Last month in this series on worship we considered the confession of sin, which does not consist merely of confessing our sins (if that were the case, it would be little more than self-deprecation), but also the promise of forgiveness in Jesus Christ (also called absolution).
This month I want to consider the little song that goes in between the confession and the absolution. So I’m going to teach you a Greek word, or maybe even two. You might already know them, without actually knowing that you know them.
The first Greek word is Kyrie. It simply means, “O Lord.” The second word is eleison, which means, “Have mercy.” These two words are often joined together in a short, but very profound, biblical prayer (Matt. 15:22; 17:15; 20:30, 31). Kyrie eleison. “Lord, have mercy.”
If you have ever seen a movie where monks are chanting or singing in a language you do not know, there’s a good chance it is this prayer: Kyrie eleison, “Lord, have mercy.” Free high-fives for everyone who can name a movie with this prayer in it.
I would say that the Church has been singing this song for 2,000 years, but it’s even older than that. The Hebrew version goes back (at least) to the Psalms (for example, Ps. 123:3), so it’s been more like 3,000 years that we have been singing and praying, “Lord, have mercy.”
In my opinion, this little prayer is one of the most useful prayers we have. It fits so many different circumstances. In our liturgy we pray it in connection with the confession of our sin, and it is certainly appropriate there. But it works in any circumstance, and it works especially well when we don’t really know what to pray for.
In our liturgy we make it Trinitarian (“O God the Father … O God the Son … O God the Holy Ghost …), which is certainly appropriate, but the Kyrie is typically directed to Jesus, because he is Lord. Though we are certainly free to pray to any member of the Trinity, most of the time we pray to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. But this prayer—“Lord, have mercy”—is usually directed to Jesus. It confesses him to be the Lord, and it confesses our unworthiness. Why else would we need mercy? It confesses that Jesus is both merciful and powerful enough to help.
To put it in my own words, this little prayer—“Lord, have mercy”—means something like this:
Jesus, I confess that you are God. You are my Lord. And I confess that I am an unworthy and unclean sinner, and I do not deserve your help. But I know that you are powerful and possess all authority in heaven and on earth. And I know that you are merciful. You are my only hope. Lord, have mercy.
This little prayer—“Lord, have mercy”— does not specify how we want Jesus to help us. It only states that we need his help. It lets God be God. We petition him for help, and we let him sort out the how.
And this can be a good pattern for our prayers. It is more than okay to ask God for specific things, especially if he has already taught us to pray for those things. The Lord’s Prayer, for example, asks for specific things. And it asks quite boldly. But often times, especially when we have a problem, it is good to simply state our problem, and ask God for mercy. Let God be God. He is more than capable of figuring out how to deal with our problems. He doesn’t need us to tell him how to answer our prayers.
So whenever you are in need of Christ’s mercy, whether it be in regards to your sin or any other crisis in life, and whether you are praying with a congregation or all alone, ask your Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, because he is merciful, he hears your prayer, and he answers in whatever way is truly best for you.
The peace of Christ be with you all,
Pastor Dan