"I promise to get you out of here..."
I just saw a video of a worship service by an LCMS congregation online. It may have been led by a pastor, or it may have been a layman. I suspect the latter, but I cannot say for sure. He was wearing a suit and tie with no vestments. He was an older guy, but did not seem to be used to celebrating the Mass. Instead of speaking the words of absolution in the left-hand column of the Confession and Absolution rite at the beginning of Divine Service 3, he used the right-column option that would be more appropriate for a lay-led service. He did speak from the pulpit, and he did say the Words of Institution over bread and wine.
Putting the best construction on it, let us assume that he was a called and ordained servant of the Word. It is what this putative pastor said before the service in his opening announcements that I found illustrative:
Most importantly, the [NFL football team] play this afternoon. And I will make this promise to you: I will get you out of here before the [NFL football team] game starts.
His emphatic promise was not to shepherd his hearers to Christ, to deliver them the Law and the Gospel, to forgive their sins, to lead the holy people to the holy things, to be a faithful steward of the mysteries of God - but rather to “get you out of here” before the “most important” event of the Lord’s Day: the football game.
The contemporary American church has a lot of specific problems: Biblical illiteracy, liturgical ignorance and slovenliness, irreverence among both clergy and laity, a lack of zeal for the Gospel, antinomianism on one hand and pietism on the other, problems with our polity, problems with our pastors, a lack of unity especially in matters of worship, and as Covid has exposed: a lack of unanimity regarding who has authority to consecrate the elements in Holy Communion.
But all of these things have a common promiscuous father: the lack of faith.
If the presumed pastor believed the words that came out of his own mouth as he led the preface: “And so with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven,” he wouldn’t dare speak of worship as something to get over with, a place to “get you out of” in time for the game. If he really believed that he was tasked with the sublime duty of shepherding the people of God into heaven itself - surrounded by myriads of ranks of angels and thousands of years of departed saints of every age - including our recently deceased loved ones - gathering around the throne of the living God, separated by the thinnest of veils, as we join with this cloud of witnesses to sing in deafening and eternal tones: “HOLY! HOLY! HOLY!” to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - he would have never demeaned worship by reducing it to a bothersome impediment to get out of the way before kickoff.
And if the congregation truly has faith, they rebuked their celebrant for his lack of faith, and begged him to lead them as a shepherd, standing in for the one who is the Good Shepherd, who owns the sheep - rather than going through the motions and saying words that he could not possibly mean.
We speak a lot about reverence. The father of reverence is faith. If you truly believe the words that we say in the Divine Liturgy - which come from the Holy Scriptures themselves - you will respond accordingly, not only in what you say and do, but how you say and do.
Just before Isaiah participated in the eternal heavenly Sanctus, he was brought into the throne-room - even as we are during the Divine Service. The angel brought him the burning coal that was placed on his lips, that which purged away his sin. His response was not to look at his watch to make sure he didn’t miss any of the football game. His response was to be prostrate before the Most Holy Trinity, in astonishment that the thrice-holy God would permit him access into the Holy of Holies. For this can only happen through the forgiveness of sins - which comes through faith.
And this is the great mystery of the Gospel, that we poor miserable sinners are declared righteous and worthy to be in the presence of the Father, because of the worthy Lamb who was slain, and we are called, gathered, enlightened, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit - baptized into His name most holy. And not only are we made worthy by this alien righteousness, we are indeed not just allowed, but we are transported, shepherded, like Isaiah, into heaven itself. It is the mystery of holiness - that because of the Gospel, we can overcome this separation from God Most Holy, and being made holy ourselves by the blood of the Lamb and through Holy Baptism, we join the heavenly throng on the Lord’s Day and whenever two or three gather for the Divine Service.
In the Holy Eucharist, we are physically with our Lord, intimately and in a way that unites us to Him physically and spiritually, in time and in eternity, in a sublime mystery that can only be grasped by faith. By means of this sacrament, we are there adoring the Christ-child with the magi. We are there as He preaches and teaches, as He heals and casts out demons. We are there at the foot of the cross, receiving His blessing: “Father forgive them” and participating in His victory over Satan: “It is finished.” And every Lord’s Day, we gather around the empty slab of the empty tomb - which is today our holy altars - from which His risen body is given to us as a free gift, and from which His cleansing blood is not merely sprinkled on us, but is poured into our mouths.
And this is all based on faith. Faith in the words and promises of God, not faith in a football team.
The presumptive pastor’s lack of vestments is also sending out a mixed message. Of course, not all Christian pastors wear vestments. The vast majority of those around the world do. And in our tradition, we agree to make use of these non-verbal communicators of an invisible reality of being in the Holy of Holies as we confess together in Apology 24:1:
We keep traditional liturgical forms, such as the order of the lessons, prayers, vestments, etc.
We are committed to this traditional use of liturgical forms and vestments not because of some legalistic motive, nor because of a superstition that vestments somehow affect the efficacy of the Word and sacraments. Rather we retain this practice because it communicates holiness in a visually impactful way - even as the Lord Himself commanded that the Old Testament priests be vested in holy garments that separated them from their secular lives. Leading worship is an expression of holiness. It is to leave behind the ordinary and pedestrian, and to step into the realm of the holy. And lest we forget, the word “holy” means “separated.” And so we don’t wear the ordinary clothing that we wear in our ordinary lives. When we are in the Holy of Holies, we communicate this is a way that makes it clear that worship transports us into a time and place that is abnormal for us poor miserable sinners here on this side of glory.
The reason we retain vestments and other liturgical practices is, as once again, we Lutherans universally confess: “The chief purpose of all ceremonies is to teach the people what they need to know about Christ” (AC 24:3).
We vest because it is a confession that we are in the midst of the Holy of Holies, of the Most Holy Trinity Himself, just as literally and truly as were the high priests of Israel. The vestments are a reminder to the pastor himself and to the people, that worship is not like anything else. It is not a historical society meeting, a club meeting, a school lecture, a book club, a social event, or a sales call. To worship is to step into the very presence of God Himself, with all the saints and angels, to receive the gifts, and also to give praise and glory to the God who deigns to allow us a glimpse beneath the veil.
If one has faith that Christ is truly present, and that we are truly present in the throne-room of God in a mystical and yet literal sense, one ought to gather around men truly called for this purpose. If one has faith, one ought to insist that the pastor vest. If one has faith, one ought to be reverent. If one has faith, it would be unthinkable to promise to “get you out of here” because “most importantly” there is a football game.
When the worship leader says: “here,” he means heaven itself. For that is what participation in the Divine Service is. And when he promises to “get you out of here,” perhaps he is speaking prophetically.
Let us implore our merciful Lord to raise up bold men who are willing to be shepherds, unequivocally called to speak prophetically, to preach Law and Gospel with authority, to unquestioningly deliver the body and blood of Christ to His redeemed people who gather reverently and with unswerving faith “with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven” to “laud and magnify” His most glorious name, saying: “Holy, holy holy.”