A Pattern for Christian Worship

Just recently, I've again come across the writings of Dr J. I. Packer, now in his 80s, who has been a pastor and academic. 

He was once a great hero of mine when I was an orthodox Calvinist decades ago. He was an Anglican but recently left the Canadian church because of its well-publicised slide into liberalism.

Interestingly, although he classed himself as an evangelical he had a great love for The Book of Common Prayer (BCP: 1662). (Being an evangelical Anglican and having a love for the BCP seems rare today.)

Packer was brought up on the BCP and I can understand his strong affection for its rhythms and its implicit piety. (I was not nurtured in it but first encountered Anglicanism through An Australian Prayer Book (AAPA: 1978).)

(8) The Sending Out of God's People

The sending out of God's people into the world to work and witness for him is the last movement of the drama involving the people of God hearing the Word and receiving the sacrament which are at the heart Anglican Sunday worship.

Five short subsections comprise this main movement which are numbered §21 to §25.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

§21    Priest:

Gracious God, thank you for feeding us,

with the spiritual food of the body and blood

of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Thank you for assuring us of your goodness and love,

and that we are living members of Christ's body.

[How do we know that we are 'living members of Christ's body' (Rom 12.5; 1Cor 6.15; 1Cor 12.12; Eph 5.30 & etc.)? An important question because some Anglicans at least seem to waver on whether they are destined for God's presence or not. Yet, the apostle John in his 1st letter said that he had written in order that his hearers might know that they had eternal life (1Jn 5.13). The whole epistle might be understood as distinguishing between those who are truly God's from those caught in various first century heresies. Certainly just attending an Anglican Church does not make us true disciples of Christ! God has always been interested in the transformation of hearts even under the Old Covenant. Only those divinely born 'from above' (Jn 3.3,5; 1Peter 1.22-25) will enter into the Kingdom of God.]  

§22    All say together:

Father,

we offer ourselves to you

as a living sacrifice [Rom 12.1]

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Send us out in the power of your Spirit

to live and work to your praise and glory.

I have always found this 'sending out' to be a remarkable part of the Anglican service for it denotes the fact that the congregation has once again been spiritually fed by word and sacrament and equipped to continue to 'shine as lights in the world to the glory of God the Father' [to quote a piece from the baptism service].

The congregation should not have come to the service to receive only but to receive from God so as to give to others which redounds to the praise and glory of God.

 

§23     A Hymn of Praise may be said (depending on size of service) or sung (more usual for services I've been in).

§24    Priest says the following or an appropriate seasonal* blessing 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord; [Phil 4.7]

and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.

Amen.

   

§25   The deacon (lay reader) may say

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord:

In the name of Christ. Amen.

By seasonal the Prayer Book is referring to the Church Calendar which sets out for every year a certain yearly pattern for Sunday worship. It starts with Advent then to Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Eastertide, Pentecost and finally 'Ordinary Time'. The latter time, between Pentecost and Advent, is counted and hence called 'Ordinary' from the word 'ordinal'. 

       

I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE

On another blog I have been dealing with the Lord's Supper and its meaning within the Anglican Church. I'm fully aware that not all Anglicans understand the Supper alike but I fully embrace Article XXVIII of the Articles of Religion (1562) Of The Lord's Supper which rules out transubstantiation, 'reserving' of the sacrament, lifting it up, carrying it about, or worshipping it.

The Article says clearly among other things that: 'The Body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean [sic] whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is Faith.'

This last sentence is one of the planks of John Calvin's view of the Supper (as opposed to Rome and to Luther) for it is affirming that the bread and wine do not act upon us because of their inherent sacredness (or divinity as in Catholicism). They convey grace only in the presence of faith in Christ.

This point about faith comes out in the liturgy when the priest says,

and feed on him

in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving.

Interesting, the Anglican liturgy surrounding the Supper makes a connection between John 6 and Jesus' teaching on 'I am the Bread of Life'.

Grant us therefore, gracious Lord,

so to eat the flesh of your dear Son Jesus Christ, 

and to drink his blood,

that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. (Jn 6. 56)

AMEN.

These bold words echo John 6.51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, and so should not be strange to us.  However, some might believe that these words clearly mean that in Anglican circles all worshippers are committed to an actual eating of Christ's flesh and a drinking of his blood in contradiction to The Articles of the Religion.


So what does it mean to eat the flesh and drink the blood (Jn 6.53) of Jesus Christ: these are Christ's own words which were controversial when he spoke them to the point that many of his disciples walked with Him no longer (Jn 6.66).

Jesus offended their sensibilities. First, he claims that he was the 'living Bread from heaven' which brings eternal life (Jn 6.54, 58) and states that He was superior to the manna given by Moses which led to death (Jn 6.49, 58). So to 'feed on Christ' is to live according to the eternal life Jesus offers (6.57). Note that he also says that this bread 'came down from heaven' (my italics) which indicates Jesus' divine origin (Jn 6.50), which adds to the offence he provokes.

Second, these disciples debate among themselves about how Jesus could give them his flesh to eat. They call it a 'hard saying' and can't understand it (Jn 6.60).

Jesus discerns their offence and answers it first by saying, what would they say if they were to see him ascend where he was before (i.e., back to heaven)? (Jn 6.62). As we know, Jesus did ascend to the Father's right hand after the Resurrection (and we mark it with Ascension Day).

Second, with regard to the 'flesh and blood' Jesus says 'the flesh profits nothing. The words I speak to you are spirit, and they are life' (John 6.63). I take Christ to mean that he was not giving his actual flesh and blood for that would be a 'fleshly' understanding of his words, a cannibalistic interpretation and action. It reminds us, does it not, of Jesus' meeting with the Samaritan woman in John 4. She wants the water that will make it unnecessary for her to have to come and draw water every day. But Jesus is talking about 'spiritual' water that he is going to give her (Jn 4.14) just as he had spoken to Nicodemus about 'spiritual' birth in the preceding chapter (Jn 3.5).

Hence, his words in John 3, 4 and 6 require spiritual (=of the spirit) discernment (1Cor2.11-14) not a literal or 'fleshly, carnal' reading.

Furthermore, the OT contains some help with the references to blood. 'Blood' is used more than once to denote 'violent death' or 'death' (e.g., Gen 4.10; 9.6; 2Sam 3.28; Ps 30.9) or life given up to death (e.g., Lev 17.11; see also Heb 9:22, 'shedding of blood'). 'Flesh' is also used figuratively in Psalm 27.2 where David's enemies are not going to actually eat his flesh as such but are going to profit from his death when they kill him.

Even the idea of drinking of blood is even used figuratively in 1 Chron. 11.19 by David when he protests that he will not drink the water that his men have risked their lives to get for him because that would be like 'drinking their blood'. This interesting reference suggests the theme of the preciousness of the lives of his soldiers in David's eyes.

One writer puts it succinctly, 'When He refers to eating His flesh and drinking His blood, He is talking about enjoying the benefits which come from His death (italics in original). Perhaps this could be extended to include the enjoyment of 'the benefits which come from his life and death'. The 'blood' of Jesus is his 'life' given up for us in his death on the cross for the salvation of the world (e.g., Acts 20.28; Rom. 5:9; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:20; 1Pet1.18-19).

The eating and drinking is done in faith, by faith (Jn 6.35, 47, 69).

The God of Mercy

One of the great themes running through Anglican worship is the theme of MERCY. Someone has said that whereas John Calvin focussed on the Sovereignty of God which is an important theme of the Scriptures, Martin Luther could never forget the mercy of God particularly as shown in the Incarnation and in Christ's Redemption.

High Church/Anglo-Catholic, Liberal, Evangelical!

Anglicanism has a curious makeup! It comprises three main groupings of 'churchmanship'. (This 'churchmanship' can also occur in other denominations such as the Lutheran Church but is prominent in Anglicanism.)

However, it must be emphasised that individual Anglicans often resist being categorised. Furthermore, Anglicans who seem to belong to one of the three groups will display both beliefs and behaviour that may not fit with the typical characteristics of their supposed group.

Despite these facts knowledge of these three groups is still helpful for navigating Anglican Church opinion on various matters; moreover, it is particularly helpful for understanding why certain Anglican Churches worship the way they do and use/don't use the Prayer Book the way they do.

The Basis of the Unity in the Anglican Communion

Introduction

The Roman Catholic Church finds its unity in the Pope; the Eastern Orthodox Churches find their unity in the decisions of the seven Ecumenical Councils of the unified Church before it split into East and Western Church in AD1054 (although the division between East and West had begun well before that date).

Anglicanism is made up of 38 member Churches (provinces*) which makes up the Anglican Communion. Each of these member churches or provinces is in communion with the Canterbury diocese in England as the first diocese of the Church of England.

But the question arises, where does that communion find its unity? (We need to bear in mind that the question of unity is different from the question of authority which will be dealt with in the next post.)

First, it doesn't have a supreme Bishop or Pope like the Roman Church. Second, nor does it look to historical councils as such for its unity as does Orthodoxy. Yet, Anglicanism does have a basis for its unity.

The unity is found in four so-called 'instruments of unity': the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conferences, the Primates' Meetings and the Consultative Council.

Archbishops of Canterbury

Archbishops of Canterbury do not rule over the Anglican Communion in any way comparable to the Bishop of Rome. Power in the Anglican Communion is more widely dispersed. However, the Archbishop of Canterbury is a special focus of the unity of the worldwide Anglican Communion as it was originally the place of the missionary Augustine who came to England with the gospel, becoming the first Archbishop in AD597. The present Archbishop is seen as the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion worldwide.

Lambeth Conferences

These conferences made up of archbishops and bishops are called every 10 years by the Archbishop of Canterbury to discuss matters facing the Communion. These have been held since 1867. 

Primates' Meetings

The Primates are the Bishops or Archbishops elected as first among equals in a province. The meetings began in 1979 and are held when conditions are such as to warrant their importance for the Church. Of recent times, Archbishop Williams has called them to discuss matters pertaining to sexuality and authority in the Church.

Anglican Consultative Council

This council first met in 1971 and was set up by the Lambeth Conference because of the need for more frequent contact among member churches. It includes bishops, clergy and laity. It meets about every three years in different parts of the world.

* The Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion and is therefore a Province.

Second Order:: Holy Communion: Sections of Service

Three Orders ('order' as in an 'order of worship') of Holy Communion are set out in A Prayer Book for Australia (APBA, 1995). 

(Technically, the APBA also allows for a 'Fourth Order' which can be 'created' by a parish priest et al. with the approval of the regional bishop (=overseer) as long as it contains certain features common to Anglican worship)). 

In all three Orders a specific pattern of worship is established with slight variations among the three.

A New Church

I am an evangelical looking for an Anglican congregation which still values the Prayer Book (PB).

Australian Anglicans have three major prayer books dated: 1662 (Book of Common Prayer), 1978 and 1995 but it's hard to find evangelical congregations which use the PB. Some will use tiny bits out of the PB but it's hard to describe their liturgy as dependent on the Anglican Tradition; what is presented could equally be found in any non-conformist denomination.

Usually members of such churches will boast about this absence of Anglican liturgy as if this is a good thing. (I suppose it can be if the formal liturgy has become lifeless and routinised but this process can happen within non-conformity too.)

Last Sunday I finally found an evangelical Anglican church where good expository preaching was given and the PB liturgy was used. My, it was good! I had almost given up hope.

The church is the Church of St Edward the Confessor in Blackburn South, Melbourne, Australia.

I'm not saying that other Anglican services don't have a place in the Anglican fold. I'm sure they do and that many join these churches from other denominations because the Anglican character is often non-existent.

But I wonder then why be Anglican at all. Why not just be non-denominational?