Just this past Sunday, I visited a church that was not a member of our beloved Missouri Synod. The liturgy was a bit different. There was not a celebration of the Eucharist. There was not a formal reading of the gospel text. Not that there is some golden rule book that came down the mountain with Moses, but the different practices made me think. What makes our worship Lutheran? Can a person tell you are a Lutheran just by the way that you act?
I think they can. I guess I mean to say, the way the congregation acts. There are things about our worship that are distinctly Lutheran. Our worship is liturgical. It is not some man made thing that each pastor or congregation should feel free to dispense with. It is reflective of the gospel we preach and the sacrifice we celebrate. Our liturgy finds its foundation and identity like our preaching, in the Eucharist. Jesus makes our worship what it is. "God with us" is truly seen, felt, tasted, and even smelled in the celebration of the Lord's Supper. Jesus is God Almighty living with his bride. The texts of our liturgy come from the Bible. The church sees the definition of its Old Testament life in the texts of its liturgy.
The world and others may want to dictate what the church does, but the church shouldn't be swayed by the comings and goings of the world, the devil, and our sinful flesh. The church lives and breaths by her Savior who has decided that he will be with us always... being intimately connected in bread and wine, preached Word, and holy absolution.
They will know we are Lutherans by our Lord, by our Lord...yes they will know we are Lutherans by our Lord.
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