And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:24-25
The Book of Acts provides some key insight into the life of the Church in its earliest years. In Acts 2:42, we read And they devoted themselves to Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. The “breaking of bread” refers to the Eucharist. This is the first name by which the Eucharist is known. In all the accounts of the Last Supper, we read about Jesus taking bread and breaking it and giving it to the Disciples. In Luke 24, when Jesus was walking with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, they didn’t seem to recognize Him until He sat down at the table with them, and as we read in Luke 24:29-30, When He was at table with them, He took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished out of their sight. In Luke 24:35, when these two disciples return to Jerusalem and found the other disciples, They told what had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread. In other words, the “breaking of the bread” is what united them to Christ, and what still unites us to Him today. Going back now to Acts 2:42, “the breaking of bread” refers to the Eucharist, and “the prayers” refer to both daily prayers and prayers associated with the Eucharist.
The central thing we do as a Church is celebrate the Eucharist. This is not all that we do. We learn, we have fellowship with one another, and we serve one another and those outside the community. The Church does many things. However, the central and most unique thing it does is celebrate the Eucharist in the context of the Divine Liturgy. All the other things we do, and how we do them, are not unique to the Orthodox Church. Lots of people have lots of kinds of fellowship. Lots of people learn all kinds of things. Only in the context of the Divine Liturgy do we receive Christ in the Eucharist.
The Divine Liturgy is a communal act. It gives us constant reminders of what we are to do not only in the Divine Liturgy but outside of it. The phrase “Let us” is used fifty times in the Divine Liturgy. Every petition that is offered ends with either “let us pray to the Lord” or “Let us ask the Lord.” The faithful then respond with either “Lord, have mercy” or “Grant this, O Lord.” The Divine Liturgy is a prayer for the whole world. We pray every petition for the good of all. We begin our petitions with a call to peace for all of us, then we pray for unity, peace in the whole world, peace in our towns, the welfare of our church, for people who are traveling, for those in any kind of need or distress and for favorable weather. We then move to things like forgiveness of our sins, for us to live our the remainder of our lives in peace and repentance, and the ultimate prayer for each is for a Christian end to all of our lives, and a good defense before the awesome judgment seat of Christ. These prayers are not just what we hope for individually, but we care about these things for the good of the whole community. When I offer the petition “For a Christian end to our lives,” I am not only praying for my own salvation, but for the salvation of all, that all have that good defense before Christ.
Each set of petitions ends with the phrase “Let us commend ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God.” We want to encourage one another to live a Christ-centered life. Our ability to do this relies on both personal discipline and external encouragement. No one can focus on Christ all the time without the encouragement of others. What happens when we doubt? Or are falling to temptation? It is the other members of the community that help us.
The Scripture readings are always introduced with a directive from the priest to “Let us be attentive.” This is a reminder that the Scripture readings are unique to each service. If we were to “tune out” a petition (not suggesting that), we will hear the petitions at the next service. The readings, however, will not be repeated again. And remember centuries ago, when the services were written, people weren’t able to read Bibles at home, so they needed to be special attention during the services to the Scripture readings.
“Let us love one another so that with one mind we may confess” is said right before the Creed. The confession of faith, the Creed, is one of two places in the Divine Liturgy where the first person singular is used. Our faith is personal, that’s why we say “I believe in on God” instead of “we believe.” However, faith is lived in community. We cannot express without love. So before we express our faith by reciting the Creed, we reconnect with love and then we confess our faith.
At the Anaphora, which is the part of the Divine Liturgy where the Holy Spirit comes down to consecrate the Gifts, we are introduced to this part of the Liturgy with five things to do as a community: “Let us stand well. Let us stand in awe. Let us be attentive. Let us lift up our hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord.” As we are about to be in the presence of the Holy Spirit, we should have a good physical and spiritual posture (stand well). We should be appropriately respectful, in awe and amazed by the Holy Spirit about to be with us, to make our ordinary gifts into the extraordinary Body and Blood of Christ. Again, we should be attentive mentally as to what is happening. The lifting up of our hearts is a posture of surrender to God, which is led by humility. And the giving of thanks puts us in a posture of gratitude rather than entitlement, which will affect how we will act after we receive the Gifts, grateful rather than greedy.
The Divine Liturgy concludes with the directive “Let us depart in peace.” The Divine Liturgy began with a communal prayer for peace. This is now the prayer as we depart, to continue to live in peace with ourselves, with one another and with God.
Aside from the Creed, which is personal, the other personal part of the Divine Liturgy is the prayers offered before and after Holy Communion. Holy Communion is a personal encounter with Christ that takes place in community. Thus, there is personal prayer before Holy Communion.
The communal aspect is present at all worship services—weddings, baptisms, funerals, Paraklesis, the cycle of Lenten services—all of these celebrated as a community, and all are filled with directives to “let us” do things towards God and towards one another.
Lord, thank You for the gift of the Divine Services of the Orthodox Church. We celebrate them so often that we forget the magnificence of their composition. Thank You for the Spirit-inspired influence on the saints who wrote these services so many centuries ago, that they are filled with exhortations of “let us” that inspire us to grow closer to You and to one another and direct us with concrete ways to do each. Help us to remember the things that we are encouraged to do through the “let us” phrases of Liturgy. Help me to live a life that is attentive, thankful, respectful, and loving, all the things You have called us to do through our Divine Services. Amen.
Let us worship, and specifically during Great Lent, let us worship often.
