This will blow your mind:
In the Eucharist, when we stand and listen to the Gospel lesson….
In the first decades of Christianity, before the 4 Gospels were written or circulated, at this point in the liturgy, one of the 12 living Apostles would stand up and tell a story they remembered about Jesus Christ (Gospel lesson) and then explain it (sermon). Then that Apostle would consecrate and distribute the Eucharist.
The 4 Gospels naturally took the place of the living Apostles over time. That’s why the Apostles commissioned the 4 Gospels. And it’s why we still stand - in honor of the Apostles sharing their memory of the very words of Christ.