The Gospel in the Movements of the Liturgy
Liturgy is a revelation and dramatization of patters of spiritual
reality we inhabit and into which we are drawing nearer and
deeper. Hebrews 2, 10, and 12 anchor this for us scripturally.
(Last week’s lesson summarized on back page)
Liturgy is Action, Patterned in Ritual and Ceremony
 Ritual and Ceremony are designed to Reveal and Dramatize
Gospel Reality
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Ritual patterns the words—framing and guiding what we
say with our mouths and mean by our ceremony
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Ceremony patterns the movements—how we move and
what we use to mean what we mean
 The ordinary liturgy is called “The Celebration of Holy
Eucharist”
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It’s is a turning point in time, meant to be a miniature
transition "from glory to glory" (where the implications of
2 Cor. 3-5 play out regularly and practically)
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We begin by turning from the cares and concerns that
have held our attention and activity
The liturgy invites and involves us in Conversion: We turn afresh
toward the God (repentance) who sees us as we are, who is with
us always, and who invites us to live more deeply and fully in the
reality of his presence and favor (belief/trust)
Gathering to Glorify:
Conversion to the WITH-God REALITY
The Big Picture, From The Procession to The Collect of the Day:
1) Gathering—With Jesus, with Our Father by the Spirit
 Standing
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Bowing
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Call & Response
2) To Glorify—Following Jesus’ Focus and Fullness
 Postures & Gestures
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Voices for Heart and Mind
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Some Step-by-Step Details:
The Procession (Ceremonies of symbol, gesture and form, and
sung Ritual)
 The procession dramatizes the reality we’re participating in
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Hebrews 12:22-29—We’re WITH God in the Heavenly City,
in the company of Angels and Saints
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Hebrews 2:8b-13—while we do not “see” all visible things
yet obeying the rule of Lord Jesus, we do “see” him
among us, leading in worship and gladly acknowledging us
as his brothers and sisters
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The procession, then, is a time for getting actively
involved in the Reality dramatized by the liturgy.
 We Stand, confident that we may approach God’s
Throne boldly (Heb. 4:16; 10:19-22) accepted in the
Beloved (Eph. 1:6)
 We Bow as the Cross passes by, to reaffirm in a bodily
way what we’ve committed ourselves to in Baptism:
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Renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that
rebel against God
Renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and
destroy the creatures of God
Renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of
God
Turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior
Put your whole trust in his grace and love
Promise to follow and obey him as your Lord
One of the prayers at baptism: “Grant, O Lord, that all who
are baptized into the death of Jesus Christ your Son may live
in the power of his resurrection and look for him to come
again in glory; who lives and reigns now and forever. Amen.“
We Sing, knowing that God’s presence is reason for
song (Ps. 100)
The Opening Acclamation (Ritual, with Ceremonial Gestures)
 This responsive declaration affirms the keynote of Creation
and of the Consummation of all things: Blessed!
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The Triune God is what blessed means
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God’s Kingdom—all people, creatures, created things—
participates in God’s Blessedness: all blessing we have is
because of God-the-Eternally-Blessed
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Always
 Many Christians make the sign of the cross whenever God’s
Triune Name is spoken: “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”
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It’s a creed and a prayer in gesture-form
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The Collect for Purity (Ritual)
 This fundamental prayer affirms the keynote of our current
Fallen-yet-being-Redeemed Condition, acknowledging God’s
Gracious Presence, our Need, and the Love-Directed Purpose
of All Things
 This is a creed-in-miniature and the liturgy-in-synopsis
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We live in the presence of the one-and-only God (already
blessed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)
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God is knowingly present to all our most invisible
spiritual, and personal realities: our hearts, desires,
secrets, thoughts
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God is able and willing to Cleanse the thoughts of our
hearts
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God does this by the filling of the Holy Spirit (in-spiration
is literally a “breathing into” and suggests by analogy the
life-sustaining necessity of God’s own Breath to give what
we need for life and to take away what must come out of
us for us to be healthy)
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The purpose of all things is to mature in Loving God and
in magnifying—glorifying, blessing, raving-about, praising,
drawing others’ attention-to, highlighting, focusingupon—God’s Holy Name:
 Holy (absolutely unique and perfectly flawless)
 Name (true character)
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The One in and through Whom we Live and mature is
Christ our Lord. Christ Jesus himself defines our true life
and direction in the next moment
The Summary of the Law (and at times for seasons, The Kyrie or
The Trisagion) (Ritual)
 We acknowledge the truth of our lives:
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affirming the direction and purpose that all our past
labors were to have—love of God and neighbor
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asking for the Mercy we need as we recognize the gap
remaining between the past week (or day) and the Love
toward which we are called
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The Call to Worship (Ritual)
 We adopt the posture of Jesus (who is among us and leading
us): “Here am I and the children you have given me”
(Hebrews 2:13)
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The Gloria and Songs of Adoration (Ritual with various
Ceremonial gestures and movements)
 Jesus delights in the Glory of the Father and the Holy Spirit
 He leads us in glorifying God (Hebrews 2:12; 13:15)
 Praise and Thanksgiving to God are part of Glorifying Him
(Psalm 50:23; Hebrews 13:15)
The Collect of the Day (Ritual, with the Ceremonial of Call &
Response)
 Jesus lives to make intercession for us and the whole world
(Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34)
 God is glorified when we call out to him in prayer (Psalm
50:15)
 A “Collect” is a wonderful pattern for our prayers, typically
having five parts:
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The address—a name of God The doctrine—a biblical truth about God’s nature that is the
basis for the prayer (words often drawn from scripture)
The petition—what is being asked for The aspiration—the good result we hope will be granted In Jesus’ name—reaffirming the mediating role of Jesus ________________________
Summary of “Gospel in the Liturgy” Series-Overview from 1/11/15
Liturgy is a Revelation of Reality:
 Jesus Is Pre-eminent in everything, and this is especially revealed
in Christian Worship. Hebrews 2:5-18
 God is WITH Us in everything, fulfilling the New Creation promises
made in the Old and New Testaments Hebrews 10
 We ARE present with God in the Communion of Saints,
especially whenever we gather. Hebrews 12
Liturgy is a Dramatization of Reality:
 Dramatizes “Eschatological” Reality (eschatology is theological
truth about the purpose and destination of all of history)
 Dramatizes “Sacramental” Reality
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The "dance" of the liturgy—patterns of movement—reveal the
point and pattern of our movements and motives while
dispersed throughout the week
 The patterns we follow in Liturgy provide models for how we’re
sent out to do the work Our Father has prepared in advance for us
to do throughout the week.
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