From Hope to Joy: Advent and Christmas/Epiphany

To be sure, the decorations, gifts, candy and cookies were huge hits, but even as a child, church events around Christmastime captured the imagination of this Illinois boy.  Powerful stories and songs about the coming of Jesus carried anticipation, drama, miracle, mystery, wonderment, and celebration that brought together God, angels and all people—including a kid like me.  From small simple gatherings to elaborate pageants, each created special memories and valuable open-ended questions.  And that's one more reason this blog exists about Christ-centered theology that shapes worship.

You’ve probably started planning for this year, but I’d like to suggest four books—two that address the entire church year, and two specific to Advent, Christmas and Epiphany (each book is available at Amazon.com).  No matter that your church service is not highly liturgical—even if you normally do no more than light another candle on the Advent wreath and add one more verse of  “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” each week—these books offer scriptures, readings and thoughtful reflections that can help nudge your imagination for more.

My favorite is The Meaning Is in the Waiting:  The Spirit of Advent by Dr. Paula Gooder (2009 Paraclete Press).  This 144 page paperback is not a “how to” book, but a series of reflections inspired by the Bible that are meant to help us think more about waiting—our own waiting and the waiting in the lives of Abraham and Sarah, the prophets, John the Baptist and Mary.  It is about active waiting and changing the focus of our lives from ourselves to God.  Gooder (pictured here) reminds us that God is actively waiting as well.

God With Us:  Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas (2007 Paraclete Press, hardcover 185 pages) is a beautiful collection of meditations, Scripture, prayer, history and fine art that point to the mystery and wonder of God made flesh.  Edited by Greg Pennoyer and Gregory Wolfe, the authors includes top writers Eugene Peterson, Kathleen Norris, Scott Cairns, Emilie Griffin and Luci Shaw.

Introducing the Lessons of the Church Year, by Frederick Borsch (2009 Morehouse Publishing) contains scriptures for the entire ecumenical lectionary (we are in year C, but the book includes A, B and C) as well as concise introductions that can be used as a few simple words before each reading, or as stepping stones to broader messages.

With Burning Hearts:  Welcoming the Word in Year C by Verna Holyhead (2006 Liturgical Press) offers weekly Old and New Testament readings and provides theological context as well tying the scriptures to everyday concerns.  John Wesley is to have said that his preaching was successful when he “set himself on fire, and others came to watch him burn.”  Holyhead provides thoughtful introductions to each season as well as fresh images in hopes of striking a flame in each of us in the Church’s year of grace.

The Revised Common Lectionary is also offered online as a service of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library at http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/

In just a couple of days I’ll post favorite hymns, songs and CD’s for the upcoming seasons, but it would be great to hear about your favorites too, as well as whatever things have worked especially well in making Advent or Christmas services special blessings in your congregations.

Elvis has left the building

Early in the career of Elvis a concert promoter famously announced “Elvis has left the building” in hopes that screaming fans would begin calming down upon learning that Elvis had indeed exited the hall and would not be returning for another encore.  The promoter had brought Elvis to the fans in the first place and was now announcing his departure.  The phrase about Elvis became a punchline for whenever someone makes a dramatic exit.  (Need we note Elvis is pictured below?)

Sometimes a worship service is conducted in a way that implies the pastor or the worship leader is somehow by words or actions bringing the presence of God into the building.  I’m sure I’ve done that myself.  For example a person might pray for Jesus or the Holy Spirit to come into the room.

The implication is that God has come from far away to meet with us during the worship service and will then leave the building, awaiting the next invitation to come back when we ask again.

A better approach is a prayer for our Lord to continue opening our hearts and minds to the reality that he is already with us—that through the Holy Spirit we are bound in union to the risen and ascended glorified Jesus that goes before us as the Minister of the Sanctuary.  (Reminds me of the Paul Baloche song, "Open the Eyes of My Heart.")

We can pray for realization that we are joining in the ongoing worship of Jesus who is both worship leader and worshipper on our behalf—that we are already in heavenly places with Christ—actively participating in Jesus’ worship of the Father in Spirit.  The book of Hebrews reminds us of the powerful reality (not just a figure of speech) of our High Priest at the throne of grace.

That word “grace” is key in terms of worship.  Worship is a gift of grace.  Because of grace (because of the loving Father sent the Son for us) Jesus precedes us and is already in the room, and with the Holy Spirit has actually initiated our being there—has gathered us together in the first place.  In his freedom and by his choice he is with us as we pray and worship in the name of Jesus.

We do not cause him to be in the worship service or usher him into the presence of the people. We do not mediate/minister God to ourselves.  Instead, we can offer humble prayers asking for forgiveness for losing “sight” of God and for so often going our own way by resisting him and failing to see or take part in what he is already doing.  Offer prayers of thanks for the invisible presence of God, and pray for increased awareness of his goodness and love—for his compassion and mercy.

Has Jesus exited the building?  The risen Jesus made a dramatic exit from the sight of the disciples and entered the heavenly realm.  But he did this in order to send the promised Holy Spirit that actually binds all Christians everywhere to him and his ongoing ministry.  Though now invisible, Jesus has firm hold of us and will never leave or forsake us.  He takes us with him.  Beyond just being in the building, our whole life and worship are in him.  Pray for a greater sense of the reality of such healing, freedom and newness of life.

[Sharing in the actuality of Christ’s present life now through union with Christ is the theme of The Crucifixion of Ministry by Andrew Purves (InterVarsity Press, 2007).  Many pastors are familiar with this short 150-page book, but I highly recommend it for worship leaders as well.]

Your comments, critiques and recommendations are always welcome.

Pulitzer Prize in worship?

My journalist friend described his method for writing.  After completing research for an article, he quickly writes and reviews the very first sentence he has written.  In reading just those first few words it becomes clear to him that the Pulitzer Prize for journalism (pictured left) cannot not be won with the article he has just begun.  And having rid himself of any notion of attaining journalistic glory, he is then free to simply do his best with the time and resources available, and what he writes is nearly always quite sufficient for his publisher and readership.  Being realistic can be enabling.  I got a kick out of my friend’s admission, and have tried to take his wisdom to heart. 

But it gets more complicated with ministry and worship.  While there’s no Pulitzer Prize for a worship service, we tend to set awfully high standards for ourselves.  We want powerful life changing worship services that glorify God and minister to brethren with inspiring praise and effective prayers, beautiful songs, powerful and memorable sermons, fitting comments and testimonials—all taking place in beautiful surroundings—with God lifted up and people made ready for mission. (Have we pinched ourselves yet?)

Then as we put together our first thoughts about next week’s service, we are quickly reminded of our limited abilities to speak, sing, pray, lead, encourage, etc., and of our small church with meager resources.  We soon realize this service will not be the glorious worship service to end all worship services.  In fact what we are cooking up is starting to look very vanilla, and we just hope it won’t be flat as a pancake.

So while my journalist friend finds freedom in ridding himself of visions of grandeur—the opposite may occur in ministry circles.  We want so badly to please and glorify God and to serve our brethren that we may get stopped in our tracks while focusing so much on our inadequacies that we feel like giving up before we start. We want to offer a more perfect praise—want to be a living sacrifice—but if we are not careful we may allow ourselves to just feel stuck, empty and discouraged instead.

We need constant reminders that Jesus is our true Minister and Lead Worshipper.  He is not only the Lamb of God, the perfect Offering that God has already mercifully provided for us that is worthy of worship, he is also the Minister of the Sanctuary.  But he’s not a zillion miles away either.  The Son of God and Son of Mary, born in a humble stable, is still Immanuel—still God with us—here sharing in our own circumstances as we share in his.  Having already offered a perfect life of worship, and now ascended and glorified, he is still fully God and fully man, and through the Holy Spirit is in the midst of all those he has gathered together (even in the smallest and most humble gatherings).

Despite all appearances to the contrary, Jesus is in our midst praying perfect prayers and offering perfect praise to the Father on our behalf (Heb 2:11-13).  That’s part of what is meant when we speak of the ongoing vicarious humanity of Christ.  As our incomplete, fractured, inaccurate and weak offerings of praise and prayer (even our very lives) are gathered up in Jesus through the Spirit and delivered as whole, perfect and complete responses to the Father, his response becomes ours.  And our humble participation in Christ’s present ministry and worship brings with it the surprising and healing joy of the Lord.

In Jesus we are taking part in the ministry of the Author and Finisher of our faith.  He exceeds all expectations.  Every minister and worship team member can find great peace and comfort in the realization that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit is with us as we worship (2 Cor 13:13).  A Pulitzer is terribly small by comparison.

N.T. Wright on "me and Jesus being in love"

Earlier this year, renowned New Testament theologian N.T. Wright (Bishop in the Church of England, author of over 40 books) spoke at a public lecture at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena CA while in town to teach a DMin class at nearby Fuller Seminary.

 During the Q&A session following his lecture, Wright (pictured left) made the following insightful comments on what he refers to as the type of worship song that is basically about “me and Jesus being in love.”

Romance is wonderful, but a steady worked out relationship is better. Striking a match is very exciting, but its not going to last long. Use the match to light a candle and it will give a steady beautiful light to the room. You might say, let’s have more matches and sparklers too! But you can’t live on that. I really do worry about that. In my Diocese some of the young people sing those romantic songs all the time, and I don’t want to tell them to stop singing them and go back to singing “All People That On Earth Do Dwell” (though I would prefer they did), because if that’s where these young people are, then that’s fine.

But God takes us as we are in order to transform us and move us on. ….I agree that the language of romance is Biblical (with rabbinic traditions of interpreting the Song of Songs as romance between God and Israel, and the great patristic and medieval traditions of interpreting the Song of Songs as the romance between Jesus and the Soul) and not just late modern…..But mostly the Church speaks of marriage (of Christ and the Church), not the romance of Christ and the Church.

While N.T. Wright has said much more about worship elsewhere (for example see chapter eleven of his recent book “Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense”, 2006, HarperOne), I do appreciate the wisdom in his above comments.

We don’t know what specific songs N.T. Wright is referring to, but note that he says these songs about “me and Jesus being in love” are (1) biblical (2) and that although he would prefer that some young people in his church did not sing them “all the time”, he does not tell them to stop, because (3) those people are in a particular place in life in which those songs fit. (4) Wright goes on to imply that it could be better if those songs were part of a larger mix of songs expressing a variety of messages, experiences and feelings (including highs and lows) as part of an ongoing life-long relationship.

Of course it is not only young people that might like some of those songs. Regardless of age, we are all different, and some folks are just more passionate than others, and as Wright points out, people are in different places in their life’s journey with Jesus, and that’s fine. We should be graciously respectful of that fact. For that matter, later in life we occasionally need to revive and rekindle those fires of our “first love” as Christians.

Also at least some “me and Jesus in love” songs touch upon a lot more of the gospel story than might be indicated in the song’s title. For example we occasionally sing “My Beloved” by Chris Tomlin (pictured left). While the theme is that Jesus is my Beloved, and I am His, the song also testifies that because His precious blood was spilled, this Beloved has raised my life up from the dead, and that my eyes will see His face. It proclaims this Beloved as the Mighty God, Faithful One, Lamb of God and the Holy One. So while it’s a love song, the larger story of redemption is also touched upon. The full lyrics are:

My Beloved mine, I His, my Beloved mine, I His
My Beloved mine, I His, my Beloved mine, I His

His precious blood was spilled. His precious blood was spilled
His precious blood was spilled. My Beloved mine, I His

He raised my life up from the dead. He raised my life up from the dead
He raised my life up from the dead. My Beloved mine, I His

When my eyes shall see His face, when my eyes shall see His face
When my eyes shall see His face, my beloved mine, I His

Bridge:
Mighty God, Faithful One, my Beloved, my Beloved
You're the Lamb of God, You're the Holy One
My Beloved, my Beloved, my Beloved

My Beloved mine, I His, my Beloved mine, I His
My Beloved mine, I His, my Beloved mine, I His


We haven’t done the song often, but it adds variety in the midst of songs of praise and songs that speak of personal and collective needs, or that testify of God’s grace and mercy for all people—not just me, and not just our congregation.

I’d appreciate hearing your comments as well.

Praise God for His New Creation

What songs do you use at the end of a service to send the congregation on its way? Often our “song of sending” will be one of re-dedication to serving with Jesus. But on some occasions when the scriptures, prayers, and sermon or testimonies speak powerfully of the grace and mercy of God, there may be no more fitting conclusion than to offer up pure praise (a doxology)—giving all glory to God.

Because we were crucified with Jesus and now have new life in the risen and ascended Jesus (Eph. 2:4-10, Gal. 2:20), we are new people of the new creation. And just as the angels sang for joy at the original creation (a universe meant to glorify God), today by the Holy Spirit we join with Jesus (the new Adam) in singing praise and giving glory to God as part of the new creation.

One such doxology of praise is 1 Tim. 1:17. Paul has just described having once been a violent, persecuting, blasphemous, unbelieving creature, and feeling like the worst of sinners (we even learn elsewhere that he had once been involved in putting Christians to death). But then Paul testifies that Jesus came into the world to mercifully save sinners, including Paul, and that God even patiently uses such redeemed sinners in the service of the Gospel, in proclaiming the grace, faith and love of Christ Jesus in their lives so that others can know and experience the same miraculous inclusion in this new life.

In view of Paul’s testimony of God’s love known in Jesus (though we no longer see Jesus), it was altogether fitting to stop and insert a doxology (offer up pure praise), to give honor and glory forever and ever to the eternal, immortal, invisible King that is God.

The version of 1 Tim. 1:17 used in our congregation is Joey Holder’s “Now Unto the King Eternal”. (See song 227 in what is commonly called the Maranatha! Music “Green Book”.) We’ve changed it up a bit with several repeats of the verse and chorus, and also modulate a full step midway through the song, adding to the intensity. By the final chorus the congregation sings to the top of their lungs, and it is a powerful way to be sent—with nothing ringing in our ears but the marvelous truth that all glory and honor forever and ever belongs to our King that is God.

Verse:
Now unto the King eternal
Unto the King immortal
Unto the King invisible
The only wise God
The only wise God

Chorus:
Oh, unto the King be glory and honor
Unto the King forever
Unto the King be glory and honor forever and ever
Amen, Amen

Worship, Community & the Triune God of Grace

When the Rev Professor James B. Torrance died at the age of 80 in 2003, Christianity Today magazine chose to highlight three areas of his life of service – 1) he was Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at University of Aberdeen in Scotland, 2) he was known as a mentor to other Christian leaders, and 3) he wrote “Worship, Community, and the Triune God of Grace” (IVP, 1997).

He had also been a family man and a pastor, and whether serving in pastoral ministry, teaching theology, writing, or in mentoring others, Torrance was keen on worship and on discussing in simple but profound language the relationship of grace and the continuing priesthood of Jesus in Trinitarian worship.

 It is interesting to note that “Worship, Community, and the Triune God of Grace” [WCTGG] contains a mere 130 pages, and yet it has gained wide influence in denominations around the globe, as in it Torrance offers a brief but profound discussion of prayer and worship that is Christ-centered, incarnational and Trinitarian. The book is an expanded form of lectures on the theology of worship he gave in Manchester in 1994, and is also from articles he wrote or lectures he gave in different countries in the 70’s and 80’s. It has been pointed out that these themes have struck more of a chord in the last decade or so than they did in some theological circles in the earlier years. With this easy-to-read book Torrance is still helping “mentor” those of us serving in ministries today. Here are some excepts from WCTGG:

There is no more urgent need in our churches today than to recover the Trinitarian nature of grace—that it is by grace alone, through the gift of Jesus Christ in the Spirit that we can enter into and live a life of communion with God our Father.

Worship is the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father.

The Father has given to us the Son and the Spirit to draw us into a life of shared communion—of participating through the Spirit in the Son’s communion with the Father—that we might be drawn in love into the very Trinitarian life of God himself.

Whatever else our faith is, it is a response to a response already made for us and continually being made for us in Christ, the pioneer of our faith.

In worship we offer ourselves to the Father ‘in the name of Christ’ because he has already in our name made the one true offering to the Father, the offering by which he has sanctified for all time those who come to God by him (Heb 10:10, 14) and because he ever lives to intercede for us in our name.

(Trinitarian worship) means participating in union with Christ, in what he has done for us once and for all, in his self-offering to the Father, in his life and death on the cross. It also means participating in what he is continuing to do for us in the presence of the Father and in his mission from the Father to the world. When we see that ….. (and) that the unique center of the Bible is Jesus Christ, ‘the apostle and high priest whom we confess [Heb 3:1], then the doctrines of the Trinity, the incarnation, the atonement, the ministry of the Spirit, Church and sacraments, our understanding of the kingdom….all unfold from that center.

We are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit into the community, the one body of Christ, which confesses faith the in the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and which worships the Father through the Son in the Spirit. We are baptized into a life of communion. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is the grammar of this participatory understanding of worship and prayer.

(We need to) return to the ‘forgotten Trinity’ – to an understanding of the Holy Spirit, who delivers us from a narcissistic preoccupation with the self to find our true being in loving communion with God and one another—to hear God’s call to us, in our day, to participate through the Spirit in Christ’s communion with the Father and his mission from the Father to the world—to create in our day a new humanity of persons who find true fulfillment in other-centered communion and service in the kingdom of God.

The first real step on the road to prayer is to recognize that none of us knows how to pray as we ought to. But as we bring our desires to God, we find that we have someone who is praying for us, with us, and in us. Thereby he teaches us to pray and motivate us to pray and to pray in peace to the Lord. Jesus takes our prayers—our feeble, selfish, inarticulate prayers—he cleanses them, makes them his prayers, and in a ‘wonderful exchange’ he makes his prayers our prayers and presents us to the Father as his dear children, crying ‘Abba Father’.

launching the trinitarian worship blog

Over the last several years, Grace Communion International (GCI) has travelled a journey of reformation that has led us to embrace a biblically-based theology that is Christ-centered, incarnational and trinitarian (in this blog we refer to it as trinitarian theology). With this post, GCI launches this blog as a place to discuss how this theology undergirds and shapes the worship ministries of the church - thus this blog's name is trinitarian worship.

My name is Mike Hale (that's me, fifth from left in the picture above of Higher Ground, the worship band of which I am a part). I will be serving as the primary moderator for this blog, working in conjuction with others in GCI-USA ministry development. I invite your participation in this discussion as we seek to follow the Spirit in our continuing journey. Our discussion will be of particular interest to worship directors, pastors, worship leaders, musicians, technicians, small group leaders, etc. Note instructions posted in the right-hand column of the main page concerning how to send in new posts and comment on existing posts. I hope to hear from you.

Now let me share some details of my personal journey and some concepts about trinitarian worship to jump-start our discussion.

GCI's journey of reformation began in 1995-96, with massive doctrinal changes that spawned many changes in the denomination's practices. One such change involved moving from song-leading in what we called church services, to worship-leading in what we now view as worship services. As I had been a church soloist for many years and also a lead singer with several pop bands, I was commissioned to serve as a worship leader in our denomination's headquarters congregation, and also to help launch an alternative evening worship service using praise bands. I was lead singer for the praise band Higher Ground, and we were asked to lead worship at several church festivals. Additionally I was asked to help launch a mid-week employee chapel service. Before long I was also asked to lead worship at an evening prayer and praise service for a small mainline church plant.

While I was excited about these ministry opportunities, the challenges were daunting - in part because while the switch from song leading to worship leading sounds simple, it was a more significant change than I first imagined. For one thing, we had made the switch from primarily singing songs that were about God, and had begun singing more “vertical” worship songs that were both intimate and prayerful. I welcomed that change, but it still had to be worked through with the congregations. Then there was the matter of our fellowship placing new emphasis on the Trinity. So besides wanting to find out all I could about leading worship, I also yearned for a better understanding of the nature of the Trinity and of our intimate relationship to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the implications for worship.

I began by reading a tall stack of books on worship (a really tall stack). I also began attending worship conferences, seminars, and worship workshops. I sought out magazine articles about worship, watched instructional videos and listened to instructional tapes and CDs. I visited churches in the area known for outstanding worship programs.

But while all this was helpful to some degree, I had encountered a dizzying array of different and sometimes contradictory approaches to worship, and there was far less consensus than I imagined there might be. Some authors and speakers concentrated on musicianship, smoothly managed transitions and better equipment. Some focused on liturgies or traditions. Some had views on “authentic” worship or “appropriate” worship or “empowered” worship. Many were locked in discussions (and arguments) about trends, music styles and cultures. Others presented sets of scriptures “proving” their own particular Biblical views of worship. It was my sense, however, that something was missing - something that spoke more to the core issue of the nature of God, and what God is doing in worship, and how we each individually and collectively as the people of God fit into that dynamic and relationship. Not having the answers, I soldiered on, yet still yearning for better understanding. Then in 1997 Dr. John McKenna was brought in as a doctrinal advisor to our fellowship. Having been mentored by Thomas F. Torrance, Dr. McKenna brought with him a rich and rare understanding of Christ-centered, trinitarian theology (of course I knew nothing of this at the time, and didn’t know Torrance from Adam).

One day I struck up a conversation with Dr. McKenna, and eventually described my worship leader predicament to him. At the same time I mentioned that some of us were beginning to experience the touch of God during worship, but that while such experiences were indeed encouraging, I was somewhat at a loss to explain what was happening. Dr. McKenna suggested that I begin reading the theology of T.F. Torrance, and he recommended "Royal Priesthood: A Theology of Ordained Ministry," and "The Mediation of Christ." Soon I also read "Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace," by James B. Torrance, the brother of T.F.

For me, the introduction to this theology was a Godsend. Instead of studying worship as a separate and compartmentalized matter, a far better starting place was Torrance’s holistic Christ-centered, trinitarian approach that provides an in-depth discussion of Jesus as the Revelation of God, and the Church’s relationship to Divine Reality. Worship is a gift (of grace) of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father. The bodily-risen Son of God/Son of Man is our Mediator – as God’s Word to us and our word to God in one person.

This was all somewhat overwhelming at first, but by the grace of God my eyes were gradually being opened, and there was a real sense of joy and freedom in reflecting on Torrance’s descriptions of Divine Light and Life, rather than my focusing on the surface-level issues contained in most books on the subject of worship. I was hooked, and through the years have continued reading books by Torrance or by students of Torrance, and Dr. McKenna has been gracious in meeting with me to discuss what was being read.

Like we all are, I’m a work in progress, but there has been much joy in the journey for this worship leader.

While "Royal Priesthood" was my starting place, it is not one of the better known books by Torrance, and there are probably better places to start, such as with Alister McGrath’s "T.F. Torrance, An Intellectual Biography," Elmer Colyer’s "How to Read T.F. Torrance," or "A Passion For Christ: The Vision That Ignites Ministry," essays by T.F. Torrance and his brothers James and David, edited by Gerrit Dawson and Jock Stein. More comprehensive (and extremely readable) is the 2008 release, "Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ," edited by Robert T. Walker.

Still, in "Royal Priesthood," Torrance provided an important holistic view of worship, and of the Church’s role in relations to the Suffering Servant. And while we often think of celebrating mighty triumphs of God in worship (the book title comes from 1 Peter 2:9, in which mighty acts are mentioned - “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” NRSV), we do well to remember contrition, humility and service. Torrance writes:

The pattern for the Church’s worship and its relation to the heavenly worship is to be discerned in the Suffering Servant (Jas. 5:10). The way in which the Church draws near to God is the way of the Son of Man . . . we may observe that while the New Testament uses priestly language to speak of the Royal Priesthood of Christ in His Word and Action, it also applies priestly language to the Church, showing that the Church is given to participate in His ministry, in word, deed, and life; in word, by proclaiming the Gospel to the nations, and deed, by self-sacrifice, by ministering humbly to the needs of others, and by presenting our bodies in worship to God. In this unity of word and deed, of worship and mission, in the life of the Church as the Israel of God under the rubric of the Suffering Servant, we have the fulfillment of what the prophets of the Old Testament saw from afar.

The Word must be done into the flesh, the priestly liturgy must be enacted in life and obedience...described as circumcision of the heart... Likewise the Christian liturgy, the Church’s priestly ministry, divorced from the life of the whole Body, is ‘of the flesh’. Christian liturgy and priesthood derives from the Suffering Servant and is to be enacted in the Body. That is our rational worship.