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+ + + On Being Liturgical + + +
A Reason for Incense
NOTE: This is from a bulletin insert first printed in 1995 for the members of Zion Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Detroit.
Incense is used in Christian Churches for three reasons.
First, in the Bible, incense and worship go together. Isaiah and St. John describe the heavenly worship with the angels where the house was filled with [the] smoke of incense (Is 6.4; Rev. 8.3-4; see also Luther's description in hymn #249). Incense reminds us of the prayers of the saints going up to God (Ps 141, Rev 8). But the primary biblical reason for is to remind us of the sacrificial death and the glorious resurrection of our Lord.
Our Lord is the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. When sacrifices were made in the Old Testament, incense was used. When our Lord died, no incense was burned but He was wrapped and buried in incense. So the aromatic perfume of incense today reminds us both that our Lord was sacrificed for our benefit and that He is the Resurrection and the Life.
St. Paul picks up on this and applies it to us when he says that we are the aroma of Christ to God. In other words, we are God's incense since we have been raised with Christ by the waters of Holy Baptism.
The second reason for using incense is to show honour. In the ancient East and West, incense announced the presence of a god. Since you cannot see God, your nose would remind you of His presence! Adopting this custom, Christian Churches used incense especially at those points where we need to be reminded of our Lord's very real presence-(a) in the Sacrament, (b) in the person of the pastor, (c) in the baptized who dwell in Christ and Christ in them. That is why the elements and altar, the celebrant, and the people are incensed during the Mass. It honours God by reminding us that He is in the midst of us.
The third reason for using incense is beauty which engages the whole person. For not just the mind and heart are consecrated to God's Service, but also the hands, eyes, feet, taste buds, and even the nose! So, just as the beauty of the vestments and flowers capture the eyes and the sounds of the organ delight the ear, the sweet smell of the incense is intended to aid the senses in grasping the greatness of the feast.
Here at Zion, incense is used on particularly festive occasions for all three reasons-beauty, honour, but especially to help us recall that the Mass we celebrate is the Service of our Resurrected Lord whose broken Body and shed Blood causes us to be the aroma of Christ to God.
© Copyright Rev. Fr. John W. Fenton 1995, 1999
Rev. Fr. John W. Fenton Zion Evangelical-Lutheran Church
4305 N Military
Detroit MI 48210-2451
Voice: (313) 894.7450 (313) 894.7450
FAX: (313) 894.7871
2 Reference from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_use_of_incense
Christianity
The Catholic tradition employs incense in worship, contained within a thurible.
Incense has been employed in the worship of the vast majority of Christian groups since antiquity, particularly in the Eastern Christian churches, the Roman Catholic Church, and some Anglican and Lutheran Churches. The practice is probably rooted in the earlier traditions of Judaism in the time of the Second Temple. The smoke of burning incense is interpreted by the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christian churches as a symbol of the prayer of the faithful rising to heaven.[1][2] This symbolism is seen in Psalm 141 (140), verse 2: "Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight: the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice." It is often used after the manner of a purification ritual.
In the Book of Revelation, incense symbolises the prayers of the saints in heaven - the "golden bowl full of incense" are "the prayers of the saints" (Revelation 5:8, cf. Revelation 8:3) which infuse upwards towards the altar of God.
A thurible, a type of censer, is used to contain incense as it is burned. A server called a thurifer, sometimes assisted by a "boat bearer" who carries the receptacle for the incense, approaches the person conducting the service with the thurible charged with burning bricks of red-hot charcoal. Incense, in the form of pebbly grains or powder, is taken from what is called a "boat", and usually blessed with a prayer and spooned onto the coals. The thurible is then closed, and taken by the chain and swung by the priest, deacon or server or acolyte towards what or who is being incensed: the bread and wine offered for the Eucharist, the consecrated Eucharist itself, the Gospel during its proclamation (reading), the crucifix, the icons (in Eastern churches), the clergy, the congregation, the Paschal candle or the body of a deceased person during a funeral.
Incense may be used in Christian worship at the celebration of the Eucharist, at solemn celebrations of the Divine Office, in particular at Solemn Vespers, at Solemn Evensong, at funerals, benediction and exposition of the Eucharist, the consecration of a church or altar and at other services. In the Orthodox Church, incense is used at virtually every service.
Aside from being burnt, grains of blessed incense are placed in the Paschal candle and were formerly placed in the sepulchre of consecrated altars, though this latter is no longer obligatory or even mentioned in the liturgical books.
Many formulations of incense are currently used, often with frankincense, myrrh, styrax, copal or other aromatics.
