Standing During the Great Thanksgiving

The rule of thumb for posture during the worship service is that the congregation is sitting or kneeling for prayer, sitting for listening, and standing for praise and singing. Body language and postures make statements; they are part of the way we communicate to one another what is going on. If everyone is sitting and one person is standing, those postures say something about who is involved, who is giving, who is receiving. For example, during the sermon, the preacher stands and the people sit. If everyone is standing and a few are kneeling, those kneeling become the focus of attention (for example, when youth are confirmed). If all are sitting, that says something about common action that is receptive. Although these postures have varied meanings in different cultures, in most North American settings, we sense the meaning of standing, sitting, and kneeling postures.

Practices That Succeed or Fail

Let's be clear: The question of standing or sitting or kneeling during worship is not a matter of right and wrong. It is a matter of church order and ritual practice that succeeds or fails. As long as we judge worship in terms of right and wrong, we will miss the opportunity to "think" through our ritual practices.

I notice that in most United Methodist settings where there is Holy Communion, the pastor stands at the table; and the people sit during the Great Thanksgiving. No one questions whether this practice is right or wrong. But what if we asked a different question? What is we asked,"Does this practice succeed or fail? Does it work or not?"

The answer, of course, depends on what God is doing in and through us as we celebrate the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. (Note: I did not say, it depends on what we are trying to do! If the church assembled for worship is a community possessed by the Holy Spirit for the praise of the triune God, that shapes the questions we ask about our worship practices.)

What does body language during the Great Thanksgiving in Holy Communion say? If the pastor who presides is standing and all the people are sitting, what does that say? Since this combination of postures is parallel to those during the sermon, it says: "We are listening to what the pastor is saying; the pastor is the active agent, and we are the recipients."

But the Great Thanksgiving is not a sermon. It is a proclamation, but it is not the preacher proclaiming a message to the people. This is where we have to "think" through the text of the prayer and "think" within the context of the prayer. The eucharistic prayer is a prayer to God of a very special sort. It is a proclamation to God, proclaiming before all creation the mighty deeds of God in Jesus Christ and invoking the Spirit upon the church and the gifts of bread and wine. If this is so, then congruence of words and posture is essential for this prayer to succeed -- to work. (By work, I mean, be faithful to what God is doing in and through us by the power of the Spirit.)

Good Worship Builds Faith

Vatican II gave the wider church a memorable rule: Good celebration builds faith; poor celebration destroys it. When the action in worship is strong and congruent with the faith of the church, it is more likely to succeed as faith-building worship. By contrast, when the action is weak and incongruent with the faith of the church, it is likely to do little to build faith.

If the eucharistic prayer is a prayer to God proclaiming God's mighty actions in creation and in sacred history in and through Christ, who should be praying this prayer? And what should the posture of the church be?

Let's "think" this through in terms of practice. The pastor standing and people sitting seems to say, "The primary action is taking place where the standing person is; observation is taking place where people are sitting." Here, sacramental theology informs and interrogates our practice: Is the pastor standing and people sitting true to our baptism and to what Christ has made us in baptism?

In 1 Peter 2, we read the written residue of a baptismal sermon:

" ... like living stones, let your selves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. . . .You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood . . . that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (verses 5 and 9 NRSV).

Note the emphasis on priesthood and on the offering of sacrifice.

The Services of the Baptismal Covenant echo 1 Peter when the congregation welcomes the newly baptized and declares:

"Through baptism you are incorporated by the Holy Spirit into God's new creation and made to share in Christ's royal priesthood." (United Methodist Hymnal, 37)

In this light, the action at the eucharistic prayer is not to be the action of one person; it is to be the action of the whole of Christ's royal priesthood. The action requires that the people be standing, for they -- the whole assembly of the baptized -- are Christ's royal priesthood.

You might ask: "Then, why not have all the people pray all the Great Thanksgiving aloud?" In principle, there is no reason not to do so, except for the length of the prayer and the necessary timing of the gestures at the table. (For those gestures see The United Methodist Book of Worship, 36-39 and 54-79.) The church ordains elders to lead the people in the sacraments, but the church does not ordain elders or deacons to do all the worship for the people. The term "priest" in the New Testament is used only for Jesus Christ or for the people joined to him in baptism; never for an individual leader.

Summary and Challenge

I hope that you as pastors and congregations will "think" through the statements that body language "speaks." How does posture help or hinder the church in its desire to be a faithful priestly people? Invite all the people, as they are able, to stand from the opening dialogue of the Great Thanksgiving through the Lord's Prayer. If this amount of standing tests people's endurance, offer people the option of sitting or kneeling after the "Holy, Holy, Holy . . .Hosanna in the highest."

Some churches, space permitting, gather all the people around the table for the whole eucharistic action. This is even more visibly and kinetically congruent with the words of the prayer:

"...we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith." (United Methodist Hymnal, p. 10)

Our faith communities are crying out to be faithful, living, and praiseful. I am convinced that much that motivates the move to "contemporary" or "alternative" worship is a frustration of a priestly people who will welcome leadership that interprets their priesthood clearly and welcomes their enacting it fully. Elders, deacons, and lay leaders: help the people realize in word and action the fullness of who they are in worship and in daily life, and lead them to claim it by standing as a priestly people during the Great Thanksgiving.

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Daniel T. Benedict is retired from the Discipleship Ministries.