They Will See His Face: Worship and Healing

By Richard C. Eyer

Examines the hearing of the Sunday morning public worship, clarifying the correction between liturgy and healing. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0570067715
• ISBN13: 9780570067719
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Concordia Publishing House
• Length: 121 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.5" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Holistic Healing Through Worship

Richard Eyer is professor emeritus of Philosophy at Concordia University (Mequon, WI) who has spent most of his career as a chaplain at health care facilities. He has written widely on spiritual health and its role in holistic health. "They Will See His Face" is a book on the role of Divine Service in holistic health. The Divine Service is the weekly liturgical Sunday worship service in which Holy Communion is celebrated; with the exception of the Scripture readings and a few prayers, the Divine Service is characterized by an unchanging, weekly ritual. Eyer argues that this ritualistic participation in the Divine Service is an effective health-giving agent for many of our modern maladies. This is so for three main reasons. One reason is that the frequent practice of an objective ritual becomes a window through which you view the rest of the world--that is to say ritual shapes your worldview--thus the ritualistic practice of grounding yourself in God's truth allows you to interact with the world in a more healthful way. Second, the nature of the Divine Service is such that the participant is forced to look outside himself for health and healing and look instead to God. This is very much unlike modern (postmodern?) America which advises one to look within himself for healing; the Divine Service directs you toward Jesus. Finally and most importantly, the Divine Service contributes to spiritual/holistic health because it is composed entirely of the Means of Grace--Word and Sacraments--the means by which God comes to his people to bless them, increase their faith, and heal them. "They Will See His Face" is divided into six chapters. Each deals with an affliction/source of un-health, describes it, and then goes no to show how the Divine Service can contribute to the healing of that malady. The six maladies covered are: guilt, anxiety, loneliness, depression, grief, and physical sickness. In each chapter, Eyer draws upon his theological training, his decades of experience ministering to the sick and dying, and even his own personal, introspective thoughts to paint a graphic, yet supremely caring picture of the sickness. With the disease authoritatively and lovingly defined, Eyer explains how the Divine Service serves as God's instrument of healing. Each chapter ends with a summery paragraph and several questions for discussion--in case the book is part of a book club or Bible study series. In all, "They Will See His Face" is a well-written and insightful book that gives practical and timely advice for our time. The author's pastoral care and decades of experience come through in a way that warms the heart. Highly recommended.

A thoughtful and thought-provoking Christian testimony

They Will See His Face is a thoughtful and thought-provoking Christian testimony about the power of healing through faith, prayer, and the embrace of God's love. Author Richard C. Eyer (Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Concordia University, Wisconsin) deftly explains that the answers to guilt, anxiety, loneliness, depression, grief, and more come from turning to God and opening one's hearts. Very highly recommended as an emotional vehicle of faithful expression, They Will See His Face closely peruses the Scripture with discussion questions for the reader to ponder.