One of the themes that has emerged in this series is the idea that in liturgical prayer we pray what we believe. Few places does that become more apparent than in the canticle known as the Gloria, forms of which exist in every major Christian liturgical tradition: during the prayers of the Hours in the East, and at the heart of the Eucharistic liturgy in the West. While there is a longstanding Western tradition not to sing this prayer during Lent, it is such a classic Christian prayer that I couldn’t not discuss it in this series. So, if you’re in the liturgical West, this will hopefully just give you something to look forward to praying again come Easter.
The prayer begins with the proclamation of Good News given by the angels to the shepherds in Luke 2, before moving on to telling the story of how God has been revealed in and through Jesus of Nazareth:
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly king, almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.
Amen
The most important way of talking about God in Jesus’ teaching is as Father. While this idea was certainly not unknown in the Old Testament (e.g., Isaiah 63.17) or Second Temple Judaism, it comes to the forefront in Jesus’ teaching (e.g., Matthew 6.9; Luke 15.11ff; John 20.17). And so it’s appropriate that God is called here not just our heavenly king and almighty God but also as our Father.
The next stanza shifts the focus from God the Father to Jesus himself. It identifies Jesus using three titles from the Gospels:
- the Christ (the Messiah or Anointed One) (Matthew 16:16; cf. Mark 8:29; John 11.27)
- the Father’s Son (Matthew 3:17, 17.5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35)
- the Lamb of God (John 1.29, 36; cf. Revelation 7.17)
As the Lamb of God, again quoting from John 1.29, Jesus “takes away the sin of the world.” Then, alluding to the Ascension, the prayer tells us that he is “seated at the right hand of the Father,” that is, in the position of authority, judgment, and advocacy (Ephesians 1.20ff; Hebrews 1.3).
All of this praise and proclamation forms the context of the prayer’s two simple petitions: “have mercy on us” and “receive our prayer.” Again, because we pray what we believe, it is because Jesus is the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world that we pray with confidence that he will have mercy on us. And it’s because he is seated at the right hand of the Father that we are confident that he will hear our prayer and intercede for us (Romans 8.34; Hebrews 8.1-6).
The prayer ends with a further section of praise of Jesus, referring to him with titles commonly associated with God in the Old Testament. With the Holy Spirit, he is the Holy One (e.g, Psalm 78:41; Isaiah 1.4), the Lord (eg., Exodus 23:17; Psalm 57.9, to say nothing of the thousands of times this title is used to gloss the divine name YHWH), and the Most High (e.g., 2 Samuel 22:14; Psalm 7:17), in the glory of God the Father.
This may all seem like a lot of words with which to couch two simple petitions. But this is a matter of perspective: What is the business that we need to do with God? If God is who we believe God is, then God already knows the concerns of our hearts. And, while certainly God doesn’t need to be worshiped and glorified, we certainly do need to be reminded, early and often of who God is. And a great way to do that is to pray and sing our story, like we do here.
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth
Matthew Root 