songs. Hymns, according to Luther, are liking praying twice. They are a form of prayer, and when we sing them, our soul prays with us. The Holy Spirit within believers helps each Christian to pray, sing, and listen. Good hymns are about Christ - praising Him, praying to Him, thanking Him.

The Creeds

The Three Ecumenical (Universal) Creeds are ancient. We do not even know the origins of the Apostles Creed. The Nicene Creed was fashioned during an enormous conflict over the Natures of Christ. The Athanasian Creed came even later. The Creeds are not Scripture but are what we express as the lessons of the Bible about the Holy Trinity. They are traditional, handed down over the ages, and tradition is the "democracy of the dead." We repeat the Creeds with reverence and awe because we are confessing these truths with millions of believers, past and present. Just as good food and protein strengthens our physical bodies, the Creeds strengthen our faith, warding off temptations to grow slack or to join the factions that use and abuse the Scriptures for their own purposes.

When I say the Creed, whether leading or participating, I see myself surrounding by a great cloud of witnesses from the past and those today who believe the same thing - a vast congregation of believers speaking about what unites them.

The Confession of Sin

The purpose of the confession of sin is to have a formal recognition of our sinful nature and an absolution. The modern solution for all troubles is self-esteem - man-centered. But healing does not come from praising ourselves, but from confession and forgiveness.

The Two Glorias

The Chief Article of the Christian Religion is Justification by Faith, so we recognize that with admitting our sinful nature and hearing the basis for forgiveness - not how sorry we feel, but what Christ has done for us, on our behalf.

This is re-emphasized in the little Gloria, the Gloria Patri, and the great Gloria, the Gloria in Excelsis. 

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is no small matter. This is revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures and taught throughout. What we are often disturbed or confused about is based on our faith in the Biblical doctrine of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

What is God really like? That is answered by Jesus, especially in the Gospel of John, where He repeatedly teaches us that the Father's will is His will, that His love for us is the Father's love, Who also loves us for loving the Son. The Spirit reveals this to us and helps us all our needs and in prayer. A faithful sermon cannot be given without the Spirit, and the Spirit helps us in hearing the Gospel and retaining its meaning.

Through the Spirit in the Word we are forgiven our sins each and every day. 

Appointed Readings

There are a number of ancient appointed readings. The Jews used them in their worship. Liturgical churches use them so we do not rotate around a few favorite passages. We use the historic ones, which Luther used. He sometimes complained about them but also realized they force us to consider difficult passages, which are no longer so difficult once we understand them.

The Sermon

Luther recognized the sermon as the supreme work of the Christian Church. If the ministers stick to teaching the Scriptures - verse by verse - the pastors and the congregations grow in their knowledge of the Gospel and also resist the temptations of false doctrine.

Pastor means "shepherd" in Latin, so that means both the feeding of the sheep with the Gospel and also protecting them against false teachers. 

The purpose of the sermon is to proclaim the true nature of Christ and the meaning of His forgiveness. It is the key element is building trust in the Savior.

Luther's sermon notes were so good from 500 years ago that they are on target now, as many have discovered from working with them and reading them. 

Holy Communion

Just as preaching and teaching are the invisible Word, the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion are the visible Word. Communion is the norm for Sundays and for special celebrations, such as Ascension Day. It says a lot when a "mission" congregation does not have an Ascension Day service because the audience might be small. 

The value of Holy Communion is its re-enactment of the Last Supper and the individual reception of the Body and Blood of Christ. Those who dislike the Means of Grace ask, "Why do many? God does not need so many!" But the Sacraments were given to us and for us, not from God's need but for our needs. We experience more meaning in the visible elements, which are powerful through the Word.

The Votum - means prayer, from St. Paul. The Gospel gives us the peace (of forgiveness) that passes all understanding.

The Benediction

The Benediction is verbatim from the Bible. It is God's Word. If the Trinity did not already exist, why do we say "The Lord" three times? This spoken benediction is God blessing us. The words should be listened to and appreciated for what they are - God speaking directly to us.

The Seven Ones

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

This passage expresses the true unity of the Christian Church, which includes all those who trust only in Christ for their salvation. The sectarians, who want to promote their own ideas, are shocked that the Christian Church splintered so early. That is because it was necessary to separate the bad leaven from the good. Even today people are shocked at Biblical teachings, moving on to rationalism, radicalism, and total atheism. We do do not leave wormy flour with the good flour, but remove the buggy food so that the good ingredients remain instead of being spoiled.

Christ Always Comes To Us Through the Word

Jesus our Savior always comes to us through the Word. This week I was teaching the Old Testament students how often the Savior is found in the Books of Moses. The whole class came alive realizing they were not just reading ancient history, but also viewing the foundation of the Christian Church, with Jesus clearly being taught here, there, everywhere - the Burning Bush (Two Natures, John 8), the blood of the lamb sparing them from the death of their sons, the Passover Lamb, the manna from heaven (John 6), the healing serpent lifted up (John 3), the water from the rock (John 4) and so forth.

An abundance of the Word means an abundance of forgiveness, blessings, comfort, trust in God's goodness - the peace that passes all understanding.