PASTOR'S MESSAGE
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Last updated 2/5/12
Faith in Christ Lutheran Church
Albuquerque, NM Missouri Synod
See Calendar Pages for Service, Class, and Event times
Albuquerque, NM Missouri Synod
See Calendar Pages for Service, Class, and Event times
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Our journey through the Divine Service takes up again after a month-long hiatus. As we have
continually seen, the Service of the Word and the Service of the Sacrament have been constructed in
such a way as to lead us through worship; directing our thoughts, movements, emotions, and actions.
We should do our utmost to remember that the actions that we do and the things that we hear and say
in the Divine Service are important. They are not just thrown together for no apparent reason. And
they are not relics which no longer hold meaning. Instead, the Divine Service allows us to be tied with
our Father and with the Body of Christ as we continuously turn back to His Word in order to receive
His grace and mercy.
Sanctus and Benedictus
It is here that we as the congregation find ourselves uttering the very same words that can be found
in Scripture. We are tied with Isaiah as he is given a vision of heaven where the six-winged Seraphim
encircle God and cry out “Holy, Holy, Holy”. One of the most interesting things about Isaiah chapter
6 is that even the angels of God must cover their faces in His holy presence, but Isaiah is able to gaze
upon this glorious vision. We too are given that same gift as we are being prepared to receive God
Himself in the Sacrament. We and the angels sing the Sanctus, which in Latin means “holy”, in order to
praise God for His wondrous mercy.
Tied into this song of praise are the Benedictus and a number of “Hosannas”. In singing these, we
again number ourselves with the saints. As our Lord rode into Jerusalem on His way to the cross, the
crowd gathered around Him and declared “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord!” This they yelled before Jesus had been crucified, where His body was sacrificed and His blood
was spilled to cover the sins of the world. As we echo these words we anticipate Christ coming to us;
His body given to us, His blood shed for us. This song should be sung with an air of expectation that
can almost not be contained!
Prayer of Thanksgiving
The Prayer of Thanksgiving is a “relatively new” thing that has been added into the liturgy. If you
notice in the hymnal, there are a couple of the different services that do not include it. The reasons for
that are many, but the main reason is that these are earlier forms of the Divine Service and therefore
adhere to when Luther took out the Eucharistic Prayer from the Mass.
From a Roman Catholic perspective, the Eucharistic Prayer (placed right before the Words of
Institution) is a prayer asking God to accept the sacrifice of Christ that the priest is now offering.
Thus the entire Lord’s Supper becomes a work of people because without the sacrifice from the priest
the sins of the people could not be covered… Within the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Eucharistic
Prayer is the time in which the priest calls down the Holy Spirit upon the elements in order for them
to be consecrated… Lutherans believe neither of these things, hence the reason why Luther wanted to
remove the Eucharistic Prayer/Prayer of Thanksgiving.
Yet we should know that when the Prayer of Thanksgiving is used in the Divine Service it does not
correspond to either one of these non-scriptural views. Instead we are truly taking the time in prayer
to thank the Father for all of His good gifts; namely the sending of His Son. Therefore in this prayer
we praise and thank God for sending Jesus to the cross in our stead and also for sending Him in Holy
Communion for us to eat and drink. We ask that His Spirit forever make us worthy recipients of this
most Holy Meal.
Like always, the purpose of the different parts of the Divine Service is to continuously remind us that
we are part of His Church and His Body. Therefore everything that happens in worship is God
actively giving to us and we as His people passively receiving from Him.
In Christ,
— Pastor Eli Lietzau
continually seen, the Service of the Word and the Service of the Sacrament have been constructed in
such a way as to lead us through worship; directing our thoughts, movements, emotions, and actions.
We should do our utmost to remember that the actions that we do and the things that we hear and say
in the Divine Service are important. They are not just thrown together for no apparent reason. And
they are not relics which no longer hold meaning. Instead, the Divine Service allows us to be tied with
our Father and with the Body of Christ as we continuously turn back to His Word in order to receive
His grace and mercy.
Sanctus and Benedictus
It is here that we as the congregation find ourselves uttering the very same words that can be found
in Scripture. We are tied with Isaiah as he is given a vision of heaven where the six-winged Seraphim
encircle God and cry out “Holy, Holy, Holy”. One of the most interesting things about Isaiah chapter
6 is that even the angels of God must cover their faces in His holy presence, but Isaiah is able to gaze
upon this glorious vision. We too are given that same gift as we are being prepared to receive God
Himself in the Sacrament. We and the angels sing the Sanctus, which in Latin means “holy”, in order to
praise God for His wondrous mercy.
Tied into this song of praise are the Benedictus and a number of “Hosannas”. In singing these, we
again number ourselves with the saints. As our Lord rode into Jerusalem on His way to the cross, the
crowd gathered around Him and declared “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord!” This they yelled before Jesus had been crucified, where His body was sacrificed and His blood
was spilled to cover the sins of the world. As we echo these words we anticipate Christ coming to us;
His body given to us, His blood shed for us. This song should be sung with an air of expectation that
can almost not be contained!
Prayer of Thanksgiving
The Prayer of Thanksgiving is a “relatively new” thing that has been added into the liturgy. If you
notice in the hymnal, there are a couple of the different services that do not include it. The reasons for
that are many, but the main reason is that these are earlier forms of the Divine Service and therefore
adhere to when Luther took out the Eucharistic Prayer from the Mass.
From a Roman Catholic perspective, the Eucharistic Prayer (placed right before the Words of
Institution) is a prayer asking God to accept the sacrifice of Christ that the priest is now offering.
Thus the entire Lord’s Supper becomes a work of people because without the sacrifice from the priest
the sins of the people could not be covered… Within the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Eucharistic
Prayer is the time in which the priest calls down the Holy Spirit upon the elements in order for them
to be consecrated… Lutherans believe neither of these things, hence the reason why Luther wanted to
remove the Eucharistic Prayer/Prayer of Thanksgiving.
Yet we should know that when the Prayer of Thanksgiving is used in the Divine Service it does not
correspond to either one of these non-scriptural views. Instead we are truly taking the time in prayer
to thank the Father for all of His good gifts; namely the sending of His Son. Therefore in this prayer
we praise and thank God for sending Jesus to the cross in our stead and also for sending Him in Holy
Communion for us to eat and drink. We ask that His Spirit forever make us worthy recipients of this
most Holy Meal.
Like always, the purpose of the different parts of the Divine Service is to continuously remind us that
we are part of His Church and His Body. Therefore everything that happens in worship is God
actively giving to us and we as His people passively receiving from Him.
In Christ,
— Pastor Eli Lietzau