We are now in the Great Thanksgiving portion of the Service of the Sacrament section of the worship service.  I love what Jordan Cooper says in his book, Liturgical Worship:  The service of Holy Communion is at the heart of Christian faith and life.  In this sacrament, two essential realities occur for the benefit of God’s people.  First, God gives us his Son’s true body and blood, through which we receive the forgiveness of sins.  Second, the people of God’s church are joined with one another as we share a mysterious and intimate bond as fellow members of Christ’s body.  This sacrament, together with the proclamation of God’s Word, lies at the core of Christian worship.

We Lutherans often describe our ministry as “Word and Sacrament”.  Both elements of worship are essential.  There have been periods in the history of the Lutheran church where the frequency of Holy Communion waxed and waned.  In the late 19^th century, a liturgical renewal began, and one of the results was the restoration of weekly Communion.  At Bethlehem, we follow that cadence. 

 In the early church, at this moment in the service, catechumens and other visitors who hadn’t received Holy Baptism yet were dismissed from worship.  Communion was limited to those who were already members of the body of Christ.  Today, in our church at Bethlehem Lutheran, we do not “check” if people are baptized when they come up to receive communion.  There is a provision in our ELCA documents in the event someone who is not baptized comes to receive communion:

Application 37G:  When an unbaptized person comes to the table seeking Christ’s presence and is inadvertently communed, neither that person nor the ministers of Communion need be ashamed. Rather, Christ’s gift of love and mercy to all is praised. That person is invited to learn the faith of the Church, be baptized, and thereafter faithfully receive Holy Communion.

The Preface introduces us to the next part of the service, where we are invited into God’s presence for the sharing of the meal.  It is an ancient aspect of Christian liturgy.  St. Hippolytus mentions that in the early 3rd century, Christians were using a preface in worship as follows:

• The bishop says:  The Lord be with you.
• And all reply:  And with your spirit.
• The bishop says:  Lift up your hearts.
• The people respond:  We have them with the Lord.
• The bishop says:  Let us give thanks to the Lord.
• The people respond:  It is proper and just.

This exchange has survived for centuries almost word-for-word in our liturgy!

• Pastor:  The Lord be with you.
• Congregation:  And also with you.
• Pastor:  Lift up your hearts!
• Congregation:  We lift them to the Lord!
• Pastor:  Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
• Congregation:  It is right to give our thanks and praise.

When we exchange these words, we join the church across the ages in the act of praising the Triune God and receiving Christ’s body and blood.

Next time we will be exploring the other parts of the Communion service.  I will be out of town next week, so I will not be posting a blog on 7/11/2023, but will resume on 7/18/2023.  I hope everyone has an opportunity to enjoy Independence Day!  May grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.  Amen.