Category: Catechesis

Rev. Christopher Raffa

“On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate” – Psalm 145:5

Many things coalesced and urged Martin Luther to write his catechetical material. As early as July 1516 Luther preached on the catechism, i.e., Ten Commandments, Creed, and Lord’s Prayer. By 1522, the practice had been established in Wittenberg of preaching on the Catechism four times a year. In 1524, Pastor Nicholas Hausmann had requested catechetical material from Luther to be used with the common folk. Luther also sought to settle a dispute that had arisen between John Agricola and Phillip Melanchthon concerning the place of the law in the Christian life (see A Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord, p.521ff). Indeed, the greatest reason for Luther’s writing of the Small Catechism was to address the maladies diagnosed in the Saxon Visitation of 1528. In his preface to the Small Catechism, Luther writes, “The deplorable, miserable conditions which I recently observed when visiting the parishes have constrained and pressed me to put this catechism of Christian doctrine into this brief, plain, and simple form. How pitiable, so help me God, were the things I saw: The common man, especially in the villages, knows practically nothing of Christian doctrine, and many of the pastors are almost entirely incompetent and unable to teach. Yet all the people are supposed to be Christians, have been baptized, and receive the Holy Sacrament, even though they do not know the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, or The Ten Commandments and live like poor animals of the barnyard and pigpen. What these people have mastered, however, is the fine art of tearing all Christian liberty to shreds.”

Thus, it is undeniable that Luther’s Small Catechism arose out of a specific historical context and it reflects that context in many ways. Yet, the pattern of sound words, the teaching of Christian doctrine, which is God’s Word alone, never grows old or outdated in its killing and making God’s people into a holy and forgiven people. Simply put, the Small Catechism in its explanation of the Christian faith and life remains a relevant text for all times and all places. It matters little whether you learned its language by heart from the 1943 or 1986 edition. It’s of little significance whether you learned its language of Law and Gospel in your early years, your middle years, or your sunset years. But what is of great significance is that in your journey as a catechumen of Christ in this life you continue to receive God’s Word of Law and Gospel to teach you over and over again, to remind you that the begging and receiving of Christ’s gifts is the rhythm of the Christian life-the seasick voyage of repentance and faith that will finally end in the harbor of God’s eternal salvation.

It is this reality of the Small Catechism and its importance for the Christian’s life that makes it such an important tool for teaching of God’s people. Yet, I fear that what Luther saw in 1528 in the Saxon Visitation is, at least in some way, what we now experience. In the dawn of the 21st century the Small Catechism is losing the vital role that it has played for many centuries. Often it is the case that adults who come to the church know very little, if anything about Christian doctrine, nor do they have a desire to be catechized, to sit at the feet of Jesus, to learn from the pastor as from Jesus who sent him into midst of His flock. The church has a mountain to climb as it surveys the dissonance that exists between child and parents. For how can the church expect, when parents have never really engaged the basics of Christian doctrine, that the children of these parents will be formed in the faith at home. At the same time, the breakdown of a biblically literate and catechized church falls on the pastors who downplay, supplant, and replace the Catechism as the primary text for catechetical instruction-especially for adults. James A. Nestingen sums up nicely the barren catechetical landscape, “It (Small Catechism) is no longer the working paradigm, encompassing the witness of the Scripture in the language of daily experience to serve preaching and reflection on the church’s faith and mission.”

At the same time, I must say that there are signs of catechetical life in the church. There are those in our church who resolutely continue to teach the basics of Christian doctrine; to form a Lutheran mind that it centered in the basics of confession of sin and the reception of Christ’s gifts through bible, hymnal and catechism. The church and its teaching are never contemporary, for it deals in that which has stood the test of time, fights against the gates of hell and draws its strength and resolve from Christ who is its body and life and who confesses, “This is most certainly true.” This certainty is given and sustained by Christ, whose sanctuary we inhabit so as to receive daily the comfort of sins forgiven and a blessed death granted by His death and resurrection. Catechesis is a lifelong endeavor. Martin Luther knew this and so he placed within the Small Catechism all that we must hear as unbeliever and believer, as sinner and saint. In recitation of the Ten Commandments we come face to face with the sinful nature that resides in our hearts and minds. In the recitation of the Creed we are given the Savior who has redeemed us, that is to say, bought us back from the devil’s grasp, “not with gold or sliver, but with his holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.” In the recitation and reception of His holy sacraments we are given the gifts of forgiveness life and salvation purchased and won by our Lord Jesus Christ so that we would one day rise from the dead, “just as He has risen from the dead lives and reigns to all eternity.” Nestingen summarizes it concisely, “The Small Catechism, in chart and pamphlet form, quickly became one of the most important documents of the Lutheran Reformation. It moved the village altar into the family kitchen, literally bringing instruction in the faith home to the intimacies of family life.”

Rev. Christopher Raffa is the associate pastor of Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church in West Bend, Wisconsin. You can email him at revcraffa@att.net.

Bethany Woelmer

We journey through a world full of lies. Though we sometimes think we are on the right path, it pulls us into a trap of deception and veils its own ugliness as we fall for Satan’s lies, time and time again. Satan tells us, “You can hide your sin. You don’t need the Gospel. You can climb to reach God everywhere. Truth is relative. Follow your heart. Wealth leads to happiness. Man is worth more through success and glory. You can worship God by your work. You can also find Him in your mind, heart, or hands.” And the list of lies goes on and on.

As humans we are constantly using our reason and senses. Although these things gifts from God, they have been tainted with sin and naturally cling to the wisdom of man that belongs only to this world and that has taken us captive since our fall into sin. This wisdom gives us many ways in which we can find God, yet the lie obscured in all of this is found within those deceitful words that tell us that we can actually find God with our reason and strength. We fall for this lie daily, because we are never fully satisfied with the truth that we are worthless in attaining salvation by our will. We desire glory, strength, and power and are content only with the natural knowledge of God that reveals nothing about who God is and what He has done for our salvation.

The wisdom of man is blind to that which has been revealed from God, whose hidden nature is revealed through His Word. While we hide from God to deny the truth of our sin, God hides His complete nature from us in order to reveal the true nature of Himself in His Word as delivered to us by the cross. Man’s wisdom seeks glory, strength, and success, while God’s wisdom creates truth and life through suffering, weakness, and even death. God is hidden in suffering, bringing life out of death, strength out of weakness, glory out of the cross, and wisdom out of folly. To the wisdom of man, the cross is foolishness, but to those who possess the wisdom of God through faith, it is the power of God by which all are saved.

Satan uses words to form many disguises to hide the truth. As the father of lies, he works to lead us away from this Word made flesh. While the wisdom of this age always changes according to our senses, the Word of the Lord remains forever. It is the strength by which the Church remains steadfast, and it is the root by which we flourish with love towards the neighbor. This love, as evident by God’s revelation to us, is best seen in suffering, because out of the depths of our weakness God pulls us out of the dirtiness of sin, cleanses us with the water of Holy Baptism, and clothes us with the robe of Christ’s righteousness. He does this by coming to us as a man, becoming sin for us, and suffering the punishment we deserve. God’s wisdom is manifested in the person of Jesus Christ, and in Him we are rooted in the truth of God’s Word that never changes and endures forever.

As we are swept away by our reason and senses that lead us away from God’s Word, we can take comfort in Christ who is our true leader on our path to heaven:

Bethany Woelmer is a member at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Topeka, Kansas, and a student in the Master’s of Church Music program at the University of Kansas.

Cassie Makela

Hiding behind the mask of tolerance, the old Adam bullies people on social media. He kills conversations with that dreaded four letter accusation: hate. If you’ve ever posted anything about God’s design for marriage, sexuality, or male and female, the old Adam has probably pounced on you. But, you are a Christian. The Holy Spirit has given you His Word. He’s made you-the new man in Christ-ready for this.

But are you, Christian, ready to confront a topic, like LGBT issues, on a more personal front? What would you say if a Christian friend confessed to you that she wrestles with same-sex attraction? How would you respond if your brother told you he couldn’t shake this nagging feeling that he is more like a girl than a boy?

The Christian church understandably grieves when our culture encourages-at times-demands us to embrace homosexuality and transgenderism. But these are also painful thorns that our brothers and sisters in Christ bear in their flesh. They are Christians, yes: baptized into Christ; beloved children of our heavenly Father. And at the same time, we are all still in the flesh; the old Adam still hangs round our necks. Because of this, they may plead with God for years to remove these temptations. They believe God created male and female, and created them for each other. In His infinite wisdom, God’s answer to them may remain, “My grace is sufficient for you…”

Into this struggle enters the Master of Lies. Satan, the Accuser-the old Adam’s landlord. He knows he has no power over those who have been baptized into Christ. Instead, he must entice YOU to reject the gift freely given to you. First, he convinces you that you should keep your temptation hidden in the darkness. Others will shun you, he says, if they find out who you really are. He deceives you into thinking you are strong enough to resist this on your own, and that works at first. But after a time-months, years, or maybe even decades-you let down your guard. That’s when the Great Tempter launches an all-out attack on your Achilles heel. What is His ultimate goal? It’s either to entice you to do something so repulsive that you doubt God’s forgiveness is for you, or to lead you into a pattern of unrepentant sin that eventually hardens your heart to the Gospel altogether. You slip a little, and he seduces you to sin more, to keep that blunder hidden. He knows that light is the enemy of darkness. The last thing he wants is for you to reveal your secret temptation and confess your sin to another who can name it, forgive, and set you free to be a child of God.

As children of God, we often speak of witness, mercy, and life together. And when we speak of life together, we are pointing to the Gospel promise that raises people dead in sin to new life together with the whole body of Christ on earth. This promise announces to us that we do not need to earn God’s favor-a task we could never accomplish, even if we dedicated every waking moment to it. No, Christ won that favor for us, once time for all time. In His gruesome death and glorious resurrection we are set free from earning God’s favor. Through the Gospel promise and the Spirit’s work we are freed from worry, guilt and doubt to love and serve each other for what we are: the family of God.

In this family, the church, God’s Spirit works to drown the Old Adam. He raises up each day a new man in Christ who resists Satan’s lies and who clings to God’s baptismal promises. In baptismal grace and peace, the new man in Christ confesses the old Adam’s sins and receives absolution from a pastor in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The new man in Christ hears God’s Word spoken as life-giving promise to and for him. Together with the whole body of Christ he eats Christ’s Body and drinks Christ’s Blood. And in this body, when his old Adam flesh struggles against the Spirit’s work in the lonely darkness of pride and shame, the family of God is ready to walk with him in the light of Christ’s resurrection hope. Gospeled. Spirited. Togethered.

Cassie Makela currently attends St. John’s Lutheran Church in Port Washington, WI, with her husband and five children.

Rev. Jacob Ehrhard

When Jesus encountered a Roman Centurion with a sick servant, we learn a bit about authority. “For I too am a man under authority,” says the Centurion, “with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Matthew 8:9). When he speaks, things get done. He recognizes this same authority in Jesus. “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed” (Matthew 8:8).

The Centurion has authority over the body. When he speaks, those under him must obey. And if you don’t, well, there’s a reason that he also wears a sword. The 28th article of the Augsburg Confession states, Civil rulers do not defend minds, but bodies and bodily things against obvious injuries. They restrain people with the sword and physical punishment in order to preserve civil justice and peace (AC XXVIII.11). Civil authority is authority that governs the body, but it has its limitations. It can rule the body with threats and punishments, but it cannot rule the mind or the heart. It cannot make you love. It cannot create faith.

But there is another authority-a distinct authority-that governs the heart and deals with eternal things. This authority the Augsburg Confession calls the Authority of the Keys, which is the authority to forgive and retain sins. This authority is exercised only by teaching or preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments, either to many or to individuals, according to their calling. In this way are given not only bodily, but also eternal things: eternal righteousness, the Holy Spirit, and eternal life (AC XXVIII.8). For sinners, civil authority governs unto the grave, but spiritual authority governs unto life. The Authority of the Keys governs beyond the grave and deals with eternal things.

In His last words in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). Both authorities, while distinct, come together in Jesus Christ. And so when He responds to the Centurion, He first speaks to his heart. Then He exercises His authority over the body. “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith…Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment” (Matthew 8:10, 13).

Jesus has brought the spiritual authority to forgive sins to earth. The eternal Son of God has come into the body in order to suffer in the body. On the cross, He suffers the punishments for the sins of the world. And because He suffered for your sins, He has authority to forgive your sins. But He doesn’t keep this authority for Himself. He sends out His ministers to speak in His stead and by His authority. And His servants speak, He speaks. And when He speaks, things get done. Your sins are forgiven. Even though you inhabit a body of sin, your sin cannot rule over you when your sins are forgiven.

“I have authority to lay it down,” Jesus says concerning His life, “and I have authority to take it up again” (John 10:18). Jesus laid down His life-body and soul-by submitting to civil authority to the point of death on a cross. But death does not have authority over the Crucified One, to whom all authority has been given. He exercises His authority over the body by rising from the dead. And so He will also exercise His authority over your body on the Last Day when He returns to judge the living and the dead. At His Word, your body will rise.

When He speaks, He gets things done. In the name of + Jesus.

Jacob Ehrhard is the pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, New Haven, Michigan.

Rev. Rich Heinz

I admit it. I was born into a Cubs family. At least four generations of them. My great-grandfather was eight-years-old when they won their last World Series. And while my sister is a diehard Cubs fan, my affiliation has been looser. They are “my” team, but I can’t quote you statistics, and many years I would be hard pressed to tell you very many names of players. I attend about a game a year, and enjoy the atmosphere, but don’t often have the game on TV or radio. I guess I’m kind of a “Chreaster” baseball fan; fairly inactive.

This week my brother-in-law, a fervent Cardinals fan, commented on one of my Facebook posts:=, “#Bandwagon.” He’s not really heard me talk baseball, and felt I was just riding the wave of trendy Cubs posts. Ouch! Am I?

It got me thinking, and returning to that “Chreaster” comment. Sometimes we are quick to feel a little Pharisaical and judge our brothers and sisters who come out of the woodwork for Christmas Eve “Midnight Mass,” candles in hand as we softly sing “Silent Night,” and those who come out of nowhere to fill the church on Easter morning, with resounding Alleluias. We look down on them, as if we have a greater right to be there, receiving the Gifts, since we are there every Sunday! Aren’t they ashamed to only be in Church twice a year?! How dare she approach the altar?! Was he even listening to Pastor’s sermon?! The only reason that family shows up on December 24th, is they hopped on the Christmas #bandwagon!

My friends, you and I have a lot of repenting to do! Not one of us deserves the forgiveness issuing from the manger and unwrapped from swaddling clothes on the altar. Nor are you and I more worthy than anyone to receive the proclamation of the Resurrection Gospel from the empty tomb of the pulpit! So what if someone else is simply #bandwagon and showing up then? The Holy Spirit is still “call[ing] by the Gospel, enlighten[ing] with His gifts, sanctif[ying] and [keeping] in the true faith.” Sin and grace. Law and Gospel. Repentance and absolution. The Lord is working on these people, just as He is working on you, delivering Christ in His Holy Gifts to you.

Don’t sit and judge the #bandwagon Christians as they show up for these occasional services. Give thanks to God that he has brought them there, and is pouring out His means of grace. Don’t think that anyone is favored by God for being in the Divine Service more often than others. The #bandwagon Christian may need to repent of staying away from Word and Sacrament for too long, but the every Sunday Christian may need to repent of feelings of condescension and superiority.

Instead of joining the ranks of Pharisees in personally judging them, pray for them. Intercede, asking the Lord to renew them in repentance and forgiveness. Ask Him to gather them into His Divine Services on a regular basis, that they may be forgiven and nourished to life everlasting. Ask Him to use you as one who encourages and welcomes them.

How will you do at that? You will fail. Every day. Of course, that doesn’t give you an excuse to stop living out your faith. Yet our dear Savior is reaching out to you, whether failing in living out your active faith, or being your #bandwagon self, forgiving and nourishing you with those same gifts. He delivers forgiveness, life, and salvation to you. He will one day welcome you onto the biggest undeserved #bandwagon of the Resurrection to Life Everlasting!

Oh, yeah. And whether you are a “diehard” or a “#bandwagon” fan, or anywhere in between, you can still rejoice with these teams in their earthly gifts, and even more so in His greater Gifts!

Rev. Rich Heinz is pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church & School in Chicago, IL – about five miles from Wrigley Field. He also serves as Worship Coordinator for Higher Things Conferences. Pastor Heinz also knows his brother-in-law was giving some good-natured ribbing.

Rev. Brady Finnern

Forgiveness in Christ is the call of the church. After the resurrection, Jesus tells the church to preach “repentance and forgiveness of sins” (Luke 24) and “if you forgive them they are forgiven” (John 20). This call is defined as the “Office of the Keys” which Christ has given to the church-the special authority to forgive sinners like you and me.

This gift of forgiveness is to be given by your pastor. He is called by the congregation to exercise this Office of the Keys for the sake of your spiritual wellbeing and so that we will be given a good conscience that allows you to stand before our LORD in love without fear.

In seminary, one of the professors would tell us, “Gentleman, you are called to be Absolution Man-forgiving the sins of sinners and saving the lost by His power.” When you are absolved by your pastor, not only is it good to hear, but you are actually receiving forgiveness in Christ.

This gift of forgiveness in Christ is also to be given by you in your daily vocations. Each day friends and acquaintances will confess major and minor indiscretions to you (gossip, overreaction to other people’s words and behavior, guilt over their past, and so on). But, as we all know from experience, our usual response is very weak. We will say things like, “Don’t worry about it” or “It’s all water under the bridge” and “Everyone has done something like that at some point.” We often do this to try to help ease their consciences. And even though these replies sound good at first, they provide no real comfort, and hence it’s hard to move on.

So why not use the words of Christ? Instead of, “Water under the bridge” say, “In Christ, you are forgiven” or “Jesus forgives you.” Your friends might be shocked by it. Give it a try anyway. When these words are said by you, a baptized child of God, not only is it good to hear, but your friends are actually receiving forgiveness in Christ.

Take me, for example. I am husband and a father of four children. Each night as I reflect on my day, I realize how much I have failed and sinned against my family; the rest of my family realizes that they have failed as well. So we have started a tradition of ending our day in Christ’s forgiveness. When I tuck the kids into bed, I place my hand on their heads and bless them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Then the last words they hear before they go to bed are, “In Christ, you are forgiven.” One night my daughter, after I announced Christ’s forgiveness to her, and when she realized that I was feeling particularly guilty, placed her hand on my head, made the sign of the cross and said, “Daddy, in Christ you are forgiven!” Not only was it good to hear, but I was actually receiving forgiveness in Christ. Thanks be to God!

Rev. Brady Finnern is pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church, Sartell, MN.

Luke Edwards

I wasn’t raised in the church. Sure, I went to Vacation Bible School a couple times when I was little; my parents drug me to a few Easter Sunday services and a couple Christmas Eve services at the local Methodist Church (but we weren’t even Methodist; that’s just where most of the people in town went). Twice I went to the local Church of Christ to impress a girlfriend. But I wasn’t raised in the church.

In fact, in the town I grew up, I had a reputation for being a real troublemaker-the kind of kid parents didn’t want their sons hanging around or their daughters dating. Even though there was no railroad in town, I was the kid “from the wrong side of the tracks.” To the people in town who identified themselves as Christians, I was one of two things: I was either a project, or, worse yet, a lost cause. I was either someone who needed fixing up so I could live up to my potential, or I was hopeless-someone who had no hope of being anything more than a failure.

When I was 23 years old, a guy I met at the gym drug me to St. Paul Lutheran Church. That morning in the fall of 2003, I heard something there that I had never heard in any church service I had been to, or from any Christian I had talked to. I heard that God had a decided preference for sinners. I heard that God, in Jesus, came to seek and to save the lost; that Jesus ate with sinners and forgave them their sins. What I heard for the first time was the good news that Jesus came not to call those people who had their acts together and were living up to their potential, but sinners: those people “from the wrong side of the tracks.”

Some of those people from my hometown were more right than even they knew. I was hopeless, a lost cause. There was no hope of fixing me-or them. But God is the God of the lost causes. He’s the God who sent His Son headlong into sin and death, so that every unfixable situation or person we would ever face could be met with His gracious words: “I forgive you all your sins.”

God doesn’t write us off or leave us to our own fixes. But precisely because there is no fix, He gives His Son into death and raises him up again. Jesus didn’t come to fix us. Instead, on the cross, He makes our unfixable lives His opportunity to show us His grace and mercy. And there is the good news-the good news of the love of God that doesn’t quit, but goes all the way to the cross for you. The good news of God’s unwavering commitment to redeem you from the brokenness of sin and death. The good news that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”

Rev. Luke Edwards serves as Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran in Oneida, Trinity Lutheran in Blunt and Immanuel Lutheran in Harrold, South Dakota.

Monica Berndt

I am not entirely comfortable in unfamiliar situations or in situations where I don’t know exactly what is going to happen.

I was recently on a train, which I had only ridden once before, and suddenly, upon discovering I was hungry, I realized I was going to have to walk through two train cars to the dining car before I could get anything to eat. I did not feel very comfortable walking on the train nor did I want to have other passengers on the train witness my shaky attempts to move about, so I continued to sit and fiddle with my purse letting pride and my intellect get in the way of my physical hunger. Finally, the desire to have something to eat prevailed and I managed to get out of my seat in order to return with a sandwich and hot cup of tea. Sure, I almost fell over and I noticed other passengers were watching me, but it was worth swallowing my pride just to be able to eat.

The first time I went to private confession, I felt exactly the same way that I felt on that train. I knew that if I went to confession I could receive the forgiveness of God which would relieve my stricken conscience, but right up until the pastor showed up I was fighting the urge to turn and run back out the door. I knew I was going to feel a bit uncomfortable talking to the pastor about what was bothering me, and I nearly let that feeling get in the way of receiving God’s free and relieving grace.

The Old Adam has a tremendous sense of pride and shame and constantly uses those against us to drive us away from those very things we need. Those feelings such as “Well, that sin wasn’t really that bad so I just wait until I have a bigger problem,” or “I am much too embarrassed to tell Pastor this,” are feelings the Old Adam uses to keep us from hearing the Gospel of forgiveness. Yet at the same time, our New, baptized Adam pokes our conscience and says, “It’s not about how you feel! It’s about letting the forgiveness that comes through Jesus Christ heal you and cleanse you of your guilt.”

That constant fight between the Old and New Adam will never go away until Jesus comes again, or until we pass from the earth. The Old Adam will continue to try and keep us away from the Gospel and away from the promises of Jesus. He will never stop trying to keep himself from being drowned in the baptismal font, and will grab hold of anything he can use to keep us looking inward at our sins. He builds up shame and pride in our hearts and tries to convince us that the last thing we want to do is confess our sins.

But countering his attempts to triumph, there stands the promise of Jesus: baptism! The Old Adam has already been drowned and the New Adam turns our eyes away from our pride and shame and points us back to our baptism and to the cross. God knows all our sins, and yet in Jesus, He has graciously forgiven us all things. He has given us confession and absolution as a wonderful remedy for the guilt that plagues our consciences and He invites us to come and hear His Gospel: the forgiveness of sins.

When the pastor showed up and I sat down in a chair and read the order of private confession, I was nervous and a bit scared. Yet in that order, there are some wonderful words: “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins.” In confession, God Himself comes to us through the words of the pastor to give us peace and forgiveness for everything we have committed against Him. He gives us relief-true spiritual relief-of the conscience. It may not feel comfortable or easy at first because the Old Adam still kicks and sputters inside of us, but because we are God’s children in our Baptism that drowned the Old Adam, we can rest assured in the grace of God. Thanks be to God for His mercy!

Monica Berndt is a member of Christ the Savior in George, WA and studies music at the University of Washington. She can be reached at marb2@uw.edu.

Chris Vecera

“How was worship?” It’s a question that sounds fairly innocent. Most of us have probably asked our friends this question on a Sunday afternoon. We ask, “How was church,” sort of like we ask, “How was your day?” We want to know what happened. We want to know what they think. What songs did the musicians play? Was the sermon good? How many people were there? How did the service make you feel? Did the pastor that you like preach? Were the hymns easy to sing? Was it “authentic”? Did you connect with it? These are all genuine questions, but they bring up two problems with the way we view worship. What happens in church isn’t about your actions, and it isn’t a surprise. It’s unbelievable, but it isn’t a surprise.

The word “worship” has to do with acknowledging worth in something. Worship often is about people ascribing value to an object. In church, people acknowledge God’s worth through their worship: “We give God our worship… God is worthy of our worship.” It’s anthropocentric (man centered) in its movement from the worshiper to God. This takes many forms, but basically has one theme: Worship is about people offering something to God “in response” to His worthiness. This is why people ask, “How was church?” They really mean something like, “How did you acknowledge God’s worth in church today? Did your actions show that He is worthy? Did the sermon, songs, and creative elements help you acknowledge God?”

This understanding of worship takes God’s work out of church. God becomes a passive agent on Sunday mornings, watching His worshipers perform. This is the problem. Believers don’t gather because of the things they want to do for God. They gather because of what God has done for the church and for the world. They gather to receive the promises of God, and His promises are always the same. Church isn’t about giving God your best effort, singing your favorite songs, listening to your favorite preacher, or participating in your favorite style. The church meets because God has made promises. He has promised to deliver His gifts, His grace, in real places for your benefit. God’s favor is not an abstract idea. It’s about real things. It has flesh and blood. It’s audible. It marks you. The gospel is good news that comes from outside of your sinful heart-good news from God for you.

This means true worship isn’t about wondering which pastor is gong to preach on any given Sunday. It’s not about wondering if the band will play your favorite song, or if the organist will play a song that you know how to sing. Church isn’t about making sure that the worship service stays under an hour and incorporates a couple of “creative” elements. Church isn’t a movement from you to God.

In the end, worship really isn’t a good name for what happens on a Sunday morning in Christian churches. In true worship, God does things for you. He serves you His gifts. It’s an act of service by God, not your spiritual acknowledgement of His worth. God is not on a pedestal awaiting your praise. As Luther said, “God is with us in the muck and in the work that makes his skin steam.” He doesn’t stand in the distance. For Luther, this is the meaning of Immanuel – God is with us. In Jesus, the Crucified One, God enters the muck of this world and delivers His gifts to you himself.

The early church used a different word for their church gatherings. The Ancient Greeks used it to describe the generous donation of a wealthy person to complete a public project in the city. It was a public work at a private expense, a public service. The church used this secular word, leitourgia, and applied it to a Christian context. In church, God does a public service, His liturgy.

Liturgy is a public work of God, a Divine Service, where Jesus gives you His gifts. These gifts are true gift because they were bought for you at God’s expense. There is no work to be done. No penance or acknowledgement of God’s worth qualifies you for this service. If that’s how it worked, then church wouldn’t be a public service at God’s expense-it would be a job where you receive your due reward.

God serves you the gifts of Christ’s death. In church, Jesus serves His Word and Sacrament. He serves the good news that God justifies you, an ungodly sinner. This is the public service pronouncement: You are not guilty. Jesus has taken your sin and given you His righteousness. He serves you the Baptismal promises of death and new life, cleansing, and salvation. He serves you His Body and Nlood for the forgiveness of sins in a foretaste of the feast to come-a feast where God’s favor lasts forever, a new creation and a world without end. Come to the Savior’s liturgy. All is ready. Jesus has paid for everything. It costs you nothing.

Chris Vecera is a Theology Teacher at Orange Lutheran High School in Orange California, and he can be reached at promissio5611@gmail.com.