Worship Matters-Praise and Prayer
Dear Trinity friends,
During Adult Education this morning, we explored the role of praise and prayer—why we do it, who it’s for, and what it shapes in us. As the conversation unfolded, I found myself returning to one of my core convictions about worship, namely that worship is God’s gift to us for the sake of rehumanizing human life.
That may sound abstract, but it’s actually a deeply grounded claim in our Lutheran tradition. Worship is not something we do to impress or appease God. Worship is God’s gift to us. In worship, we are drawn back into right relationship—with God, with one another, and with the world.
This morning we read Psalm 146, which begins in personal praise but moves quickly toward reflection on our shared public life. God, the psalmist declares, is not like mortal rulers whose plans perish. God is the One who brings justice to the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, sets prisoners free. In this sense, praise isn’t divine flattery—it’s a way of telling the truth. Put another way, liturgy is where the symbols of the Gospel disrupt the symbols of empire. Worship shows us the world as it truly is—and as it is meant to be.
Martin Luther saw worship as a central place where the Gospel is not only heard but enacted. Luther called the church a “mouth house” (mundhaus), where the Word of God is spoken, sung, proclaimed, and prayed. That Word doesn’t just inform us—it forms us. It turns us outward. It makes us new.
In a world where we are too often reduced to what we consume or produce, where our loyalties are constantly tugged at by powers and principalities, worship is a place of resistance and restoration. When we pray or sing “You are worthy,” we are not just making a theological claim. We are staking our lives on the conviction that God alone—not civil authorities, not wealth, not power—is worthy of our praise and trust.
This is why I say that worship rehumanizes us. It’s not a break from real life. It’s where real life is renewed. It’s where God reminds us who we are—beloved, called, and sent.
With gratitude for the grace we share each week,
Pastor Erik
