Thinking back to my first few years at the seminary, I remember harboring the false impression that one was either “liturgical” or “missional” in attitude, outlook, and practice. That regrettable perspective was far too common in those days, going hand-in-hand with a similar false dichotomy between confessional commitment and evangelical outreach, as though such things were antithetical and incompatible. It was in learning about the life and ministry of Wilhelm Loehe, in my fourth year at the sem, that I came to see the Liturgy of the Gospel and the Mission of the Church as being in perfect continuity with each other.
In the midst of a liberal and rationalistic age, Pastor Loehe was a staunchly confessional Lutheran in theology and practice, an avid student and practitioner of the historic Liturgy, and an ardent proponent and active supporter of outreach and missions at home and abroad. His preaching, pastoral care, and tangible works of mercy were exemplary. He was directly and personally involved in preparing men for the mission and ministry of the Church in the United States, and he was instrumental in establishing our own Concordia Theological Seminary, as well as helping to begin the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. He understood that the truth and faithfulness of our pure doctrine is exercised and actualized in the Liturgy of the Gospel, and that our confession of the faith is both the impetus and the content of the Church’s evangelistic efforts within the life of the congregation and to all the nations of the world.
To clarify, by “the Liturgy of the Gospel” I do not have in mind any particular form or setting of the Liturgy, whether from TLH, LW, LSB, or otherwise. Rather, I am referring to the broad “Lex Orandi” that I described last week, comprising the preaching and Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, the ongoing catechesis and confession of Christ and His Word, the speaking of Absolution in His Name, and the celebration of His Holy Supper in remembrance of Him, proclaiming His death until He comes. This Ministry of the Gospel in the Means of Grace, especially as it all fits and works together within the life of the Church on earth, collectively constitutes “the Liturgy of the Gospel,” as I am thinking of it here. This understanding and use of the term “Liturgy” (leitourgia) is briefly highlighted in our Confessions: “The term ‘liturgy’ squares well with the ministry.” It is an ancient word for “public service,” which coincides “with our position that a minister who consecrates shows forth the Body and Blood of the Lord to the people, just as a minister who preaches shows forth the Gospel to the people” (Apology XXIV.80-83).
To be sure, there are real benefits and advantages to having common forms and settings of the Liturgy; and a consistent continuity of practice from one week to the next certainly does serve the clarity of our catechesis and confession of Christ and His Word. There is also much that could be discussed about the appropriate conduct of the Liturgy with reverence and courtesy. But here I am considering “the Liturgy” more broadly and basically as the foundational Ministry of the Gospel in the Word and Sacraments.
Understanding “the Liturgy” to be the Lord’s good and gracious work of preaching and the Sacraments, shaped especially by the administration of His Supper in accordance with His Word, the main point to be made is that the Liturgy is the heart and center of the Church’s life, the very thing to which the lost are called by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel. That is to say, this Liturgy is not simply a “means to some other end,” but it is the very Kingdom of Heaven here among us in the Word and works of Christ Jesus. Apart from this Liturgy, there would be no point or purpose to the mission of the Church. But as it is, we reach out to the lost for the sake of calling them into the Life of the Church in the Liturgy of the Gospel.
Not only that, but what happens in the Liturgy – what is preached and heard, given and received there in the Liturgy – is what continues to happen in the lives of God’s people within their respective callings and stations. The Word of the Lord which they have heard in the Divine Service is the Word they pray and confess with their families, friends, and neighbors in the world. And the gifts they have received in the Divine Service bear good fruits after their own kind in the charity and good works of the faithful. As they are washed and fed, healed and forgiven, comforted and strengthened by the Liturgy of the Gospel in Word and Sacrament, so do they likewise wash and feed, heal and forgive, comfort and strengthen those whom the Lord has laid at their gates and placed alongside them in this body and life on earth. And they are prompted to do so in joyful thanksgiving for the gifts Christ freely gives in the Liturgy.
To hand over what we have received from the Lord in doctrine and practice is, of course, precisely what we are given to do – and rightly aim to do – in evangelism, outreach, and missions. For what do we have to give that we have not first of all received (1 Cor. 4:7)? And that is true for pastors and laity alike, each of us in his own place. Accordingly, the faithful administration and conduct of the Liturgy, in keeping with the Lord’s Word (and in continuity with the Church’s orthodox teaching and practices), is already the primary exercise of evangelism, which continues in outreach and the overall mission of the Church. And there is a beautiful continuity between the liturgical work of the pastoral ministry within the life of the congregation and the evangelical life of every Christian within their respective callings and stations.