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Doxologia/Leitourgia (Worship)

Missio Dei ("God's Sending") - recap
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;
even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view,
we know him no longer in that way.
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation:
everything old has passed away;
see, everything has become new!
All this is from God,
who reconciled us to himself through Christ,
and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;
that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,
not counting their trespasses against them,
and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.
So we are ambassadors for Christ,
since God is making his appeal through us....
- 2 Corinthians 5:16‐20		 reconcile:
to restore to friendship or harmony
ambassador:
an authorized representative or messenger
The Church equips us for our role
as "ambassadors of reconciliation"
through its ministries of:
worship(leitourgia/doxologia)
communion (koinonia)
proclamation (kerygma)
service (diakonia)
witness (martyria)
teaching (didache)
The Ministry of Worship
Readings: Reflections, pp.13-16; UC Perspective, p.3; RC Perspective, p.3
Above all, clothe yourselves with love,
which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
to which indeed you were called in the one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly;
teach and admonish one another in all wisdom;
and with gratitude in your hearts
sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
- Colossians 3:14-17
What words or phrase stand out for you in this passage?
Excerpts for Reflection and Discussion
  1. "Every liturgical celebration is the action of Christ and his Body, the church."
  2. "The creative power of God which raised Jesus from the tomb draws us into new life as God’s new creation and we offer with Jesus our worship for the sake of the whole world."
  3. When gathered together for liturgy/worship, do you feel part of “one body”?
  4. "A Catholic perspective would always begin with... broad notions of sacramentality in which the church itself and its manifold sacramental actions become a witness to the world and signs of God’s universal salvific embrace." [The root meaning of sacrament comes from the Latin sacer, "holy".]
  5. "For this reason, perhaps, Catholics are generally more comfortable with the term 'liturgy/leitourgia' whereas the Uniting Church gravitates more naturally to 'doxology/doxologia'. The first (etymologically ‘the work of the people or public service’) places the emphasis on the communal response to God’s grace in word, symbol and action; the second begins with the honour and praise due to God."
  6. “Liturgy is an ‘action’ of the whole Christ (Christus totus).... “It is the whole ‘community’, the Body of Christ united with its Head, that celebrates.”
  7. “..., a missionary church will need a strong sense of communion beyond the gathered assembly in order to establish a solidarity with the church of all times and places: this provides an impetus to participate in the mission of Christ and will be a sign of the congregation of all languages and cultures in the eschaton — 'I shall draw all people to myself' (Jn 12:32).” [eschaton refers to the "end of time", from the Greek eschatos "last, farthest".]
  8. "The order of service for the Lord’s Day recommends a scriptural 'word of mission' before the final blessing."
  9. Why do you gather on Sunday? Why do WE gather on Sunday?
Liturgy as a Microcosm of Mission
Click here to open a copy of the Faith UCC Worship Bulletin from Sunday, September 6.
Can you find examples of doxologia, koinonia, kerygma, diakonia, martyria and/or didache there?
Excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
for discussion and reflection
1187 The liturgy is the work of the whole Christ, head and body....
1188 In a liturgical celebration, the whole assembly is leitourgos, each member according to his own function....
1189 The liturgical celebration involves signs and symbols relating to creation (candles, water, fire), human life (washing, anointing, breaking bread) and the history of salvation (the rites of the Passover). Integrated into the world of faith and taken up by the power of the Holy Spirit, these cosmic elements, human rituals, and gestures of remembrance of God become bearers of the saving and sanctifying action of Christ.
1190 The Liturgy of the Word is an integral part of the celebration. The meaning of the celebration is expressed by the Word of God which is proclaimed and by the response of faith to it.
1191 Song and music are closely connected with the liturgical action. The criteria for their proper use are the beauty expressive of prayer, the unanimous participation of the assembly, and the sacred character of the celebration.
1192 Sacred images in our churches and homes are intended to awaken and nourish our faith in the mystery of Christ....
1193 Sunday, the "Lord's Day," is the principal day for the celebration of the Eucharist because it is the day of the Resurrection. It is the pre-eminent day of the liturgical assembly, the day of the Christian family, and the day of joy and rest from work. Sunday is "the foundation and kernel of the whole liturgical year".
1194 The Church, "in the course of the year, . . . unfolds the whole mystery of Christ from his Incarnation and Nativity through his Ascension, to Pentecost and the expectation of the blessed hope of the coming of the Lord".
1197 Christ is the true temple of God, "the place where his glory dwells"; by the grace of God, Christians also become the temples of the Holy Spirit, living stones out of which the Church is built.
1198 In its earthly state the Church needs places where the community can gather together. Our visible churches, holy places, are images of the holy city, the heavenly Jerusalem, toward which we are making our way on pilgrimage.
1199 It is in these churches that the Church celebrates public worship to the glory of the Holy Trinity, hears the word of God and sings his praise, lifts up her prayer, and offers the sacrifice of Christ sacramentally present in the midst of the assembly. These churches are also places of recollection and personal prayer.
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