It's the Annunciation of our Lord as I write this, the day we celebrate that the angel Gabriel brought the news to Mary that she would give birth to the promised Savior of the world. The angel greeted Mary by saying, "The Lord is with you!" That's the basis of the liturgical exchange between pastor in people in our liturgy, what is called the "Salutation."

The pastor says, "The Lord be with you." The congregation responds, "And also with you" or "And with thy spirit." Pastor and people bless each other. It is a sign of the bond of love in Jesus that exists between Christian people. The pastor may gesture with hands outstretched toward the people, showing his "earnest desire that the blessing he invokes may be bestowed" (Lutheran Liturgy, by L. Reed). Following the Salutation comes the Collect of the Day, a short prayer that "collects" our prayers together around a common theme of the day, sometimes focusing on the content of the appointed Gospel or Epistle. It's a "proper" portion of the liturgy, which means it changes from week to week.

The Collect follows a five-part structure: 1) God is addressed; 2) the basis of the prayer is given; 3) the request is given; 4) the purpose and benefit of the prayer; and 5) a doxological ending which serves to clarify to whom we are praying, the Triune God.

Some would criticize praying such wrote prayers as not being "heartfelt." They would say that such prayers are prayed without "feeling." Well, such is the case with any prayers, wrote or not. However, many of the Collects have been used (with minor language updates) since the 4th century. They were written with an outward focus on the presence and promises of God, as opposed to being emotional-based. Emotions are a wonderful gift of God, but often they can be used by the devil to distract us from God's promises. There are temptations in either direction. Nevertheless, the time-tested use of the Collects in the Church is a blessing!

Since we are drawing ever nearer Holy Week, I'll leave you with an example, the Collect for Passion Sunday:
Almighty and everlasting God, You sent Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross. Mercifully grant that we may follow the example of His great humility and patience and be made partakers of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

May we be made partakers of Christ's resurrection indeed! A blessed Holy Week and Easter to you all! The Lord be with you!

In Christ,

Pastor Fritsche