The Company of the Fathers

The Company of the Fathers is starting up again!  We are reading Tertullian’s Apology right now, and it is startling to realize that the Church has weathered all the same problems, hundreds of years ago.  Our economy may be in the tank, but the Church has been through all this many times before.  We suffer from a lack of perspective, and one of the best ways to gain a more balanced view of history (and our place in it) is to read the Church Fathers.  Join us!

The place of the Agnus Dei

I am glad to have the opportunity to join the discussion here at the RLI. My name is Aaron Cummings and I am an interested lay person. Thanks much.

In most traditional liturgies which have survived to this day, the Agnus Dei is said immediately after Consecration of the element, and the declaration: “The Peace of the Lord be with you always.” In some churches, the minister goes so far as to say while elevating the host: “Behold the Lamb of God. Behold Him that taketh away the sins of the world.” The words of the Agnus Dei are:

“O Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

O Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

O Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world, grant us thy peace.”

These words are nice enough as it is. They are well-worth singing in the service, for our Lord is the Lamb of God who does take away the sins of the world. We should beg his mercy and peace.

What follows is merely a suggestion and I would welcome any feedback.

1) These words coming at this point in the service suggest that now Christ is here in a special way in the newly consecrated elements, here, that is, in such a way that we could pray to the elements.

2) If you quote John in pointing to the elements as Christ, then are you more pointedly asking the congregants to pray to the elements?

3) Would these words work better as a hymn of confession at the start of service? Consider that male lambs (rams in particular) were sacrificed as the trespass offering, the first of the sacrifices in the Levitical service. The Trespass was the sacrifice for the heavy, high-handed sins (Lev. 5:14-6:7). That Christ is our “lamb” specially identifies him specifically as the trespass offering, for when offering the other sacrifices (burnt, grain, peace, and sin), the sacrificing saint could offer goats, bulls, doves, pigeons and even bread. Christ certainly fulfills the other sacrifices, but John didn’t say, “Behold the goat of God”, or “Behold the bread of God”. He said, “Behold the Lamb of God,” highlighting the trespass sacrifice. The Agnus Dei seems to work very well as a hymn of confession rather than a hymn of joy at the Lord’s table. What about praying the Agnus and then the Kyrie as sister hymns of confession?

Heart and Voice–Resources for Congregational Singing

As we seek to recover the richness of congregational singing (without the artificial props of amps and electric guitars), the biggest hurdle can be our culture’s general ignorance of music.  Though some folks were forced to take piano lessons as children, even fewer members of our congregations have been taught how to sing.  Someone is finally trying to fix this problem!  Heart and Voice has an exciting project going.  Check it out!

(Note: our pages of books and on-line resources have been updated, and many new churches have been added to our “Churches” page.  There you can see examples of Reformed liturgies from churches from diverse denominations throughout the US, and even the world.)

Society for the Study of Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism

As a follow-up to the last post, I just learned that The Society for the Study of Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism is starting up again.  Anyone interested in being on the mailing list should contact Brock Bingaman at Loyola University Chicago: BBINGAM@LUC.EDU

 

Revelation: The Church at War in Liturgical Worship

Rev. Dr. Donald P. Richmond

The book of Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse, is among evangelicals almost entirely interpreted as an eschatological text. Authors such as Lindsey and Bloomfield, as well as a multitude of others, are clear examples of this. However, while not rejecting eschatological applications, it is the issue of worship – most specifically warfare worship – that dominates the pages of St. John’s revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.[1]

A casual glance through Revelation appears to offer a great deal of information which does not initially seem to fit a liturgical pattern. Many of the images, if not the bulk of them, are not obvious when we attend our service of worship each Sunday or on holidays. I have personally never seen some of the bizarre personalities and activities that Revelation records. I am quite certain that everyone I know has never seen some of these activities or personalities either. How do strange creatures, judgments, plagues – in all of their bewildering expressions – fit into the liturgical pattern of the Eucharist, of the Church at worship?

Eucharist – Christ’s Action in the Church

“Indeed, as we have seen, since the Reformation the emphasis has been placed upon the meal, upon the act of communion and upon the real presence.  All this is quite right, but the almost exclusive insistence upon these aspects has tended to rivet the attention of theologians in the tradition of the Reformation, on the problem of Christ’s presence, as long as they have not been led astray into a spiritualizing symbolism, thus avoiding the central problem.  The fact of the real presence is set in a new light if it is considered within the context of the Eucharist’s relation to the rites of the paschal meal and to the Jewish understanding of sacrifice fully accepted by Christ and His apostles.  The more or less static conception of a sign of the presence of Christ is then abandoned in the recognition that the Eucharist is a liturgical action and a spiritual event which is the mystery of Christ’s self-giving.  The real presence is not something to be defined and made use of; it is the presence of Christ crucified, risen and glorified and acting on our behalf, now in heaven, in the Church, by Word and Sacrament.  The Eucharist must therefore be considered as the action of Christ in His Church, and the problem of His presence is only a corollary of this.  In order to give Himself, Christ is present in person, in His body and blood, as He was on the cross and is in heaven.  The question of the mode of His presence is secondary.  It is Christ who acts; it is Christ who is present, both Man and God,” (Max Thurian, The Eucharistic Memorial, vol. I, 14-15, emphasis mine).

Reformation Covenant Church

New church added to our “Churches” Page: Reformation Covenant Church of Southern Oregon (Medford, OR – CREC).  The liturgy is heavy on singing an chanting, but so is the Bible.  It looks challening and demanding, but worship is work.  It’s the Lord’s service, after all, where we actively serve the Lord. 

But, we also need to explore ways to make some musical resources available for those who want to get serious about chanting.  Liturgies like these can look too imposing for most.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Well Said, Max!

From Max Thurian’s The Eucharistic Memorial (I): “The unity of Christians cannot be achieved by the study of history and its unfortunate lapses, nor by an ecclesiastical policy motivated by a generous charity, nor even by ecumenical gatherings at which an attempt is made to arrive at a compromise.  Above all we must listen together to the Word of God, with the assistance of the earliest interpreters and doctors of the Church from the period when, though persecuted, she still enjoyed a more living and wider unity.  Ecumenical gatherings should be biblical if they are to achieve any result and so prepare the way for that visible unity that God will reveal when we are ready to recognize it.  The problem of the eucharistic sacrifice, like all other problems, must first of all be studied at the biblical level,” (pg. 14).

“Stuck on New”

Bobby Neal Winters has a good article on “Worshiping After the First Date” in a recent Touchstone. It’s a balanced introduction to thinking about liturgical maturity.

Call for Editors & Writers

Although this site continues to get steady traffic, I find myself too busy in my family and my studies to develop it as it could be.  If anyone out there would like to contribute, either as a writer or an editor, let me know.  The original vision was for this site to be a resource, and the more heads involved, the merrier!  E-mail me at gsoderberg@nc.rr.com