Upon this there is great diversity of view. Pastors of German Lutheran Churches, following the lead of German Liturgical scholars, almost without exception regard these words as an invitation.
Some few scholars interpret the words as an authorization of the service which is about to follow.
On the other hand, in the English Common Service Book of the United Lutheran Church, these words are spoken of in the rubrics as an invocation. It must be admitted that the words in themselves are as susceptible to the one interpretation as to the other. The question must consequently be decided from another angle. Here the history of the usage should be taken into account. In the pre-Reformation Church, in both its Eastern and Western branches, it has always been regarded as an invocation, and is so used to this day.