Redeemer Lutheran Church

Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

Last Sunday we began a series of meditations by Rev. Mark Smith, Lutheran Church Canada’s Director of International Missions which were distributed at our recent LCC Convention. Last Sunday we considered two of these meditations: Baptism: A Sacred Washing and The Church: The Household of God. This morning we will begin by considering:

The Divine Service: Heaven on Earth.
“Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28)

When the Church gathers for worship, it is not simply a routine, a concert, or a lecture. It is a holy encounter. The Divine Service is not chiefly what we do for God; it is what God does for us. He speaks. He forgives. He feeds. He gathers His people around Word and Sacrament, and heaven touches earth.

The name “Divine Service” tells us something profound: it is God’s service to us. He is the giver; we are the receivers. From Invocation to Benediction, the triune God is active. The Father calls His children into His presence. The Son proclaims His Life-giving Gospel an gives His very body and blook for the life of the world. The Holy Spirit creates and sustains saving faith through these gifts. And we, in response, offer thanksgiving, prayer and praise.

The Liturgy: Ancient and Ever New
The liturgy is not merely tradition, but a gift handed down through the ages, rooted in Scripture and refined by faithful use. Every part points us to Christ. The Kyrie cries out to Him for mercy. The Gloria in Excelsis echoes the song of the angels at Christ’s birth. The Creed confesses the faith once delivered to the saints. The Sanctus joins our voices with angels, archangels and all the company of heaven. The Agnus Dei acclaims Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

This form does not limit us – it frees us. It anchors us in Christ and delivers His gifts week after week, regardless of how we feel. Even when we are weary, distracted, or burdened, the liturgy carries us. It is not dependent on our strength or feelings, but on the power of God’s Word and promises.

The Center: Christ for You
At the heart of the Divine Service is the Gospel: Jesus Christ crucified and risen for you. Every hymn, every reading, every word of the sermon, and every element of the liturgy is ordered toward this one purpose: that you may receive Christ and His saving gifts. You come not to perform or impress, but to be filled, forgiven, and fed.

In the Lord’s Supper, the risen Savior is truly present with His people to unite them to Himself. In the preaching of the Word, He speaks life into weary hearts. In the absolution He declares sinners righteous. And in the Psalms and hymns, His faithful respond in thanksgiving and joy.

A Foretaste of the Feast to Come
The Divine Service is not just preparation for eternity: it is participation in eternity. It is heaven on earth. When we gather together around the altar, the Church militant on earth joins the Church triumphant in heaven in one great communion of saints.

And yet, we worship not by sight, but by faith. We hear Christ’s voice in the Word. We receive His body and blood in humble bread and wine. We believe what He has promised: that where two or three are gathered in His name He is there among them (Matthew 18:20).

Come and Be Served
The Divine Service is not first your service to God, but His gracious service to you. It is not a task to fulfill, but a gift to receive. You come as one in need of mercy and find that mercy overflowing. You come in weakness and leave clothed in strength. You come with empty hands and leave full of grace.

So come – week after week—come. For in the Divine Service, the weary find rest, the broken are mended, and sinners are declared saints. Not by our efforts, but by the gracious work of God, who serves His people.

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’”. (Psalm 122:1)

Let us pray:
Lord of the Church, You gather Your people to receive Your gifts in the Divine Service. Help me to come with reverence, expectation, and joy. Fix my eyes on Jesus, who is present in Word and Sacrament. Let Your mercy renew my heart and let my praise rise in thanksgiving. Keep me a faithful member of Your house until that day when faith gives way to sight, and I join the heavenly worship forever. Amen.
HYMN # 602 “The Gifts Christ Freely Gives”

Our second meditation is titled:
The Lord’s Supper: A Holy Mystery
“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16)

We come to the Lord’s Altar not with casual hearts, but in awe and wonder. For here, in this holy mystery, we do not merely recall Christ’s death: we receive the fruits of it. We do not merely remember His body and blood: we eat and drink them, as He Himself says: “This is My body…this is My blood” (Matthew 26:26-28).

In this Sacrament, Christ gives Himself to us fully – body, blood, soul, and divinity – hidden under bread and wine, yet truly present. He feeds us with the very life that conquered sin, death, and hell. This is no mere symbol. It is a sacrament, a holy mystery in which Christ unites Himself to us in the most intimate way possible this side of glory.

God Dwelling with His People
What greater proof of God’s love can be given than this: that He comes not only to dwell among us, but to dwell within us? In this Supper, Christ does not stand at a distance. He comes personally, fully, and sacramentally, forgiving sins, fortifying faith, and uniting us more deeply with Himself.

The mercy seat in the tabernacle, the cloud of God’s glory, the sacrifices of old foreshadowed this greater presence. Now the fullness of God dwells bodily in Christ (Colossians 2:9), and this same Christ gives us His body and blood for our salvation.

The Bread of Heaven
The Lord’s Supper is our true manna, the living bread of heaven, as Jesus tells us in John6:51 –

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

It is more than spiritual food. It is the very body and blood of the Son of God I flesh, who took on our humanity so that we might share in His divine life. The manna that God gave His people in the wilderness was a gift, yet all who ate it still died. But here, in this sacred, life-giving meal, the faithful receive the medicine of immortality, the Bread of Life come down from heaven so that one may eat of it al live forever.

A Banquet of Grace
Come to the Table as a beggar, and Christ will feed you as a beloved child. Come weary, and He will give you rest. Come broken, and He will make you whole. What sin is too great that His blood cannot cleanse it? What burden too heavy that His body cannot sustain you?

This meal is not earned. It is a gift. The highest gift. The most intimate communion with your Savior. In the Sacrament of the Altar you receive the One who suffered for you, died for you, and rose again to unite you to Himself and grant you everlasting life.

The mystery of this Sacrament is not meant to be dissected but adored. Faith does not pry into the hidden things of God but clings to His Word. Christ says, “This is My body…This is My blood” and faith simply replies: Amen.

Marvel, then, at what the Lord places into your hands and mouth: the very body once crucified, the very blood poured out for the sins of the world. What creation trembles to behold, you are invited to receive in faith.

So come. Come to the feast not because you are worthy, but because He has made you His own. Come and receive the Bread of Life given for you.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” (Psalm 34:8)

Let us pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, You have given us the gift of your holy body and blood for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of faith. Preserve us in this holy mystery. Keep us in true repentance and humble awe, that we may always approach Your Table with reverence and joy. Let this blessed Sacrament be for us a foretaste of the eternal feast to come, where we will dwell with You forever. Amen.
HYMN # 631 “Here, O My Lord ,I See Thee Face to Face” (St. 1-4, 7).