-
·
Nicene Creed
The strangest moment in worship happens in the middle. For many of us it is sitting right in the center of our worship. And everything around it is far more worshipful and embodies the people at prayer. We open in prayer and we read scripture and we sing and pray a psalm and we proclaim…
-
·
Epiklesis
The epiklesis is the magic moment of the Great Thanksgiving. It is the great crescendo of the service of Holy Eucharist. It is the “shhh, everybody, shh! Here it is!” moment of the preparation of the table for communion. The prayer, which begins in a great gathering, tells of the great story, and reminds us…
-
·
Words of Institution
The Eucharistic Prayer begins with the Sursum Corda, a conversation between the presider and the people. The Lord be with you! And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give him thanks and praise. This is…
-
·
Priest as Jesus?
I don’t know what those first followers did after he was gone. I know they cried, some wailed, all wondered what to do. Where to go. Who they are now. If we follow him, and these other, really smart, highly educated, super powerful leaders don’t like what our leader (is he really the Messiah?) had to say,…
-
·
Pastor or Priest?
My friend and teacher, the Rev. Dr. D. Jay Koyle teaches that identity and worship is connected with belief and choice. We make decisions for our personal piety and liturgical acts from a place of understanding the purpose behind the choice. Much of our tradition is inherited through piety and local custom, rather than historical…
-
·
Cross or Crucifix?
I still don’t know why Christians wear crosses. The cross was a Roman torture device. The cross was the vehicle the state used to kill insurrectionists and rebels. It was like the medieval head on a pike. It wasn’t reserved for normal criminals or representative of criminal justice in the first century. It was how…
-
·
Trinity
The Trinity is the most important concept in the church. It is important in the way that things are important. It has this essential character, it is the source of great conflict, and it has some brilliance to it. And yet the doctrine of the Trinity is about as confusing, ill-defined, and poorly executed of…
-
·
Peace
I’m not sure there is a more foundational element to the Christian faith than peace. We want peace, we crave peace. Peace to us is safety and security. It is silence and quiet. It is solitude in chaos. It is the sound of birds chirping and streams bubbling when we are resting in the grass.…