Luther's Deutsche Messe

Die Deutsche Messe

A Service of Holy Communion

Martin Luther, Professor of Theology, University of Wittenberg, Saxony—1526

 Processional Hymn: #200 — “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”

Stand as the hymn is introduced. Face the entry of the church to view the processional cross, and follow the procession of the cross as it passes and approaches the chancel. The first verse will be sung in the original German by our soloist. The congregation then sings #200.

 

Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott, Ein gute Wehr und Waffen;
Er hilft uns frei aus aller Not, Die uns jetzt hat betroffen.
Der alt’ böse Feind, Mit Ernst er’s jetzt meint,
Gross’ Macht und viel List Sein’ grausam’ Ruestung ist,
Auf Erd’ ist nicht seingleichen.

 

As in the medieval Latin mass, Luther began his service with an Entrance Psalm. This was a psalm that was chanted as the clergy entered. Luther opened up the mass greatly to congregational participation by providing hymns based on the psalms, replacing the one chanted only by the choir. “A Mighty Fortress”, a metrical version of Psalm 46, is the most beloved of these metrical psalms.

 

Lutherans today will immediately notice the absence the Confession of Sins at the start of the service. The early Lutheran Church continued to use private confession and absolution – not the Roman sacrament of Penance (“going to Confession”). The addition of confession and absolution for all at the beginning of worship became part of the Lutheran liturgy in America with the introduction of the “Common Service” of 1888.

 

Ensemble: #266 — “Kyrie, God Father in Heaven Above”

This hymn, written by Martin Luther, became a standard part of Lutheran worship in Germany into the twentieth century. The Kyrie is a cry for God’s mercy and help and expresses the confidence that God will answer our prayer.  The phrase Kyrie eleison is Greek for “Lord, have mercy.”

 

Song of Praise: #262 — “All Glory Be to God Alone"

The cry for mercy in the previous song gives way to praise. Luther introduced congregational participation  as he and his coworkers wrote many hymns for the church. Historians have noted that Luther “sang the Reformation into the hearts of the people.”

 

Greeting

This solemn yet intimate greeting between the pastor and congregation occurs just before the two major divisions of the service (Scripture and Holy Communion). Wilhelm Loehe said of this greeting, "The bonds of love and unity between pastor and people are tied anew."

M: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

Prayer of the Day

The Prayers of the Day are an ancient set of prayers that sum up the petitions of the congregation using a pattern noted for its brevity and beauty. Each Sunday has its unique Prayer of the Day, reflecting the theme of the Gospel of the Day.

M: Almighty God, through the preaching of your servants, the blessed Reformers, you caused the light of the gospel to shine forth. Grant that we may faithfully defend it against all enemies and joyfully proclaim it to the salvation of people everywhere to the glory of your holy name; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: Amen.

The Word

Old Testament: Daniel 3:16-28 The three men in the fiery furnace

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." 25 He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

 

Sunday School: “#457 — “Fight the Good Fight”

Ensemble v1; Sunday School v2-3; Congregation v4

 

Epistle: Revelation 14:6-7 The vision of the angel carrying the gospel

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth-- to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."

 

Verse of the Day:    CW: 203 v1

A verse of one of Luther’s powerful Reformation era hymns.

Lord, keep us steadfast in your Word;

Curb those who by deceit or sword

Would seek to overthrow your Son

And to destroy what he has done.

 

Gospel: Mark 13:5-11 The gospel will be preached in the face of persecution

Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. 9 "You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

 

Children’s Devotion

The original Deutsche Messe did not have a children’s message, but we use this time in each service to give our children God’s Word in a simple message designed specifically for them.

 

Hymn of the Day: #390 – “Salvation unto Us Has Come”

The hymn “Salvation Unto Us Has Come” was written by Paul Speratus, who lived from 1484 to 1551. This hymn has endured to this day because it is possibly the best Lutheran hymn ever written. It preaches Law and Gospel so clearly that it gives us the fullness of the Gospel story and gives us a framework from which we can understand all of Scripture. It is one of the oldest and best known of Lutheran hymns and has been referred to as the true confessional hymn of the Reformation. Martin Luther shed tears when he heard it sung by a street-singer outside his window in Wittenberg.

Sermon

Luther elevated the place and prominence of preaching in the service. The Gospel-based sermon was one of Luther’s most important reformations. His preaching was direct and lively, although many of his sermons would appear long by modern standards. Parishioners in Luther’s day stood for the service, often over two hours.

 

Te Deum Laudamus: “We Praise You and Acknowledge You”

“Te Deum Laudamus” is Latin for We praise you, O God!” With a history traced back as far as the 4th century, the hymn is one of the most widely sung in all of Christianity. Luther said that the Te Deum deserved to be ranked with the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds as one of the three creeds of the Christian faith. In 1523, several young men were burned at the stake for being Lutherans. As the smoke and flames enveloped them, they sang out the Te Deum. Sung to tune of Thaxted.

 

Offering

Luther’s seal is the most widely known symbol of Lutheranism. Luther was  invited to create a personal symbol to summarize his faith in the 1520, as his writings became increasingly popular, there was a desire on the part of the Wittenberg printers somehow to try to indicate what was an authorized publication of Luther’s works, and so they asked Luther to tell them what he would like to have as his personal mark on his published works. 

 

The Lord’s Prayer

Luther instructs, “After hearing the Word, and in preparation for the Sacrament, follows a paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer and an admonition for those who wish to partake of the Sacrament.”

M: I invite you to lift up your hearts to God and pray with me the Lord's Prayer as Christ our Lord taught us.

C: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

M: Here we pray that God our Father in heaven would look with mercy on all his children on earth.  We ask him to give us grace that we might proclaim his Word faithfully and live our lives according to his will, for then we show that his name is precious to us.  We also pray that he would keep us from any teaching and living which would dishonor his name.

C: Your kingdom come.

M: We pray that his kingdom and the rule of his grace might come to us and grow in us each day; that all who are still captives in Satan's kingdom might be brought to know Jesus Christ, his Son, so that the Christian Church might grow and prosper.

C: Your will be done on earth as in heaven.

M: We pray that the Holy Spirit would strengthen us to do and accept God's will in life and death, in good times and in bad, and that we might have power to put down our own sinful will and its desires.

C: Give us today our daily bread.

M: We pray that our Father would also give us our daily bread, preserve us from greed and selfish desires, and help us to trust that he will provide for all our needs.

C: Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

M: We ask that God would forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us so that our hearts may rest and rejoice in a good conscience before him, and that no sin may ever frighten or alarm us.

C: Lead us not into temptation.

M: We pray here that God would protect us from all temptations and help us by his Spirit to put down our sinful flesh, to despise the world and its vices, and to overcome the devil and all his trickery.

C: But deliver us from evil.

M: And finally we pray that God would deliver us from all evils of body and soul now and forever.

C: For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.  Amen.

M: All those who sincerely desire these things will say from their hearts "Amen," trusting without doubt that their prayers are answered in heaven, as Christ has promised: "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you will received it, and it will be yours."

 

Admonition of the Communicants

Luther's admonition for those who partake of the Sacrament reflects his emphasis on regular, ongoing catechetical instruction for all Christians. This was especially important during the Reformation era when so many in the church were poorly instructed, if at all.

M: I admonish you in Christ that you look upon the Testament of Christ in true faith, above all having confident assurance in your hearts in the words by which Christ grants his body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. That you remember and give thanks for his boundless love of which he gave proof when he redeemed us by his blood from God’s wrath, sin, death, and hell, and thereupon take to yourselves externally the bread and wine, that is, his body and blood, as your guarantee and pledge. In his name, therefore, and according to his command, let us proceed, by the use of his own words, to the use and administration of the Testament.

 Consecration

M: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

     Then he took the cup, gave thanks and gave it to them saying, “Drink from it, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Preface

The Preface is one of the most ancient parts of the historic liturgy of the Christian church, dating to the second century, or before.

M: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

M: Lift up your hearts.

C: We lift them up unto the Lord.

M: Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.

C: It is good and right so to do.

M: It is truly good and right that we should at all times and in all places give you thanks, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who preserves his Church to the end when he will come again as king to judge all people and take his own to glory. Therefore, with all the saints on earth and host of heaven, we praise your holy name and join their glorious song:

 

Ensemble: #267 — “Isaiah, Mighty Seer in Days of Old”

This hymn is Martin Luther’s metrical version of Isaiah 6:1-4, which includes the song of the heavenly seraphim angels. Luther replaced the historic “Holy Holy Holy” with this hymn version and then placed it at this point in the service.

Distribution

Kneeling in groups or “tables” became the practice after Luther’s death. The practice in the Christian Church during Luther’s time was to receive Communion with a “continuous” method. Before the Reformation only the bread was given to the laypeople. Luther restored the Sacrament of Holy Communion by allowing laypeople to receive the wine. Even more important, he restored a gospel understanding of Holy Communion.

 

Communion Hymn: #313 — “Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Savior”

The author of this hymn, Jan Hus ( c.1369-1415), was an early Reformer in Prague. He was executed by burning after the Council of Constance found him guilty of heresy. One of the “heresies” for which Hus was executed was giving the communion wine to laypeople.

 

Thanksgiving

This familiar prayer was written by Martin Luther.

M: We give thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us with this holy supper. We pray that through it you will strengthen our faith in you and increase our love for one another. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: Amen.

 

Blessing

Luther directed the clergy to use the words of blessing which God gave Old Testament priests to use for blessing the people of Israel.

M: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

C: Amen.

Closing Hymn: #752 — “In Christ Alone”

Modern Lutherans found the end of this service to be abrupt. A final hymn was added by Scandinavian Lutherans in the 1800s.