Mystical Supper
As we enter into the core of our worship, the Anaphora, we are exhorted by the priest to “Lift up our hearts” and we are called upon to respond: “We have lifted them up to the Lord”.
It is critical, if we are to become truly engaged in our communal worship, that we actually listen to this and other exhortations and attempt to follow them. What does it mean to lift up your heart? It means that we attempt to forget about all other things and actually focus our attention on being in the presence of God. I realize that this is not always easy. One thing that can help is to actually say to yourself and God: “O Master, I desire to lift up my heart to you, help me in my effort”:
Again, this means that we take very serious this communal action that we have voluntarily chosen to make a part of our lives. We recognize that what we do together is to worship our God by “actively remembering” what He revealed to us through Jesus, the Christ.
I cannot encourage you enough to try to enter more fully into the Liturgy. You will not be sorry. When you do, something happens to you, there is a deep sense of peace. Of course the Liturgy itself prepares us for this when it has us pray: “Let us…now set aside all earthly cares.”
Our attitude going into worship is key. We know that it never lasts, usually, more than an hour and a half. If we voluntarily give ourselves to this time, telling ourselves that we will think about nothing other than what we are praying and doing, we will be prepared to enter into this “active remembering” of God’s actions in history.
After we have lifted up our hearts, the priest encourages us to give thanks to God. Our response to this exhortation is an important prayer which truly calls us to one of the major beliefs of our Church, namely that God is a Triune Being, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This declaration is a direct statement of our belief that Father, Son and Spirit are “One in substance and undivided.”
When we say this prayer, it is truly critical that we understand what we are saying and believe what we are saying. We are professing belief in a God Who is Three-In-One. This is a true statement of faith. Only Christians believe that God is Three-In-One. We are monotheists who see the oneness of God in the unity that exists between three Persons with one nature.