DIVINE SERVICE LITURGY PART 2 REV DR ALFONSO

DIVINE SERVICE LITURGY PART 2 REV. DR. ALFONSO O. ESPINOSA SAINT PAUL’S LUTHERAN CHURCH OF IRVINE APRIL, 2015

THE INVOCATION

IMMEDIATE CONFESSION! • What major event in the life of the Christian do these opening words correspond to? • Check understanding: what do we mean by the word “confession”? What does Scripture mean when it uses this word? It means “to say the same thing. ” Christians speak together as God’s family on earth and they say the same thing: identifying themselves as having a common faith and a common teaching.

HOLY BAPTISM!

TO SPEAK THIS WAY IS A CONFESSION! • This is how God identifies Himself in the Word of God/The Holy Bible, so this is the way we identify Him. We call Him as He reveals Himself! We therefore say, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ” • It is also significant to note what we are not saying (e. g. we do not say, “Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, ” etc. ).

FOR EXAMPLE JESUS SHOWS US THROUGH HIMSELF HOW THE FATHER LOVES US:

LUTHER DESCRIBES THE RELATIONSHIP WE HAVE WITH THE FATHER: • “Our Father who art in heaven. ” What does this mean? “With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father. ” (Small Catechism, Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer)

THE INVOCATION IS THE BEGINNING OF THE ENTRANCE RITE OF THE DIVINE SERVICE • There are 3 parts of the Sunday Divine Service: 1) Entrance Rite/The Preparation; 2) Service of the Word; and 3) Service of the Meal. • The Entrance Rite begins with “The Invocation” = this word “Invocation” means “To Call Upon. ” • But why call upon God with these particular words?

BECAUSE WITH THESE WORDS WE WERE ORIGINALLY BROUGHT INTO GOD’S KINGDOM! • Or to put it another way: this is how our King Jesus chose to come to us! • Jesus said of this gift of Holy Baptism: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ” (John 3: 5)

SO WE CALL UPON THE LORD (INVOCATION) BY CONFESSING THE WORDS OF OUR BAPTISM! God promises to hear us! These words. . . that the water in Holy Baptism contained and which were spoken over us when we were baptized. . . these words brought us into the very presence of God by virtue of joining us to Christ (Romans 6).

THE CONFESSION THEREFORE IS AN ACT OF FAITH! • Augsburg Confession Article XX: “Without faith, human nature does not call upon God, nor expect anything from Him, nor bear the cross [Matthew 16: 24]. ” • But where there is faith, Christians CALL on God’s Name!

NOT A MAGIC FORMULA, BUT WORDS WHICH REVEAL THE GOD OF LOVE • The Holy Trinity reveals that God is love (1 st John 4: 8 & 16) in that there is loving relationship within Himself (the Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father, etc. ) and He loves us as well! 1 st John 4: 19: “We love because He first loved us. ” When He comes to us, we are filled with love! We are enabled to love Him & each other! Divine Service creates this!

AS GOD’S BAPTIZED PEOPLE WHO KNOW CHRIST’S PRESENCE. . . WE HUMBLE OURSELVES BY GOD’S GRACE!

HUMBLE YOURSELF = MAKE YOURSELF LOW • By confessing your sin! • This is not a contrived humility, but is speaking the truth about oneself!

1 ST JOHN 1: 8 & 1 ST JOHN 1: 10 • “If we say we have no sin*, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ” • “If we say we have not sinned*, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. ” * What is “sin”? One definition is the violation of God’s Law. James 2: 10 and Romans 3: 23 should be reviewed. But recall, that “sin” is also our corrupt nature, so we have plenty to confess!

WE CONFESS OUR SIN, THE SOURCE OF OUR GUILT AND SHAME.

THAT IS TO SAY AT THE ENTRANCE RITE WE ARE SAYING THAT THE BAPTIZED MUST CONTINUALLY REPENT! • Luke 15: 7: “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner* who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. ” *This is the sinner who continues to repent. Repentance is 1) confessing sin; 2) having faith in forgiveness through Jesus!

THAT IS ONLY BAPTIZED SINNERS MAY PROPERLY PARTICIPATE IN THE DIVINE SERVICE! • 1. Last time we made the overall context clear: Divine Service is primarily God coming to YOU! • 2. But why does He come to you? A) You are put into a grace relationship and in baptism the Lord put you into Himself. . . thus the Invocation! B) You are called to remain in this grace relationship; not letting sin get in the way, so you confess your sins!

JESUS ONLY WANTS SINNERS! • Luke 5: 32: “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. ”

THE WORD OF GOD AND THE LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS • Luke 7: 37 -38: “And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. ” • AP Article 4 (Tappert, p. 128): “The woman came, believing that she should seek the forgiveness of sins from Christ. This is the highest way of worshiping Christ. ”