Silence in the Divine Service

So my article for our congregational newsletter in July is going to talk about a number of different actions and gestures that I do in leading the Divine Service (worship) that require a little teaching in order for their significance to be fully realized. It's inspired by Pastor Weedon in a post from last year. One of the things that I don't mention in this forthcoming article is the use of silence.


And yet, silence is an important part of the Divine Service. For example, in the service (after the Invitation to confess our sins), there is "silence for reflection on God's Word and for self-examination. Despite the fact that the hymnal specifies the reason for the moment of silence, people often wonder what's going on. It's a break from everything that competes for our attention. It allows us to meditate on God- on His Word and on our failure to follow it. Silence allows us to consider the sins we need to confess before Him.


One that's a little more difficult is the moment of silence before the Collect of the Day. The Collect of the Day is a brief historic prayer that summarizes some of the thoughts of the Gospel reading. The moment of silence before the Collect is more difficult because the editors of our hymnal (Lutheran Service Book) opted not to mention the moment of silence in the pew hymnal; the silence is only mentioned in the Altar Book where it says: "The presiding minister faces the altar. A brief silence may be observed. The presiding minister may raise his outstretched hands in the gesture of prayer while speaking or chanting the COLLECT OF THE DAY." The silence, then, recognizes that the pastor's "Let us pray" is an invitation; the congregation is thereby invited to lift its prayers in silence to God. The collect that follows then "collects" those individual intercessions and gives them voice.

In any case, the next time there is a moment of silence in your congregation, don't wonder "what's going on? Is the pastor confused?" Instead, use the God-given opportunity to collect your thoughts and offer them to God. Pray to the God of heaven and earth for God's unmerited favor. And trust that -because of Christ Jesus and His cross- you will receive all the benefits of that cross— peace, favor, grace, and love. In Jesus' name, Amen.