Adam Carrington: A liturgy that changed the world

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NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, June 10th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Up next, how one book reshaped worship and the English speaking world.

On June 9th, 1549, Church of England parishioners heard something revolutionary: a full church service in their own language.

It came from the Book of Common Prayer—a liturgy whose words have echoed through the past nearly 500 years.

ADAM CARRINGTON: The Book of Common Prayer is the work primarily of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. Its wording did much to form the English language as we know it. Phrases such as “at death’s door,” “land of the living,” and “the upper hand” all gained widespread usage through the Prayer Book.

Have you ever been to a wedding that began, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this Congregation, to join together this man and this woman in holy Matrimony”? That phrasing comes straight from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. In fact, nearly every traditional, English-speaking wedding ceremony owes some level of rhetorical debt to the Prayer Book. The same almost could be said for funerals and phrases such as “ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

More than a masterpiece of English prose, the Prayer Book also exhibited the theology of the Protestant Reformation. First, it showed the primacy of God’s Word for the Church. It's saturated in Scripture. As much as 85% of its text either directly quoted Biblical passages or made allusions to them. Thus, the Prayer Book committed the English church to Paul’s declaration that, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Second, the flow of Prayer Book services followed Reformational theology. They tread the basic path of the “3 Gs”: guilt, grace, and gratitude. We first admit our sinfulness, our inability of our own effort to please God. Admitting our helplessness, we then hear the gracious Good News of God’s offer of salvation by grace alone through faith alone by the merits of Jesus Christ. Finally, having heard and renewed our trust in God, we respond with gratitude by offering a sacrifice of thanks and praise.

Third, the Prayer Book applied the principle of the priesthood of all believers. It brought the congregation back into active participation throughout worship through reciting prayers, creeds, psalms, and singing. It simplified worship to invite more knowing involvement by the people. Relatedly, the transition from Latin to English also asked parishioners to listen attentively and to consider the Scriptural truth of what they heard.

Beyond its meaning for the English language and the Protestant Reformation, the Prayer Book came out of political beliefs. The “common” in prayer came in part from a belief that God is the Lord of nations. Worshipping together not only built the Church but strengthened communal bonds and virtues necessary for a peaceful and a just society.

In addition, the Prayer Book’s implementation on June 9th was no thoughtless choice. In 1549, June 9th was Whitsunday or Pentecost. The Pentecost recorded in Acts 2 undid the division and confusion of the Tower of Babel.

Pentecost pointed toward a future of renewed unity. This unity would come through the bringing of the gospel to every tribe, tongue, and nation in words they could understand. But it also foretold a time when God’s kingdom will unite all peoples under Christ’s lordship and in the worship of Him. All will make the political confession that Jesus reigns. All will make the theological confession that He, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is the one true God.

Whatever our theological tradition, let us celebrate the impact made by the Book of Common Prayer. Let us celebrate Cranmer’s gift of beautiful words. Let us adhere to the Reformational principles regarding Scripture, grace, faith, and thankfulness. And let us pursue with it the unity that we will have in the New Jerusalem—one of common language, common theology, common political community, and a common prayer—doxology.

I’m Adam Carrington.

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