When you seriously explore our Divine Liturgy, you find that we consistently pray to the Holy Trinity. Although we remember during the Divine Liturgy what Jesus did, we realize that it is our means of worshipping God Who is Three-In-One – Who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

So the Divine Liturgy is not worship of Jesus but, rather, the worship of God together with Jesus Who taught us HOW TO PRAY. He not only gave us the words of the Our Father, He also gave us a ritual which indeed is a worship of our Triune God.

It seems that in the Western world, a good number of people believe that we worship Jesus, especially since we include in the Liturgy the actions He performed at the Last Supper. We use the actions of Jesus to worship God, knowing that the Second Person is Christ, the Jesus Who is also God.

I know that this might seem to be confusing to some. It takes a lot of thought. Here I’m trying to make the distinction that we worship Jesus as God while using the actions of Jesus as Man. I would also hasten to remind my readers that it is our belief that while only one person, Hypostasis, informed both the Divine and Human natures of the Man Jesus, they were separate and equal – a great mystery which only an infinite God could accomplish.

Does this understanding make a difference? I believe that it does.

The next time you attend the Divine Liturgy, I would ask you to pay particular attention to the “person” that the prayers are directed. As I see it, there is only several prayers in the entire Liturgy that are directed to Jesus alone. All the rest are directed mainly to GOD, each ending with glorification to Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This, I think, makes our worship of God much different than Western Christian denominations. I find it absolutely important. Jesus, I believe, set us the Eucharist for two very important reasons: (1) that He might have a way to always be with His followers; and (2) that He might show us how to worship God, offering our very lives to Him in Thanksgiving for the Gift of Life and for joining us to God.

When a person begins to attend the Divine Liturgy with these thoughts in mind, worship changes. Think about it. I have to be thankful for my life, with all of its successes, struggles, joys, sorrows, challenges and relationships.

Are you thankful for your life? When you worship do you also believe that it is important that you are at peace with all of your fellowmen – you are in co communion with them?