“The Divine Service: Invocation and Confession”
Now that we’ve gone over the decorations, paraments (garments that clothe the sanctuary), and vestments (garments which clothe the pastor and assistants), next we will go through a divine service and see why we do church in this particular way. I will be going through Divine Service setting 3 in the Lutheran Service Book.
We begin with a hymn of invocation. Hymns have been sung in the Church throughout the ages for three big reasons: To give thanks and praise to God, to give a great confession of what we believe, and to teach the faith. When we sing hymns out of the Hymnal, look to the bottom left of the page. In a small font there you will see who wrote this hymn and when, who translated it if it was originally in a different language, and who wrote the tune for the hymn and when. In our hymnal we have hymns ranging from the 4th century to the 21st century. And new hymns have been written by our very own LCMS musicians even in the past few years! As we sing hymns, pay attention to the words and to the confessions we’re making by saying these words. If you don’t have your own Lutheran Service Book at home, I would encourage you to get one. It’s a great resource not only for singing hymns throughout the week, but also has services in it you can do at home with your family, such as the Responsive Prayers and Matins and Vespers.
As I approach the chancel (the step up to where the altar, pulpit, lectern, and organ are located) you’ll notice that I bow down and reverence the altar. This is simply a reminder for me that I am entering the space where Jesus proclaims to us His Word and come in body and blood upon the altar. Anytime I come to or pass the middle point of the altar you will see me bowing like this for this reason. Then as the service starts, we begin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. As we go through the service, read those little red rubrics in our hymnal. They help explain why we do what we do throughout the service. As we begin and invoke the name of our Triune God, it is appropriate to cross yourself. This is simply to remind yourself of your baptism. Baptism is the way we enter the Church. In your baptism you are named a child of God and God gives you the eternal gifts of forgiveness of sins, the Kingdom of Heaven, and life everlasting. It is only because of our baptism that we are able to stand before the presence of God and on account of our baptism we know that God now treats us as His beloved children. This is why we begin our interaction with God in the Divine Service with a remembrance of our baptism.
You’ll notice too that everything in the service comes from scripture. In little black letters to the right of the words we say in the hymnal, you will see where in scripture these words are founded.
After the invocation, we confess our sins. We begin with his confession because it reminds us why we are here in church. We are sinful and we need the forgiveness which God graciously gives. And so, we come before God repenting of our sins, asking for forgiveness, and praying that God would help us to do better. This confession of sins also begins to prepare us to receive the Lord’s Supper. Confession helps us to reflect on why specifically we so desperately need the forgiveness of sins offered in the body and blood of Christ. As we pause before we confess are sins, reflect on your wing, where you have broken God’s Law or failed to love God and neighbor, bring these things before God, and receive forgiveness.
Next time we will pick up with the entrance Psalm, continuing to work our way through the Divine Service. As always, if you have any questions on why we do what we do in church please come to me. I’m always happy to answer and teach.
-Pastor Mullins
