In my post yesterday, I wrote about how we need to give worship a high priority, because the encouragement we receive there helps us to persevere in our Christian walk. At the beginning of the service, the Invocation encourages us in a particular way -- it reminds us of our baptism. This information about the Invocation was included in our bulletin last week, and it explains this idea very well. The quote below is taken from A Guide to Worship in the Lutheran Church by T. Maschke.
"When does the worship service begin? The service does not begin with the lighting of candles, the ringing of bells, the start of the prelude or the conclusion of the preservice music. In one sense, the service begins with the Invocation. The gathered guests have assembled and now hear and recall the name of Him who promises to be with us always. (Matthew 28:20)
In such a context, the Invocation confesses that God has put His holy name on His people in Holy Baptism, and so has promised to remain with them, especially when two or three are gathered in Jesus' name, according to the Father's will (Matthew 18:19-20; 28:19-20). Christians use God's name properly by speaking the words of the Lord, receiving His gifts, and praising Him in worship and prayer. In his explanation to the Second Commandment in his Small Catechism, Luther stated that we use God's name properly when we 'call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise and give thanks'. When we speak, God listens."
To be continued tomorrow ...
For more about the liturgy see these posts:
Learning from the Liturgy
The Benediction
What is the Venite?
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