Kristi writes:
True healing comes to us in the Divine Service. Here God gives to us His Holy Word and His Holy Sacraments. In the divine service, we hear of our sin and our salvation. In the divine service, we see the body and blood of Christ and the cleansing water. In the divine service, we touch and taste the body and blood of Christ for our forgiveness. It’s all there in the divine service. Christ comes to us and heals us.
Chapter 6 focuses on the prayers of the church and the healing of sickness. Make no mistake – God heals the believer and the nonbeliever. Our prayers do not change God’s mind as to whether or not to provide healing. Our prayers are based upon our faith in God, who will do as He deems best. We sinners like to think that our prayers are what heal people. Rather, it is God who heals. That’s why our prayers always include the phrase, “Thy will be done.”
So then why pray for the sick? As one who has been prayed for, it is comforting to know that others are praying for the Lord’s will to be done in my life. In prayer, we also acknowledge that true healing will come from God alone. It is He who enables the medical workers to diagnose correctly. True healing is not of man’s accord but of God’s design. And, finally, we pray for the ultimate cure of our sin-sickness: the God-man Christ Jesus. We are healed of our illness through the cleansing blood of Jesus.
Chapter 7 continues with more healing, this time the healing of our intellect. In our sinful nature, we claim to know all. We are in constant conflict with the will of God because we sin. It is important to remember that man’s intellect is subjective; Jesus Christ is the only absolute Truth. In the Divine Service we confess our sin of self-idolatry; we are thick with sin and need cleansing.
The Creeds do a beautiful job of reminding us that we are created, redeemed, and sanctified. We humans can accomplish none of those things on our own; it’s impossible. God the Father creates us; God the Son redeems us; God the Holy Spirit sanctifies us.
Eyer wraps up the book with a packed conclusion. He gives us good reason to continue using the liturgy in the Divine Service. He says: Liturgy conveys the essence and meaning of our worship of God. Worship is more than personal piety and personal expressions of faith. It is the experience of God’s acting in our behalf so that we might act in His behalf in this world. [page 117] The Divine Service is all about what God does for us.
Another awesome quote from Eyer: Liturgy may change over the centuries, but the change is in the matter of detail, not of substance. [page 116] These words comfort me. When people change the substance of the liturgy to fit their “personal style,” then other groups of people are abandoned. When we stay true to the Word of God within the liturgy, God’s Law and Gospel is clearly presented for all.
I highly recommend Eyer’s book. The Divine Service is a gift to God’s people from God Himself. Thanks be to God for His grace and healing presence among us.
They Will See His Face by Richard Eyer – Preface
They Will See His Face by Richard Eyer – Chapters 1 and 2
They Will See His Face by Richard Eyer – Chapter 3
They Will See His Face by Richard Eyer – Chapters 4 and 5
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