Why Do We Worship the Way We Do?
If you have been around Lutheran worship for a while, there are probably parts of the liturgy that live somewhere deep in your memory. You may not remember when you learned them. You may not even have sung them for years. But then you hear the first few notes, and suddenly the words come back.
This fall, we are returning to an older setting of the liturgy for our regular Sunday worship. For some of us, it will feel wonderfully familiar. For others, it may be completely new. Either way, it gives us an opportunity to ask a larger question: Why do we worship the way we do?
Our liturgy is much more than a collection of songs that we sing between the other parts of worship. The word “liturgy” comes from words meaning “the work of the people.” It is something we do together. Week after week, we gather. We confess and hear forgiveness. We sing praise. We listen for God’s Word. We pray for the world. We come to the table. We are blessed and sent back into the world.
The music surrounding those actions has changed many times throughout the history of the church. Different generations have found different ways of singing the Kyrie, the song of praise, the Gospel acclamation, and the songs surrounding Holy Communion. The melodies change, but they carry us through the same ancient movement of Christian worship.
During October, I’ll be offering a class after worship where we will explore some of these pieces of the liturgy more closely. We’ll learn a little about where they came from and what they mean, and most importantly, we’ll listen to several different musical settings from Evangelical Lutheran Worship. You’ll even get to rank your favorites as we go.
My hope isn’t simply that we learn more about liturgy. My hope is that we begin to notice it.
Sometimes words we say every Sunday can become so familiar that we stop hearing them. Why do we cry, “Lord, have mercy”? Why do we sing “Glory to God”? Why do we proclaim, “This is the feast”? Why do we sing as the Gospel comes among us?
There are centuries of faith tucked inside these little pieces of worship.
So whether the older setting we are returning to feels like coming home or like learning a brand-new song, listen closely. There is something beautiful about realizing that when we gather for worship, we are joining our voices not only with the people sitting beside us, but with generations of Christians who have prayed, sung, gathered at the table, and been sent into the world before us.
And then we get to add our voices to theirs.