Day 2: Living Worship

Readings for January 2: Isaiah 62:1-12, Psalm 62: 5-8, 11-12, Luke 2:1-20

So how do we live baptized?  How can we daily live remembering our baptism?  One way to do this is to live worshiping God.  An important part of living a life dedicated to God is to worship Him.  Daily we can worship God in all we say, in all we do, and in how we act.  Through worshiping God daily in our lives, we can find it easier to stay close to Him, and easier to live baptized.  And while we can worship God individually throughout our lives, it also should happen weekly at a church with fellow believers.  As J.K. Wilhelm Loehe writes:

“In worship the congregation experiences its Lord most intimately. Here it lives in nearest proximity to its Groom in a heavenly life on earth, an earthly life in heaven.

“Worship is the most beautiful flower of earthly life. Just like land in the middle of an ocean, the Word and the Sacraments stand in the inner life and worship of the congregation. You have one week behind you, a new week lies in front of you. Between these two weeks is the day of Communion Sunday. You desire to draw near to God with the congregation. What do you, whether you are a shepherd or a sheep, have to do first? You do what all religions say is necessary for the soul: you cleanse it like feet that have become dirty from the activity of daily life. In other words, you prepare yourself for worship by confessing your sins and receiving absolution.

“Being cleansed from sin, you enter into the joys of the particular festival day or Sunday. But the worshiper finds that earth still has other burdens and sorrows, both present and future. Life, death, and eternity, with all of their bitter fruits and consequences, threaten you as you journey to the heavenly kingdom. Worries burden you and keep burdening you. But no longer does sin torture you, no longer do you fear evil, no longer do you sigh longingly, but joyful confidence fills your soul. You sit beneath the face of the Lord. In the sermon you begin to experience the blessed communion of the saints who rejoice in the Lord.

“The worshiping congregation experiences itself as the Bride of the Lord, rich not only in and through Him but also in and through one another. The congregation, in its fullness, thinks of the special needs and miseries upon the earth, delights in all good things, and goes before the altar of the Lord with intercessions, petitions, and prayers. All worshipers are blessed and approach the throne of blessing knowing they are worthy. The worshipers realize that the Church is one unit both here and everywhere. Pilgrims are one in their prayers and are cleansed with all of the blessed saints in heaven.”

And so my prayer for this second day of the year is this:

Dear Heavenly Father, who reigns enthroned in Heaven, be with us this day, this week and this year.  Let us always live as a baptized and repentant child of You, and give us the strength that we may, with every fiber of our being, worship You all day, every day, that all our doings in life may please You. This we pray through Jesus Christ.  Amen.

May the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

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January 2, is the date that we celebrate the life of J. K. Wilhelm Loehe who wrote the segment above.  About J.K. Wilhelm Loehe (courtesy of Concordia Publishing House):

Although he never left Germany, Johann Konrad Wilhelm Loehe, born in Fuerth in 1808, had a profound impact on the development of Lutheranism in North America. Serving as pastor in the Bavarian village of Neuendettelsau, he recognized the need for workers in developing lands and assisted in training emergency helpers to be sent as missionary pastors to North America, Brazil, and Australia. A number of the men he sent to the United States became founders of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. Through his financial support, a theological school was established in Fort Wayne, Ind., and a teachers' institute in Saginaw, Mich. Loehe was known for his confessional integrity and his interest in liturgy and catechetics. His devotion to works of Christian charity led to the establishment of a deaconess training house and homes for the aged.