Reflecting on Values: Sacramental Worship
by Rich Manners
Sacramental is a word that describes Lutheran worship, yet confuses many people. The word itself is not in the Bible but is an umbrella term that covers the means of grace, the sure commands and promises given by Christ Himself, attached to a physical element, through which we receive His blessings. Water, bread and wine, words spoken into our ears.
God has always attached His Word to the plain, ordinary things of our physical world. Think of the burning bush, the Ten Commandments written on stone, Jesus curing a man’s blindness with saliva and dirt. And what is worship? The Lutheran Confessions say, “The worship and divine service of the Gospel is to receive gifts from God.” So sacramental worship is God’s work, where He calls us together, gathering us around the gifts He has given us, and we in turn praise Him as the One True God from whom all blessings flow.
According to the Lutheran reformers, the marks of the true church are where the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel. That sounds like Faith, Fair Oaks, doesn’t it? This is why we come back, week after week, where we receive these gifts to strengthen our faith. We confess that we are sinners undeserving of God’s mercy, yet are granted absolution on account of Christ.
Every week, we hear pastor preach the Law, condemning us, and the Gospel, freeing us, and we are strengthened by the Lord’s Supper, when we are given Christ’s true body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins. We rejoice as a congregation when an infant or an adult is brought to be baptized, and remember our own baptism. We sing and speak the timeless words of worship drawn from Scripture; we pray, and humbly offer back some of what God has bestowed on us, knowing it will never compare to the mercy we’ve been given through Christ’s death and resurrection. Here, we do not have faith in faith itself, or faith in ourselves. Our faith is in the Word of God made flesh – Jesus Christ, who we know is true, trustworthy, and accomplishes what He says He will.