The Offertory

OBJECTIVE

This lesson will go in depth in the Offertory. Students will understand the purpose of this key point in the Divine Liturgy and how it relates to ourselves as Christians.

INTRODUCTION - 5 Minutes

To begin, review the parts of the Liturgy with the students:

  • Vespers Praise and Vespers
  • Midnight Praise
  • Matins
  • Offertory
  • Liturgy of the Word
  • Liturgy of the Faithful

Ask the students if they can identify which part of liturgy is the Offertory (characteristics, priest's movement, responses, etc.)

  • Why is this called the offertory?
  • What is being offered?
  • Who is offering?

It is called the offering because we, the Church, are offering God something. Bread and wine. This is something very small and nearly insignificant before the grandeur of God. The bread offering is called "prosfora" or "korban" - gift to God, or offering. The wine is called Aparchi, taken from "first-fruit, best fruit."

Since the early church times, the faithful used to come to the church bearing their offerings. The bread and wine are included in these offerings, in addition to other oblations like oil, cheese, olives, etc.

Offering bread and wine is not only a physical necessity for the Eucharist, but it has a spiritual meaning. As The Lord Jesus offered himself a sacrifice of love to God the Father on our behalf, we ought to offer ourselves totally, through our unity with him, as His own body.

HOLY SCRIPTURE

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35)

"Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." (John 6:49-51)

"We offer unto you these gifts from what is Yours, for everything concerning everything and in everything." (Liturgy of St. Basil)

Jesus Christ upon us, Your servants, and upon these honored gifts which are Yours, which we have placed before You (Liturgy of St. Cyril)

CONTENT/DISCUSSION

Is anything else presented as an offering during the liturgy?

Liturgy means "work of the people". It is a work that is done not just by the priest, but by the whole congregation. The liturgy is something that we do all together -- priest and people. During the liturgy we are all offering a sacrifice/offering to God.

What can I offer God?

The biggest offering I present is myself.

Like the bread and wine, I present something that is already His to be changed. The bread and wine are in fact from God. He created the wheat and the grapes, but we still offer Him those things. This is like when a child wants to give a gift to their parents and will borrow money in order to get that gift. They then give their parents the gift that they essentially bought.

We are bought at a price:

For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. 1 Corinthians 6:20

Offering Ourselves

One way we offer ourselves is in the liturgy.

As we offer God bread and wine expecting it to be changed, we offer ourselves expecting to be changed as well. As the bread and wine turns into the true body and blood of Jesus Christ, we ask to be turned into the true image of Christ and be part of His body, the Church as a healthy edified member.

"As You did not refuse to enter the leper's house to heal him, please, O Lord, enter into my soul and heal me....May my communion with you banish every defilement and mortify my evil desires." (Prayer Before Communion)

  • I come to the liturgy to be changed, perfected, strengthened through partaking of the body and blood of Christ and offering myself.
  • I offer my mind to something that I do not fully understand, which is why it's called a mystery. I taste bread and wine but partake of body and blood. I offer my faith and logic.
  • I offer my body in standing in awe and reverence, kneeling and bowing, singing and chanting.
  • I offer my time and free will. I could be doing other things, maybe things that I would consider more convenient, but I offer Him my comfort and convenience.
  • I offer my concerns, prayers, prayer requests, troubles, anxieties, my failures, fears...my brokenness upon the broken body of our Lord.

Beyond Offering

In the litany of the oblations/offering/sacrifice, we pray "we ask and entreat Your goodness O Lover of Mankind, remember O Lord the sacrifices, offerings and the thanksgivings of those who have offered to the honor and glory of Your holy name"

  • When we offer ourselves, it's not just for our growth and progress but for the honor and glory of God. There is honor and glory in the relationship with Him and in our striving, in our struggles, in our gains, in our perfection
  • In offering, we receive. we receive nourishment, strength, and grace. In offering our hunger and thirst for righteousness, we are given the Bread of life to fill us. We partake of the mysteries asking and expecting to be filled spiritually.

You'll notice that if you leave a prayer on the altar before/while the offering is made, the bishop/priest will read those prayers, typically before the washing of the "lamb" (korban, prosfora) during the offering. The bishop/priest will also place the names of those who recently confessed upon the lamb. This is like the baptism of Christ. All the people confessed their sins while being baptized by St. John the Baptist. When Christ was baptized, He did not confess any sins because He was sinless, but rather entered the water and carried the sins to the cross. Thus after reading the prayers and presenting the names of the confessees upon the prosfora/korban, the bishop/priest will then pour water on the prosfora/korban.

APPLICATION (Action)

By the Offertory, the Church declares in a practical way her acceptance to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, as well as her willingness to offer her life as a sacrifice of love for Him. Our life together with our labor, joys, sorrows, hopes, ambitions. Hardships, etc...are represented by offering the bread and wine. The essence of our sacrifices is not our money or possessions, but offering ourselves and our lives in Jesus Christ.

Things to do:

  • Come to the liturgy: regularly and on time
  • Offer yourself, completely expecting to be changed, transformed, nourished.
  • Notice, something so small is accepted and changed into something infinite, immeasurable, incorruptible.
  • Offer yourself that it may no longer be you who live but that Christ lives in you.

SERVANT RESOURCES