Monday, January 10, 2011

Tacoma To Host SP Trifecta

"Trifecta. Get it? Made you laugh."



Alexander Ring has left a new comment on your post "Otten To Speak at Concordia, Mequon.UOJ Champions ...":

The free conference with Presidents Harrison, Schroeder and Moldstad will not be in Portland, but Tacoma, WA at Parkland Ev. Lutheran Church May 5 & 6 2011.

Civic Center: Bishop Arrested by Homeland Security.
This 2006 Post Says a Lot About the San Fran Clergy

Civic Center: Bishop Arrested by Homeland Security




The long-standing cleric who actually runs Grace Cathedral, Dean Alan Jones (on the left, above, standing next to Bishop Andrus) "disagreed on tactics" with his new Bishop and offered the crowd of 200 a prayer on the front steps of the church but politely declined to be involved in the protest.



Bishop Andrus then offered a lovely speech about a bishop he had known who was one of the most adamant opponents of women being ordained in the church, but who eventually officiated personally over the ordination of his daughter. "Have you changed your mind, bishop?" he was asked, and in reply he said, "No, but I am acting from my heart."



Talking to Episcopalians on the route down the hill over the controversy, there were a variety of reactions to this rift, ranging from "it's good to be part of a church that allows for these kinds of disagreements" to "Dean Jones has always been a horse's ass."



The sight of an Episcopalian bishop with staff and full regalia marching through the Tenderloin was oddly surreal and wonderful.



The diocese had obtained a permit for use of the Federal Building plaza for the early afternoon...



...and the crowd was charming as it shivered slightly in the shaded expanse.



There was quite a bit of media there, including Steve Rubenstein of "The Chronicle" (on the right above, click herefor his truncated story) and Jan Adams of the indispensable "happening-here" photoblog (on the left above, click here for her brilliant account of the event).



There were also lots of law enforcement men standing around...



...led by a Homeland Security guy puffing away on a cigarette the whole time who looked almost comically evil, as if he'd been hired to play the bad guy in a Steven Seagal movie.



The government also had undercover photographers taking pictures of every individual in the crowd, and they were not even remotely subtle in their subterfuge.



Bishop Marc, as he likes to be called, gave a short, sweet sermon that involved another disagreement with a more conservative colleague who had somehow mixed up the Old Testament of Vengeance with the New Testament of Mercy.



This was followed by a Eucharist conducted with army surplus canteens, which was a brilliant touch.



Markley Morris, the Quaker organizer of the weekly vigil on Thursdays in front of the Federal Building, gave a short speech on his horror at the entire phony "War on Terror" in the United States before receiving the host.



He then went to one of the doorways of the Federal Building and laid down on the ground, wrapping himself in a sheet as if it were a shroud.



He was soon joined by Bishop Andrus himself, who adjusted the cross around his neck so it wasn't splayed across the sidewalk.



Bishop Andrus soon decided that he was more comfortable sitting rather than laying, and he was joined individually by people who decided they had the courage to be arrested.



As a young man standing besides me stated, "I would love to join them but I can't. I'm in the Coast Guard and they'd kick me out."



This was an extraordinary act of courage by the new Bishop, one that should be emulated by the leaders of American clergy of all faiths everywhere, because unfortunately the newly elected Democratic majority in Washington, D.C. is just as much the War Party as their Republican counterparts.



If that seems hyperbolic, read the recent interview with Dennis Kucinich (click here) about how the Democratic caucus wants to throw even more money at a military solution to the Iraq War.



It's amazing that the majority of the American population, even after five years of steady propaganda by the elites running the current United States Empire, don't support the current Iraq Occupation on any level.



A polling organization called World Public Opinion has just released some startling findings which should light a fire under the backsides of a few politicians (click here for their site):

"A new poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org finds that three out of four Americans believe that in order to stabilize Iraq the United States should enter into talks with Iran and Syria, and eight in ten support an international conference on Iraq. A majority also opposes keeping U.S. forces in Iraq indefinitely and instead supports committing to a timetable for their withdrawal within two years or less."



Thank you, Bishop Andrus, for your leadership and welcome to San Francisco.

Labels: 

16 COMMENTS:

Blogger janinsanfran said...
Awesome account. That lovely gay family in one of your pictures is that of my rector who blogs here. I'm especially glad that you included a shot that shows a crowd. I lost that element. It was a surprisingly moving event.
10:37 AM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Yay for all of you. Cynicism is easy -- about, well about many, many things. Thanks for chronicling and to all for participating. love, Ellen
1:41 PM
Anonymous markleym said...
Mike, thank your for your excellent report and as always great pix. Twelve of us at the die-in were arrested - but the real news is that many more intended to join us in civil disobedience but failed to continue dying in when the arrests stopped. Later the Homeland Security police told us that they planned to arrest everybody who was blocking the doors but could only process twelve at one time. I've never heard of the police taking this approach, but I can testify that they have to do an enormous amount of paperwork. With the twelve of us, the paperwork seemed just on the edge of being beyond them. So this statement probably has some truth to it - but I also believe their goal was to minimize the number arrested and yesterday they succeeded in doing so. Next time we'll have to be more persistent.
2:07 PM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Dear Mike, Love your blog, thanks for the coverage. BTW, I hope you didn't mistake my husband, Andrew, for an undercover photographer. He is pictured here with me (guy with the clerical collar on) and our son, Nehemiah. Andrew is not, and never has been, an agent of the U.S. government :)
4:44 PM
Blogger sfmike said...
Dear fr. john: I suppose the text underneath your pictures was a bit misleading, so let me just say that nobody in that picture was the skinny young man with the big camera who was being pretty blatant about documenting the affair for purposes other than journalism. And thanks for checking out "Civic Center."
4:52 PM
Blogger Elizabeth Kaeton said...
Thanks so much for telling the story in pictures. What a wonderful, refreshing story of our church taking the gospel to the streets.
5:15 PM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Thanks for the great pics, and the accompanying story. It did my heart good to read this, and know there are people -- bishops no less -- taking a real stand against the war. The impish side of me rather likes the picture where they appear to be processing toward the liquor store! ;) All jokes aside, though -- many blessings to all involved. As someone who has been against the war since before its inception (when the gov't was making threats and "preparing" the public for the idea of war), I truly appreciate these peaceful protesters. Blessings... Susan
7:42 PM
Blogger sfwillie said...
Great post. Clergy opposing the war is great, but it's something we should expect. An Episcopal bishop leading a procession from Nob Hill through the Tenderloin without noticeable security is completely, unexpectedly awesome. Your mention of the chilly, shadowed Fed Bldg plaza brings back memories.
8:47 AM
Blogger Rev. Tracy said...
Thank you so much for your coverage and the great photos. I am far, far away (in Africa) and while this wasn't like being there, it was almost like watching it on TV :)
10:53 AM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
The wheelchair user who's covered with an american flag? I believe that's my grandmother. It's not often that one gets to say there things, you know. And I am so proud of her. Was she arrested? News? Txns.
2:58 PM
Blogger sfmike said...
Dear anonymous: Wow, that was your grandmother? Who was the sweet-looking young man who looked sort of homeless with her? I couldn't decide who was taking care of whom. As for whether or not she was arrested, I'm not sure. Markley? Do you have any info?
4:15 PM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
It is amazing the invectives that supposedly people marching of peace can hurl on people that disagree with their tactics. Including the remark on the Dean was in extremely poor taste.
6:03 AM
Blogger sfmike said...
Dear anonymous: Nobody was "hurling any invectives" since the remarks were said to me individually after I had asked, and there were a few worse stories about the Dean which I did not include. "Extremely poor taste" is any Christian who can stand by in silence while we murder the people of Iraq. Extremely poor taste is somebody who leaves invective (it's singular, you idiot) anonymously on people's blogs. Please don't return to "Civic Center."
7:37 AM
Anonymous p said...
very well said sf mike. great report.very inspiring! btw pinochet died today, thank goodness, he was late, the world is a bit cleaner today! txau p
10:36 AM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Great document! The two women who are pouring the wine at the altar, Rev. Dr. Bonnie Ring and Jan Cazden, were celebrating the anniversay of their ordination- what a way to do it!
5:27 PM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
how wonderful, a blessing to us all.
7:40 AM

In full regalia, Anglican bishops go to Union Station seeking parishioners - Posted Toronto

In full regalia, Anglican bishops go to Union Station seeking parishioners - Posted Toronto



 
By Matthew Coutts, National Post

A sight more commonly saved for Sunday, or not at all, greeted commuters leaving Union Station this morning: Anglican bishops in their ecclesiastical vestments welcoming them with a smile.

Wearing the white pointed hats, or mitres, and flowing gowns reserved for the leaders in the Anglican community, several area bishops gathered to invite passerby back to church.

Four bishops, including the Bishop of Toronto Colin Johnson, and several volunteers, canvassed Union Station as part of an international Christian initiative that designated September 27 as “Back to Church Sunday.”

“People have been falling out of the habit of going to their churches or places of worship,” said Bishop Philip Poole, area bishop for York-Credit Valley as he handed out simple cards inviting the recipient to be a guest at their local church.

“This isn’t about Anglican proselytization, this is about promoting a return to your place of worship.”

Bishop Poole said while most people will rush past to get to work, many people stop for a brief chat. Some of the most receptive were people from other religions, he said, who were open to discussing their connection to the their faith.

Dressed in a flowing baby blue gown, known as copes, Bishop Poole caught the eyes of a number of pedestrians as Bishop Linda Nicholls chatted with a young man while wearing a similar white and red outfit nearby.

Churches across the country have suffered from declining attendance in recent years. Judging from the reaction of many early-morning commuters, it will take more than one friendly handshake to fill church pews again.

The scowls and bleary eyes often associated with the morning rush hour were prevalent in the commuter crowd Thursday morning. One woman, having spotted the bishops upon injecting herself into the sunlight from Union Station, muttered a bewildered, “What the Hell?”

“One person asked, ‘are you real popes?’” said Bishop Nichols, adding that while it was not to right denomination, it was at least a start.

In one half-hour period, about a dozen people stopped to greet the two bishops stationed at the main entrance, with more accepting the invitations as they passed.

Paul Mitchell, an active Anglican, recognized Bishop Poole as he passed on his way to work.

“They need to do this more often,” he said, suggesting other denominations are much more active in pamphleteering. “It’s an outreach program, I think it will really help.”

Mr. Mitchell said he frequently volunteers at his local church, in downtown Toronto, and often bribes his friends with a Sunday brunch if they attend with him.

“When you get up to go to work in the morning, you feel a little down. But when I get up on Sunday to go to church, I’m excited. It’s a great feeling.”

The Anglican bishops were in mixed company outside Union Station, as half a dozen young women in kilted dresses handed out birthday cards for Alexander Keith’s.

At least one passerby briefly thought the two groups were together before having the confusion sorted out. 

However, the Anglican Church and Alexander Keith’s do share one thing: those who like it, like it a lot.
Colin Johnson, Anglican Bishop of Toronto, hands out '‘back to church'’ invitations outside Union Station this morning. Photo by Aaron Lynett, National Post


Read more: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2009/09/24/sleepy-commuters-meet-anglican-bishops-bishops-meet-commuters.aspx#ixzz1Ah4mNjaB

Otten To Speak at Concordia, Mequon.
UOJ Champions To Meet at Free Conference

Pastor and Mrs. Herman Otten.
Grace is from Mankato, Minnesota.



High Profile Figure in the Lutheran Church to Speak and Answer Questions During Upcoming Visit

Thursday, January 6, 2011
On February 3, 2011 Concordia University Wisconsin will host Rev. Herman Otten who will speak and answer questions on contemporary issues facing the Lutheran Church. The event will take place on Concordia’s campus at its new Center for Environmental Stewardship beginning at 7 p.m.

Rev. Otten is a Lutheran pastor and editor-publisher of the weekly Christian News of New Haven, Missouri. He is considered, by some, to be one of the most powerful and controversial figures within The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) in the last 50 years. His commentary has been often labeled as provocative.
“Concordia is a place where dialog, discussion, and debate are encouraged,” said President of Concordia University Wisconsin, Rev. Dr. Patrick T. Ferry. “We look forward to an opportunity to hear from Rev. Otten and to engage him on topics of mutual interest and concern.”

A panel, made up of CUW faculty, staff, and board members, will have the opportunity, as well as audience members, to ask Rev. Otten questions. This event is free and open to the public.

For more information on this event, contact Dr. James Burkee, associate professor of History and Economics at 262-243-4463 or James.Burkee@cuw.edu.

Founded in 1881, Concordia University Wisconsin's main campus is located on approximately 200 acres of beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline at 12800 N. Lake Shore Drive, Mequon. The university and its 17 Concordia centers and classroom locations are home to 7,178 undergraduate and graduate, traditional, as well as non-traditional students from 44 states and 26 foreign countries. The university offers 60 undergraduate majors, 14 master's degree programs, doctoral degrees in Pharmacy, Physical Therapy and Nursing Practice. There are also a variety of adult learning opportunities.

The university is affiliated with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and is a member of the Concordia University System, a nationwide network of colleges and universities. For more information on Concordia University Wisconsin, contact the university at 262-243-4300 or visit their web site at www.cuw.edu.

***

GJ - The too-tight underwear crowd looks for hidden meaning in my format changes. I highlighted Otten's name so people would notice it when speed-reading. The original headline suggests that the college crowd does not know the history of the Missouri split. That is a fair assumption.

Otten promoted Concordia, Mequon in a recent issue of Christian News. Mark and Avoid Jeske is one of the confessional Lutherans who has spoken at that school.

I noticed that Mrs. Ichabod, LI, and I were pictured in the new issue of CN. Otten is one of many conservative Lutherans who put me in the deep freeze, without warning or explanation. I know the Trinity, Bridgeton congregation withheld funds because Otten still published my articles. The Trinity members and pastors were ga-ga over UOJ.

However, CN still sells Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant. Every so often I appear again. I seem to be the only Lutheran writer who does not practice Pietistic shunning.

I have had several experiences where I said hello to people who know me very well. They pretended not to know me and to see right through me. I made a point of shaking their hands and forcing the issue. They survived, but I wonder if they needed a ritual bath afterward, so the Sadducees and Pharisees would know they were clean again.

The UOJ Stormtroopers were furious that I began exposing their Pietistic Enthusiasm. Like the Intrepids, they refused to engage the issues.

Also -

"Presidents Harrison, Schroeder, and Molstad have all committed to attend. This will be historic as it will be the first time all three of the Presidents of these synods will be attending a public church meeting together (Snowbird was private, I think, wasn’t it?) since the break-up of the old synodical conference.

Supposed to be in Portland, OR, the first week in May, 2011. I don’t know the precise location – whether a church or more “neutral” site. Maybe various cities even competed for the honor!"

Jackson Library Liquidation Sale - Starting Now

"No, we do not have any Church Growth books.
Calvin's Institutes were sold two years ago."


I am compiling the list on Excel at the moment, having a few Frodo moments - "I cannot do this thing."

The books include:
  • Lutheran doctrinal and historical works.
  • Biblical scholarship, lexica.
  • English, Medieval, and world history.
  • English and world literature.
  • Children's literature in special editions.

More later today.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Christian Lutheran Worship Joint Hymnal Committee



C. T. Aufdemberge
Bruce Backer
Elfred Bloedel
Richard Buss
Theodore Hartwig - Arch-heretic at MLC
Mark and Avoid Jeske
Iver Johnson - Church Secretary's Best Friend
Harlyn Kuschel
Arnold Lehmann
Carl Nolte
Victor Prange - argued and worked for a feminist hymnal
David Prilwitz
Loren Schaller
Wayne Schulz - Designated driver for Mequon Professors
James Tiefel - PETA award for driving around turtles spotted on the streets of Mequon.

***

GJ -
  • Exact same format design as the ELCA Liberal Book of Weirdness.
  • Lots of ELCA copyrighted material from the LBW.
  • Feminist rendering of hymns and feminist destruction of the Creeds.
  • Dreadful hymn selection - Babtist and Anti-inerrancy.

WELS/ELS/LCMS Papacy - Like Rome's

"Ach, those Missourians. They are on our side, too.
Say hello to Mr. McCain for me.
And to those Steadfast and Intrepid Papists.
And to the Anti-Pope John the Malefactor.
We are all closer than ever before."


Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "First Sunday after the Epiphany":

The (W)ELS confession and teaching of UOJ directly attacks the faith of the Holy Spirit. Their attacks are in perfect harmony with the declaration of anathema made by the Antichrist of the Roman Catholic Church.

Antichrist:
J-146
"If anyone says that justifying faith is nothing else than trust in divine mercy, which remits sins for Christ's sake, or that it is this trust alone by which we are justified, let him be anathema [damned to Hell]." [Session Six, Canon XII]
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 460.

(W)ELS
"But whoever molests the doctrine of justification stabs the gospel in the heart ... even if he ever so much emphasizes justification by faith."
Pastor Nathan Seiltz (WELS)
Evergreen Lutheran High School
PastorSeiltz@elhs.org
Subject: RE: FW: Letter to ELHS Board and Association
Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2008 20:38:02

The Lutheran Synods, (W)ELS especially, should take this entire issue of their confession of Universal Objective Justification as their central doctrine much more seriously than they are today.

Sound Waves

First Sunday after the Epiphany

The Transfiguration, by Norma Boeckler




The First Sunday after the Epiphany

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 8 AM Phoenix Time

The Hymn # 277 I heard the voice 4:57
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual Romans 12:1-5
The Gospel Luke 2:41-52
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 657 Beautiful Savior 4:24

The Divinity of Christ

The Hymn #130 O Jesus King of Glory 4:49
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #40 The God of Abram Praise 4:94

KJV Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

KJV Luke 2:41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. 45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? 50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

First Sunday After Epiphany
Lord God, heavenly Father, who in mercy hast established the Christian home among us: We beseech Thee so to rule and direct our hearts, that we may be good examples to children and servants, and not offend them by word or deed, but faithfully teach them to love Thy Church and hear Thy blessed word. Give them Thy Spirit and grace, that this seed may bring forth good fruit, so that our homelife may conduce to Thy glory, honor and praise, to our own improvement and welfare, and give offense to no one; through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The Divinity of Christ

This story is one of my favorites. I remember going to church and seeing the well known painting of Jesus in the Temple. I knew the likelihood of a group of elderly men listening to a boy talk about religion. It was and still is fascinating to think about.

This should remind us of how little we know about the childhood of Jesus. The fake Gospels try to fill in the details with fables, but they were invented centuries later. The Holy Spirit chose to tell us relatively little because the central story of the Bible is the cross and resurrection.

There are several main themes in this story. One is the divinity of Christ. Another is the burden Mary and Joseph had to bear because they were raising the eternal Son of God. Finally, this story also shows how God took the Gospel to the temple (again) to prepare the religious leaders for the Messiah.

Divinity of Christ
Luke 2:46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

I often dwell on the laborious journey, uphill all the way, to Jerusalem, and the search for Jesus everywhere. That gives all parents a clear picture of the agony that Joseph and Mary must have felt for days.

However, we should also consider the long stretch of time Jesus spent with the elders, teachers, leaders of the Temple, asking them questions and teaching them about the Word of God.

It says about the Jewish leaders “And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.”

There are two approaches to such matters. Some people tell everyone how much they know and offer their own authentication. I knew someone who went to Yale and told a story about how he graduated with highest honors, because his diploma said so in Latin. I looked at mine and saw “second honors” and asked a doctoral student at Yale about “first” being highest honors. She said, “Nonsense. First honors means it is a bachelor of divinity degree, the first degree. Yours means it is a master’s degree, the second degree.”

The second approach is to know matters so well than no one can dispute it. Sometimes I play a trick on people, because I was trained inadequately in network engineering. There is a phrase they use all the time – “check the physical layer.” There are some others that others do not know. When network engineers discuss something, not knowing me, or they give me needed advice involving the wiring and switches, I add “Start with the physical layer.” That creates astonishment. But of course, a few pointed questions would expose how little I remember after that.

Jesus spoke with the leaders for three days, we may suppose, and they were still astonished at what He said and the questions he asked.

Some of you may be thinking, “If I had been there. I would have listened to every Word for three days.”

But we have that opportunity all the time. The entire Bible is God’s Word. He speaks to us directly and His Word has the power to move us accordingly. It is both the direction and the power to follow that direction.
Recently an agnostic college student wrote to me about some matters on the blog. I urged him to forget about human institutions and read the Gospel of John, where Jesus speaks the most and teaches us in the clearest possible terms.

We can see from this episode in the Temple how much God did to convert Jews to the Christian faith.
1. He prepared the way with the Old Testament prophets and the greatest of all prophets – John the Baptist.
2. Jesus was circumcised and Temple leaders witnessed about His mission.
3. The Savior spoke with the Temple leaders for three days.

Jesus spent almost all His ministry among Jews and ventured into Gentile lands only for a short time. Likewise, St. Paul’s mission was “to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles.”

In God’s plan, this kept the Old Testament and New Testament together as One Gospel. From Lenski I came to realize that the earliest era of Christianity was an overwhelming success among Jews, so much that that excommunications and persecutions began in earnest. The Talmud also had its beginning at this time, according to Chemnitz, to cloud over the Scriptural witness to Christ.

So early Christianity was Jewish Christianity and then became Gentile Christianity as well. But the Gospel message to Jewish people has never stopped, and there are many Jewish Christian believers today because of it. One of the ironies of life is that I had a non-Jewish student who went to one of the Jewish Christian churches in Phoenix. So the mission to the Jews reversed itself and reached a Gentile.

Parental Cross
This story displays the agony Joseph and Mary felt. There is no secret about it. Mary said:

“Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.”

Jesus did not apologize but responded, “Did you not realize that I must be about my Father’s business?”

This shows us the vast gulf between our perception and God’s, which was preparation for the future. Jesus’ role was not something He would debate with Joseph, Mary, and the extended family. Doubtless few of them had any grasp of the nature of His work, until after the resurrection. Mary knew best of all.

There had to be this gulf because no one could imagine that the Only-Begotten Son would die on the cross to atone for our sins, to redeem us from sin, death, and the devil.
The clearest part of the Gospel, that this forgiveness is distributed through the Word and Sacraments, is still lost on people today. Either they do not know exactly how people are forgiven—although believing is forgiveness—or they declare everyone is forgiven in advance.

The seeming uncaring nature of Christ is His divinity. But this story lets us see our own doubts and reflect upon what is happening. We can see that Jesus in the Temple is a perfect example of God’s mercy. Could He have asked permission and received it, to stay for days? Instead, He did what God the Father commanded and brought the Gospel to the Temple itself. As a result some of the earliest Christians were from the highest levels of leadership, as shown by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.

So, when God seems indifferent to our troubles and anxieties, God is allowing such things to happen for our ultimate good and to glorify His Name.

Efficacy of the Word Quotations

J-141
"Despised and scorned, they sojourned here
But now, how glorious they appear!
Those martyrs stand a priestly band,
God’s throne forever near.
So oft, in troubled days gone by,
In anguish they would weep and sigh.
At home, above the God of love
For aye their tears shall dry.
They now enjoy their Sabbath rest,
The paschal banquet of the blest;
The Lamb, their Lord, at festal board
Himself is Host and Guest."
Hans A. Brorson, “Behold a Host, Arrayed in White,” The Lutheran Hymnal, #656, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941.116

J-142
"But Christ was given for this purpose, namely, that for His sake there might be bestowed on us the remission of sins, and the Holy Ghost to bring forth in us new and eternal life, and eternal righteousness [to manifest Christ in our hearts, as it is written John 16:15: He shall take of the things of Mine, and show them unto you. Likewise, He works also other gifts, love, thanksgiving, charity, patience, etc.]. Wherefore the Law cannot be truly kept unless the Holy Ghost is received through faith... Then we learn to know how flesh, in security and indifference, does not fear God, and is not fully certain that we are regarded by God, but imagines that men are born and die by chance. Then we experience that we do not believe that God forgives and hears us. But when, on hearing the Gospel and the remission of sins, we are consoled by faith, we receive the Holy Ghost, so that now we are able to think aright."
Augsburg Confession, Article III, #11, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 159. Tappert, p. 125. Heiser, p. 42.

Effective in Galatia
KJV Galatians 2:8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)

In this passage Paul is presenting his case against the Judaizers in Galatia, establishing his status as the apostle to the Gentiles and destroying the necessity of circumcision. While Peter worked among the Jews and Paul among the non-Jews, God was actively at work in both men, because the effect of the Gospel does not depend on man. Therefore, the argument of the false teachers, that Peter alone worked miracles, is false.

J-143
Clark's translation: "For he who infused the supernatural spirit for Peter in order that he might authoritatively preach among the Jews, infused me too with that same spirit, so that I might as authoritatively preach among the pagans."
Kenneth W. Clark, "The Meaning of Energeo and Katargeo in the New Testament," Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 54, 1935, p. 94.

KJV Galatians 3:5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

The question posed by Paul about the circumcision party offers a comparison that needs no answer.

1. God provided all of the effort in giving you the Spirit. The verb form is related to the act of outfitting a chorus, that is, providing all of the expenses of a drama or pageant. God provided all of the cost in bringing the Spirit through the Word to the Galatians, sending His Son and commissioning the apostles.
2. God also worked (erg is the root for work) great miracles, which are recorded in Acts 14:3. “Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.”
3. Did He work miracles (energon dynameis) through the works (ergoi) of the Law or the preaching of faith? The Judaizers could not teach the Gospel, could not therefore provide the Spirit, and could not perform any miracles or wonders. The works of the Judaizers do not work.

J-144
“Since Paul, then, clearly testifies that he did not even wish to seek for the confirmation of Peter [for permission to preach] even when he had come to him, he teaches that the authority of the ministry depends upon the Word of God, and that Peter was not superior to the other apostles, and that it was not from this one individual Peter that ordination or confirmation was to be sought [that the office of the ministry proceeds from the general call of the apostles, and that it is not necessary for all to have the call or confirmation of this one person, Peter, alone].”
The Smalcald Articles, Of the Power and Primacy of the Pope, IV, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 507. Tappert, p. 321. Heiser, p. 150.

Faith Works by Love, Galatians 5:6
KJV Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

J-145
"But after man has been justified by faith, then a true living faith worketh by love, Galatians 5:6, so that thus good works always follow justifying faith, and are surely found with it, if it be true and living; for it never is alone, but always has with it love and hope."
Formula of Concord, Epitome, III, #11. Righteousness of Faith, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 795. Tappert, p. 474. Heiser, p. 220.

This verse refutes the error of Roman Catholics, who damn to Hell those who teach that faith means trust in God, that faith alone receives God’s forgiveness.117

J-146
"If anyone says that justifying faith is nothing else than trust in divine mercy, which remits sins for Christ's sake, or that it is this trust alone by which we are justified, let him be anathema [damned to Hell]." [Session Six, Canon XII]
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 460.

J-147
"If anyone says that a man is absolved from sins and justified because of this that he confidently believes that he is absolved and justified, or that no one is truly justified except he who believes that he is justified, and that through this faith alone absolution and justification is effected, let him be anathema [damned to Hell]." [Sixth Session, Canon XIV]
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 551.

The law-merchants win if we think the energy of God’s salvation comes from circumcision or non-circumcision. They can even turn faith into a work of the Law, by making trust in God into a “decision for Christ,” or cooperation with God (synergism), or as the Church of Rome teaches, faith requiring good works to make the believer pleasing to God. Although the Roman concept seems to be the worst perversion, any addition of the Law to the Gospel destroys salvation by grace alone. The proper understanding of Galatians 5:6 is that the justified sinner, receiving forgiveness through faith, will be active in the works of love, in the spirit of gratitude rather than obligation toward God.118

J-148
“Therefore justification does not require the works of the Law; but it does require a living faith, which performs its works.”
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed. Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 721.

J-149
“He that hears the Word of Christ in all sincerity, and adheres to it in faith, will also soon be clothed with the spirit of love.”
Martin Luther, 8, 1572, cited in P. E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible, New Testament, 2 vols., St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, II, p. 251.

J-150
"At this point, Paul uses the antonym katargoumai, in the aorist passive, of which notice may be taken here. All of you who seek to be pronounced dikaios through the Law, he says, katergethete apo christou, i.e. 'have been deprived of the efficacious spirit of Christ.' No longer is He in you, nor you in Him; you have been exorcised from him."
Kenneth W. Clark, "The Meaning of Energeo and Katargeo in the New Testament," Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 54, 1935, p. 99.

To Will and to Do God’s Will, Philipians 2:13
KJV Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Kittel considers Philippians 2:13 the only instance of the word-group being used for human activity.119 Non-Lutherans have trouble with this verse, since they think in terms of the Arminian position of free will or the Calvinistic position of double predestination.120 However, Lutherans understand that the Holy Spirit works in the Word and Sacraments not only to make us love His will, but also to move us in serving Him willingly. Therefore, good works done by Christians are motivated by the Triune God and also activated by divine power. Walther: “We are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling for the very reason that our heavenly Father must do everything that is necessary for our salvation.”121

J-151
"Paul is not using law but Gospel. He is assuring his Christian readers that, in their complete dependence on God for their salvation, this God will never, never disappoint them but by working in them by means of Word and Sacrament will ever bring them to keep on in their willing and to keep on in their working, both object infinitives being present and durative."
R. C. H. Lenski, Philippians, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House: 1962, p. 800.

J-152
"And Paul, Philippians 2:13: It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. To all godly Christians who feel and experience in their hearts a small spark or longing for divine grace and eternal salvation this precious passage is very comforting; for they know that God has kindled in their hearts this beginning of true godliness, and that He will further strengthen and help them in their great weakness to persevere in true faith unto the end."
Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, II, #14, Of Free Will. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 885. Tappert, p. 523. Heiser, p. 242.

J-153
“And although the regenerate even in this life advance so far that they will what is good, and love it, and even do good and grow in it, nevertheless this (as above stated) is not of our will and ability, but the Holy Ghost, as Paul himself speaks concerning this, works such willing and doing, Philippians 2:12. As also in Ephesians 2:10 he ascribes this work to God alone, when he says: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, II, #39, Of Free Will. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 895. Tappert, p. 528. Heiser, p. 245.

Effective in Transforming, Philipians 3:20
KJV Philippians 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Here Paul contrasts the city to which we belong, in Heaven, to the earthly nature of those who are sworn enemies of Christ (verse 19) whose God is their belly, whose end is destruction, whose glory is their shame, because they think only about the things on the earth. Believers, in contrast, belong to the City of God, where our Savior will come from at the end of time. He will call our bodies from the dead, (John 5), giving believers a glorious body which is like His glorified body, through His activity in subordinating every created thing and all powers to Himself.
J-154
"From this earthly city issue the enemies against whom the City of God must be defended. Some of them, it is true, abjure their worldly error and become worthy members in God's City. But many others, alas, break out in blazing hatred against it and are utterly ungrateful, notwithstanding its Redeemer's signal gifts. For, they would no longer have a voice to raise against it, had not its sanctuaries given them asylum as they fled before the invaders' swords, and made it possible for them to save the life of which they are so proud."
Augustine, The City of God, Garden City: Image Books, 1962, p. 40.

Active in Colosse; 1:28, 2:12
KJV Colossians 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

Paul had to strive against Judaizers in Colosse, so he preached the Gospel and also warned against the false teachers. He could present every soul perfect in Christ only if the leaven of salvation by the Law was completely removed in all respects. His task is not easy; for he speaks of hard labor and agonizing according to the divine energy God has given him to work miracles. We can see that the old Pharisaical pride of Paul in being such a hard worker is now converted into praising God for working through him. The style of self-congratulations is still present, but Paul is now only the instrument.

KJV Colossians 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

The monergism of the Bible is repeatedly connected to this word-group. In this passage we have the utter defeat of synergism, that is, any notion that man cooperates with God in salvation, even if it only means to complete what God has begun. Baptism is symbolic, but the Sacrament is not merely symbolic. Baptism is the energy of God in burying the old Adam and raising up the new Creation. Water represents our burial, our washing, our rebirth, but the power of Baptism comes from the Holy Spirit at work in the Word. We are raised through the faith worked by God who raised Him from the dead. The creation of faith by One so powerful cannot be denied, especially since the actual resurrection of Christ is the cornerstone of our faith.122

J-155
"Luther heads the list of those who regard the genitive as a genitive of cause: 'the faith which God works,' etc., 'of the operation of God' (KJV), i.e., produced in us by His work. So this passage has come to be a dictum probans against synergism. The fact that faith is in toto God's production is the teaching of all Scripture."123
R. C. H. Lenski, Colossians, Columbus: The Wartburg Press, 1937, p. 109f.

J-156
“Just as Paul says to the Colossians, 2:12, that faith is efficacious through the power of God, and overcomes death: Wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God. Since this faith is a new life, it necessarily produces new movements and works. [Because it is a new light and life in the heart, whereby we obtain another mind and spirit, it is living, productive, and rich in good works.”
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article IV, #250, Justification. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 191. Tappert, p. 143. Heiser, p. 53.

J-157
“Paul almost everywhere, when he describes conversion or renewal, designates these two parts, mortification and quickening, as in Colossians 2:11: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, namely, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh. And afterward, v. 12: Wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God. Here are two parts. [Of these two parts he speaks plainly Romans 6:2, 4, 11, that we are dead to sin, which takes place by contrition and its terrors, and that we should rise again with Christ, which takes place when by faith we again obtain consolation and life.”
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XII, #46. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 263. Tappert, p. 188. Heiser, p. 81.

Effectual in Acknowledging, Philemon 1:6
Philemon 1:6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

Communication (koinonia) is used exclusively in the New Testament for fellowship with God. The English term, koinonia, has degenerated into a name for socializing and cell groups. In the New Testament, koinonia means fellowship with God:
KJV 1 Corinthians 10:16 “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion (koinonia) of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion (koinonia) of the body of Christ?

When we understand that koinonia means fellowship with God, then we can see how Philemon’s faith can become energetic, divinely active, in being aware of all worthwhile things in him in Christ. The letter is a Gospel-centered plea by Paul to a rich man, Philemon, to accept back his runaway slave, Onesimus. The request in Philemon 1:6 is for Philemon to show mercy, which will then be influential among all the Christians, when they see someone give up his rights under the law in order to show forgiveness through Christ. This would also be a way of acknowledging the good things, the blessings, of Christian fellowship. In contrast, non-believers “lord it over one another (Matthew 20:25).”

Synoptic Energy, Matthew 14:2; Mark 6:14
KJV Matthew 14:2 (parallel: Mark 6:14) And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.

Herod the Tetrarch, in a guilty panic after he murdered John the Baptist, claimed that Jesus was John come back to life. While others saw wonderful miracles attesting the divinity of Jesus, God’s only-begotten Son, Herod saw a haunting memory of a dead prophet. If we did not have the efficacious verb in this passage, we would still be struck by the terror induced in Herod by the presence of the Savior. The mighty works active in Christ have the effect of the Law for Herod, because he only knows the agony of the unrepentant sinner who has hardened his own heart against the Gospel. Proverbs 28:1 “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.”

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Someone Gave Me What Luther Says.
I Hope Someone Does That For You and Yours


By Norma Boeckler


In my first congregation, Cleveland, a member gave me the three-volume boxed set, What Luther Says.

Like most newbies, I ran out of sermon material, so I often relied on this set to give me ideas. At some point I also bought the Lenker set.

What Luther Says is one of the best Luther publications because the format makes it easy to use. God be thanked, Luther did not want to write a systematics book. He wrote on the topics of the day.

Reading the selections on the Holy Spirit will teach and support the correct, Biblical view of the Holy Spirit.

Engaging in doctrinal issues will turn this work into a worked-over volume (now that it is one instead of three).

The Lenker/Klug set on sermons of Luther is even better.


Part Two: Holy Communion

 

J-859

"And just as the Word has been given in order to excite this faith, so the Sacrament has been instituted in order that the outward appearance meeting the eyes might move the heart to believe [and strengthen faith]. For through these, namely, through Word and Sacrament, the Holy Ghost works."
Apology Augsburg Confession, XXIV (XII), #70. The Mass. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 409. Tappert, p. 262. Heiser, p. 123.

Those who have grown up in non-liturgical denominations can understand how unimportant communion has become for the Zwinglians.460 When a Roman Catholic attends a traditional Lutheran communion service, he will respond very favorably to the dignity and Christ-centered nature of the worship. The only real worship service for a Roman Catholic is a Mass, because the Eucharist is dominant in their understanding of Christianity, even though the reasons are warped by Purgatory and the promise of limited forgiveness. In contrast, a non-liturgical Zwinglian service contains only the sermon and some emotional hymns. One Baptist worship professor alienated his pan-denominational audience at Wheaton College by telling the Pentecostals to observe the Sunday of Pentecost, the Evangelicals to have a cycle of Biblical readings, and the entire crowd to consider the value of reciting the Ecumenical Creeds.461 The applause was definitely scattered and hostile.
When I left the Lutheran Church in America, the denomination was moving toward the Episcopalian model of high church Unitarianism. In other words, the ministers believed nothing and each congregation had more doctrinal opinions than members. Nevertheless, rules for the proper conduct of worship were emphasized in many official communications. A 1970s evangelism filmstrip, the grandfather of the video, explained how important a liturgical service and a well prepared sermon were. Some vocal ministers of the LCA and ALC were arguing for every Sunday communion in a legalistic way, but they were talking about worship.462 A few progressives began promoting infant communion, following the Eastern Orthodox. The national LCA conventions redeemed themselves to some degree with their communion services.
Imagine my shock when I joined the Wisconsin Synod and found people repeatedly denouncing more than one congregation as “a page five and fifteen congregation.” Someone had to explain this term to me, because I thought it referred to by-laws. My informant said, “Those are congregations using The Lutheran Hymnal all the time, page five for the normal service and page fifteen for the communion service.” So I asked, “What’s wrong with that?” The WELS pastor said, “They are not being creative in worship.” All too soon I learned what being creative meant. I went to a WELS conference where the worship bulletin cover said that Easter keeps us going and going and going and going, an obvious reference to a battery commercial on TV, one that featured a pink rabbit.463 The Introit for the service was simply invented by the pastor, who is now on the board of the seminary. The Creed could be anything, such as a part of the Small Catechism.
The powerful district mission boards of the Wisconsin Synod, surely no more debased than their LCMS counterparts, could not impress on congregations enough the need to make every visitor happy. Closed communion was converted to “Don’t ask. Don’t tell.” No one bragged about having open communion, but no one mentioned closed communion either. I attended one WELS conference where a pastor explained how congregations could get away from the hymnal altogether—with transparencies on an overhead projector—just like the Assemblies of God. No one really spelled it out, but it was clear that the liturgy was an obstacle in the eyes of the Church Growth groupies.
How far can this trend go? Following are some actual examples.

1.   The Wisconsin and Missouri Synods have endorsed Seeker Services, copying Willow Creek Community Church.
2.    Lutheran hymns have been set aside in favor of treacle like “Take the world but give me Jesus,” featured in the new WELS hymnal, edited by James P. Tiefel and Iver Johnson.
3.    ELS missionary Roger Kovaciny is known for singing and dancing in the pulpit with a basket on his head. Using a pistol or gun-case in the pulpit is another famous example of Kovaciny making the Word relevant. ["Just what we need at Thoughts of Faith!"]

Where did this infuriating display of contempt for the Means of Grace begin? First of all, it started with the denial of the efficacy of the Word. If the foundation is wrong, the worship service is turned into a sad, sick parody of praising God. Lutherans should have a national day of shame and contrition for what they have done to worship in the name of evangelism. God has betrayed them, as He does all the reprobate, by denying them the one thing they desire, numerical growth.464
In the past, no one imagined that Holy Communion was an entitlement for anyone who happened to be in church on a given Sunday, those visiting relatives or the curious and the lost, like a Methodist woman who dropped by St. Paul’s in Columbus and was communed with her young son. Yale professor emeritus George Lindbeck, who regularly attended the early service at Bethesda Lutheran Church, New Haven, where I worked as a student assistant, recently wrote an article on this subject: “The Eucharist Tastes Bitter in the Divided Church.”465 Lindbeck pointed out that the divinity school chapel began to use the eucharistic rite of the Church of South India, which was a union of the Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregationalist confessions. However, one colleague objected to the words of distribution, “This is my body” and “This is my blood.” The dissenter did not believe those words and did not want to participate. Lindbeck wrote: “I had misled him about my belief in the real presence by joining in the old quasi-Zwinglian service just as he felt he had misled others in the opposite direction by eating and drinking in accordance with the new South Indian liturgy. Both of us had in our respective ways borne false witness to our faith and were guilty of mendacity—some would say, blasphemy—by signifying fraudulently with sacred things.” The article’s assumption of ecumenical communion reminds me of the impertinent question asked by a woman at a Greek Orthodox congregation’s open house. She kept saying, “I want to take communion here.” The priest patiently responded more than once, “Then take classes and join if you agree with our confession.” The woman sounded exasperated that the priest took the Lord’s Supper so seriously. No one else does today.
Luther explained why Holy Communion means so much to the individual.

J-860

"For in Confession as in the Lord's Supper you have the additional advantage, that the Word is applied to your person alone. For in preaching it flies out into the whole congregation, and although it strikes you also, yet you are not so sure of it; but here it does not apply to anyone except you. Ought it not to fill your heart with joy to know a place where God is ready to speak to you personally? Yea, if we had a chance to hear an angel speak we would surely run to the ends of the earth."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983 II, p. 199.

Holy Communion in the Small Catechism


J-861

VI. The Sacrament of the Altar,
As the Head of a Family Should Teach It
in a Simple Way to His Household466

What is the Sacrament of the Altar?
It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself.

Where is this written?
The holy Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and St. Paul, write thus:
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread: and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and gave it to His disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.
After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Take, drink ye all of it. This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins. This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.
What is the benefit of such eating and drink?

That is shown us in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins; namely, that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?
It is not the eating and drinking, indeed, that does them, but the words which stand here, namely: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins. Which words are, beside the bodily eating and drinking, as the chief thing in the Sacrament; and he that believes these words has what they say and express, namely, the forgiveness of sins.

Who, then, receives such Sacrament worthily?
Fasting and bodily preparation is, indeed, a fine outward training; but he is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins. But he that does not believe these words, or doubts, is unworthy and unfit; for the words For you require altogether believing hearts.”

Holy Communion in the Large Catechism


J-862

"And all these are established by the words by which Christ has instituted it, and which every one who desires to be a Christian and go to the Sacrament should know. For it is not our intention to admit to it and to administer it to those who know not what they seek, or why they come."
Large Catechism, The Sacrament of the Altar. #2. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 753. Tappert, p. 447. Heiser, p. 210.

J-863

"For it is not founded upon the holiness of men, but upon the Word of God. And as no saint upon earth, yea, no angel in heaven, can make bread and wine to be the body and blood of Christ, so also can no one change or alter it, even though it be misused. For the Word by which it became a Sacrament and was instituted does not become false because of the person or his unbelief. For He does not say: If you believe or are worthy you receive My body and blood, but: Take, eat and drink; this is My body and blood."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar. #16-17. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 757. Tappert, p. 448. Heiser, p. 211.

J-864

"On this account it is indeed called a food of souls, which nourishes and strengthens the new man. For by Baptism we are first born anew; but (as we said before) there still remains, besides, the old vicious nature of flesh and blood in man, and there are so many hindrances and temptations of the devil and of the world that we often become weary and faint, and sometimes also stumble."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar. #23. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 757. Tappert, p. 449. Heiser, p. 211f.

J-865

"Therefore it {communion}is given for a daily pasture and sustenance, that faith may refresh and strengthen itself so as not to fall back in such a battle, but become ever stronger and stronger. For the new life must be so regulated that it continually increase and progress; but it must suffer much opposition. For the devil is such a furious enemy that when he sees that we oppose him and attack the old man, and that he cannot topple us over by force, he prowls and moves about on all sides, tries all devices, and does not desist, until he finally wearies us, so that we either renounce our faith or yield hands and feet and become listless or impatient. Now to this end the consolation is here given when the heart feels that the burden is becoming too heavy, that it may here obtain new power and refreshment."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar. #24-27. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 759. Tappert, p. 449. Heiser, p. 211.

J-866

"For here in the Sacrament you are to receive from the lips of Christ forgiveness of sin, which contains and brings with it the grace of God and the Spirit with all His gifts, protection, shelter, and power against death and the devil and all misfortune."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar. #70. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 769. Tappert, p. 454. Heiser, p. 214.

J-867

"Therefore, if you cannot feel it {the works of the flesh, Galatians 5:199ff. above}, at least believe the Scriptures; they will not lie to you, and they know your flesh better than you yourself...Yet, as we have said, if you are quite dead to all sensibility, still believe the Scriptures, which pronounce sentence upon you. And, in short, the less you feel your sins and infirmities, the more reason have you to go to the Sacrament to seek help and a remedy."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar. #76-78. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 771. Tappert, p. 455. Heiser, p. 214.

Against the Word, Against the Real Presence


J-868

(1) "Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide, For round us falls the eventide;
Nor let Thy Word, that heavenly light, For us be ever veiled in night.

(2) In these last days of sore distress Grant us, dear Lord, true steadfastness
That pure we keep, till life is spent, Thy holy Word and Sacrament.

(3) Lord Jesus, help, Thy Church uphold, For we are sluggish, thoughtless, cold.
Oh, prosper well Thy Word of grace And spread its truth in every place.

(4)Oh, keep us in Thy Word, we pray; The guile and rage of Satan stay!
Oh, may Thy mercy never cease! Give concord, patience, courage, peace.

(5) O God, how sin’s dread works abound! Throughout the earth no rest is found.
And falsehood’s spirit wide has spread, And error boldly rears its head.

(6) The haughty spirits, Lord, restrain Who over Thy Church with might would reign
And always set forth something new, Devised to change Thy doctrine true.

(8) A trusty weapon is Thy Word, Thy Church's buckler, shield, and sword.
Oh, let us in its power confide That we may seek no other guide!

(9) Oh, grant that in Thy holy Word We here may live and die, dear Lord;
And when our journey endeth here, Receive us into glory there.”

Nikolaus Selnecker et al.,"Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide," The Lutheran Hymnal, #292, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941.

In the name of love, ecumenical communion prepared the way for the next atrocity in Christian worship, the inter-faith service, where various world religions are recognized and treated as equals. Many examples could also be cited where pagan religion has been added to a Lutheran service in the name of providing relevance and excitement. This is especially true in the ELCA and the sisterhood of the National Council of Churches. The Sophia goddess conference wedded female goddess worship to feminist mainline leadership. However, long before all these blasphemies took place, the efficacy of the Word in Holy Communion was denied.
Huldrich Zwingli began the rejection of God’s work through the visible Word by proudly declaring that the Holy Spirit did not need a vehicle like an oxcart. Zwingli did not know theology very well and he was inordinately jealous of Martin Luther. His Swiss Reformation in Zurich anticipated the more refined rationalism of John Calvin in Geneva. Many of Zwingli’s statements are revolting for their block-headed ignorance, but his move to separate the Holy Spirit from the Word was his foundational error. The Book of Concord calls it Enthusiasm. Whenever someone declares that God works apart from the Word and Sacraments, he is an Enthusiast. Granted, some Christian confessions are closer to the efficacy of the Word and less obnoxious in their statements, but the union of the Holy Spirit and the Word, whether visible in the Sacraments or invisible in preaching, cannot be relinquished because it is Scriptural.

J-869

"Whoever denies the Real Presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper must pervert the words of Institution where Christ the Lord, speaking of that which He gives His Christians to eat, says: 'This is My body,' and, speaking of that which He gives them to drink, says: 'This is My blood.' [Also 1 Corinthians 10:16]
Francis Pieper, The Difference between Orthodox and Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 40. 1 Corinthians 10:16.

John Calvin was an erudite legal scholar before he became a Christian leader, so he lifted Zwingli’s rationalism to a more refined level. He stated this about the Lord’s Supper – that the finite forms of bread and wine cannot contain the infinite of Christ’s body and blood (finitum non capax infinitum, called the extra Calvinisticum).467 If we examine his statements in his Institutes more closely, we can easily find the same mocking tone so familiar in Zwingli. However, few Lutheran pastors read the Institutes, even though they buy and use Calvin’s complete Biblical commentaries.468

 

J-870

"Calvin was dissatisfied with Zwingli's interpretation of the Lord's Supper, but his own interpretation was also wrong. He said that a person desiring to receive the body and blood of Christ could not get it under the bread and wine, but must by his faith mount up to heaven, where the Holy Spirit would negotiate a way for feeding him with the body and blood of Christ. These are mere vagaries, which originated in Calvin's fancy. But an incident like this shows that men will not believe that God bears us poor sinners such great love that He is willing to come to us."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 185.

J-871

"When the preacher who is administering this holy Sacrament repeats, along with the Lord's Prayer, the words of institution, he first of all is testifying that he does not desire to perform, from his own opinion, a human action and institution; rather, as a householder [steward] of the divine mysteries, he is, in accordance with Christ's command, desiring to administer a holy Sacrament. Accordingly, he sets aside visible bread and wine so that it can be the means and instrument for the distribution and fellowship of the body and blood of Christ. Further, he prays that, in accordance with His institution and promise, Christ would be present in this action, and that by means of the consecrated bread and wine he might distribute Christ's body and blood. Finally, he testifies that by the power of the institution of Christ, the bread and wine in the holy Supper are not [merely] base bread and wine, but rather that Christ's body and Christ's blood are received sacramentally united and present with the bread and wine. He will herewith then point out this institution and ordinance of Christ to the communicants."
Johann Gerhard, A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 1610, ed. D. Berger, J. Heiser, Malone, Texas: Repristination Press, 2000, p. 301f.

Communion Texts


KJV Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

It is difficult to improve on Luther’s Small Catechism, but some things need to be noted because of recent developments. One is the use of testament or covenant for the Greek word diatheke. In this context we have to ask about the English meaning of the terms. Testament is clear, suggesting a last will and testament. I can leave my entire fortune to a Lutheran synod, without having a Planned Giving Counselor guide my signature while stepping on my oxygen hose. A last will and testament is a one-sided agreement, made without the permission of the other party. When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He did not ask for a mutual agreement. He simply announced what He was doing and what it meant. We often use the term covenant for an agreement between two parties. For instance, when I did an Internet search on the word covenant, the first page found was Reformed and concerned the Covenant of Scotland, quoting Joshua 24:25.469 Covenant has been a favorite term for Calvinists. The term is also used now as a legal term for an agreement among two parties. So it arouses my suspicions to have the new Wisconsin Synod hymnal change the Words of Institution to “This is my blood of the new covenant...”470 The Lutheran Hymnal reads: “This cup is the New Testament in My blood...”
The Evangelical Lutheran Synod has had a long-running debate on the Moment of Consecration. The discussion has provided the benefit of avoiding serious doctrinal issues for years. If the ELS understood and believed in the efficacy of the Word, they would not have a debate or use such a term as The Moment of Consecration, a term which by itself sounds Roman Catholic. I have not participated in the ELS discussions or taken sides, since it seems like a replay of the Spanish Civil War. Obviously, the power of the Sacrament of the Altar comes from the Word. One cannot divorce the Real Presence of Christ from the Word. In the days of the old Synodical Conference, people were taught to think in the following way and they still say, “It is not the body and blood of Christ until the communicant receives it.” That belief would make the reception efficacious in effecting the Real Presence. All my quotations about the Lord’s Supper assume the Real Presence before the reception of the elements. Receptionism has even been critiqued by WELS.

J-872
"It should perhaps be mentioned also that some of our Lutheran teachers limited the real presence to the moment of eating and drinking. This, too, goes beyond the specific words of Christ."
            W. Gawrisch, Review of Bjarne Wollan Teigen, The Lord's Supper in the Theology of Martin Chemnitz, Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1987, 84, p. 155.

J-873

"This precium nostrae redemptionis, that is, this His true body, which He gave into death for our redemption, and this His true blood, which He poured out for our redemption, the Lord Christ takes and distributes to us by means of the consecrated bread and wine so that thereby we might be strengthened and made sure in faith and so that also the promise of the gracious forgiveness of sins applies to us."
Johann Gerhard, A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 1610, ed. D. Berger, J. Heiser, Malone, Texas: Repristination Press, 2000, p. 369.

J-874

"This consumption of the body of Christ along with the consecrated wine is in no way to be regarded as a natural eating and drinking, much less as a Capernaitic eating and drinking, since Christ's body and blood are not eaten and drunk as one usually receives and uses other food and drink, [i.e.] in a natural manner for the nurture of the body. Rather, such an eating and drinking takes place in a highly incomprehensible mystery, [in an] unfathomable and genuinely spiritual manner. It is, however, called a sacramental eating and drinking because it occurs only in this Sacrament and is due to the sacramental union of the true body of Christ with the consecrated bread and the true blood of Christ with the consecrated wine."
Johann Gerhard, A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 1610, ed. D. Berger, J. Heiser, Malone, Texas: Repristination Press, 2000, p. 336.

J-875

"Human reason, though it ponder,
Cannot fathom this great wonder
That Christ's body ever remaineth
Though it countless souls sustaineth
And that He His blood is giving
With the wine we are receiving.
These great mysteries unsounded
Are by God alone expounded."

Johann Franck, 1649, "Soul, Adorn Thyself with Gladness" The Lutheran Hymnal, #305, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941.

 

J-876

(1) "An aweful mystery is here To challenge faith and waken fear:
The Savior comes as food divine, Concealed in earthly bread and wine.

(2) This world is loveless—but above, What wondrous boundlessness of love!
The King of Glory stoops to me My spirit's life and strength to be.

(3) In consecrated wine and bread No eye perceives the mystery dread;
But Jesus' words are strong and clear: 'My body and My blood are here.'

(4) How dull are all the powers of sense Employed on proofs of love immense!
The richest food remains unseen, And highest gifts appear—how mean!

(5) But here we have no boon on earth, And faith alone discerns its worth.
The Word, not sense, must be our guide, And faith assure since sight's denied."

Matthias Loy, 1880, "An Aweful Mystery Is Here" The Lutheran Hymnal, #304, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941.

J-877

"Draw nigh and take the body of the Lord
And drink the holy blood for you outpoured.
Offered was He for greatest and for least,
Himself the Victim and Himself the Priest."

"Draw Night and Take the Body of the Lord," The Lutheran Hymnal, #307, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941.

J-878

"We eat this bread and drink this cup, Thy precious Word believing
That Thy true body and Thy blood Our lips are here receiving.
This word remains forever true, And there is naught Thou canst not do;
For Thou, Lord, art almighty."

Samuel Kinner, 1638, "Lord Jesus Christ, Thou Hast Prepared," The Lutheran Hymnal, #306, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941.

A cavalier attitude about the efficacy of the Word in the Lord’s Supper has led to many different episodes shocking to anyone who values the liturgical tradition of the Christian Church, a tradition whose foundation rests upon Old Testament worship. For instance, it has been claimed that pastors at conferences have held communion services where the Words of Institution were deliberately omitted, claiming freedom to change the form of worship, as if the words of distribution are an adequate substitute for the Consecration. Another practice indicative of bad doctrine, common of large churches, is that of keeping most of the bread and wine in the sacristy, to be hauled out like extra bulletins when the supply runs low on the altar. Worse, someone runs back to the cupboard and takes out additional wine and bread. One could argue speciously that the Word is efficacious throughout the church building, but slovenly practices leave the definite impression that the Consecration is meaningless, a message reinforced by communion without the Words of Institution. An altar guild or pastor can easily place all of the elements on the altar or on an area adjacent to the altar. The solution to such problems is not a how-to program, but education about why we show utmost respect and awe for the miracle of Holy Communion, the visible Word.

Efficacy or Church Growth Eyes?


KJV 1 Corinthians 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

Someone suddenly visiting the remnants of the old Synodical Conference would never know that close communion was once the practice of the entire Christian Church. Paul’s discussion of communion rests upon the efficacy of the Word in the Lord’s Supper, pouring out forgiveness and many blessings upon believers while damning and hardening those who receive Holy Communion unworthily. Proof of this powerful effect can be found everywhere in Christendom. Where the Lord’s Supper has been relegated to a mere ordinance, a human display of piety rather than the reception of God’s grace, Christian doctrine is subordinate to human reason and embarrassing to intelligent people. The lower the view of Holy Communion, the more debased the denomination’s doctrine, a fact admitted ruefully by its own leaders. Once the ELCA had pursued every radical Left advocacy group and every ecumenical mandate, its own leaders began poping and half-poping to escape the ultimate result of Zwinglian doctrine: a church without liturgy, doctrine, direction, or the Sacraments.471
Ask a denomination what it believes about the Lord’s Supper and soon you will find out how frequently and prominently the Sacrament of the Altar is celebrated, if those words can be mentioned at all. The absolute bottom pit of Zwinglianism may be the self-enclosed grape juice and wafer package to be picked up on the way out of church, as seen in various Christian catalogues. The worst extreme needs to be mentioned, because Lutherans have a horrible tendency to veer in the wrong direction. Pietism influenced the Lutherans to participate in Holy Communion less frequently, as infrequently as three times a year. The Temperance Movement caused General Synod Lutherans in the Grape Juice Belt to replace wine with juice in the name of social improvement. When Lutherans start wishing that Holy Communion did not lengthen the service on Sunday nor annoy visitors, they are falling into the slough of despising the Means of Grace.
This passage from Paul promotes a love of the solemn service of Holy Communion. In the Eastern Orthodox service, the priest chants, “The doors. The doors. In wisdom let us attend.” The opening admonition came from the practice of shutting the doors to prevent others from casually hearing or attending the Eucharist.472 There is also evidence from the early Church that Holy Communion was regarded in much the same way. Therefore, if someone cannot discern the body of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, he should not be given Holy Communion. The Church Growth camp followers are so ignorant of God’s Word that they use “discerning the body” to fraudulently promote their concept of Church Growth Eyes. Church Growth gurus are so proud of their Church Growth Eyes that they cannot stop bragging about it. When Lutherans use the term, they appear especially foolish.473

 

Sacraments Define the True Church

 

J-879

"But the Church is not only the fellowship of outward objects and rites, as other governments, but it is originally a fellowship of faith and of the Holy Ghost in hearts. [The Christian Church consists not alone in fellowship of outward signs, but it consists especially in the heart, as of the Holy Ghost, of faith, of the fear and love of God]; which fellowship nevertheless has outward marks so that it can be recognized, namely, the pure doctrine of the Gospel, and the administration of the Sacraments in accordance with the Gospel of Christ. [Namely, where God’s Word is pure, and the Sacraments are administered in conformity with the same, there certainly is the Church, and there are Christians.] And this Church alone is called the body of Christ, which Christ renews [Christ is its Head, and] sanctifies and governs by His Spirit, as Paul testifies, Ephesians 1:22..."
Apology Augsburg Confession, VII & VIII. #5. The Church. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 227. Tappert, p. 169. Heiser, p. 71.

J-880

"Of Ecclesiastical Order they teach that no one should publicly teach in the Church or administer the Sacraments unless he be regularly called."
Augsburg Confession, Article XIV. Ecclesiastical Order. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 49. Tappert, p. 36. Heiser, p. 14.

J-881

"[We are speaking not of an imaginary Church, which is to be found nowhere; but we say and know certainly that this Church, wherein saints live, is and abides truly upon earth; namely, that some of God's children are here and there in all the world, in various kingdoms, islands, lands, and cities, from the rising of the sun to its setting, who have truly learned to know Christ and His Gospel.] And we add the marks: the pure doctrine of the Gospel [the ministry of the Gospel] and the Sacraments. And this Church is properly the pillar of truth, 1 Timothy 3:15."
Apology Augsburg Confession, VII & VIII. #20. The Church. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 233. Tappert, p. 171. Heiser, p. 73. 1 Timothy 3:15.

J-882

"That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith, where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ's sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ's sake. They condemn the Anabaptists and others who think that the Holy Ghost comes to men without the external Word, through their own preparation and works."
Augsburg Confession, V. #1-2. The Ministry. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 45. Tappert, p. 31. Heiser, p. 13.

J-883

"This power {the Keys} is exercised only by teaching or preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments, according to their calling, either to many or to individuals. For thereby are granted, not bodily, but eternal things, as eternal righteousness, the Holy Ghost, eternal life. These things cannot come but by the ministry of the Word and the Sacraments, as Paul says, Romans 1:16: The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. Therefore, since the power of the Church grants eternal things, and is exercised only by the ministry of the Word, it does not interfere with civil government; no more than the art of singing interferes with civil government."
Augsburg Confession, XXVIII. #8. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 85. Tappert, p. 82. Heiser, p. 23. Romans 1:16.

J-884

"Now, it is not our faith that makes the Sacrament, but only the true word and institution of our almighty God and Savior Jesus Christ, which always is and remains efficacious in the Christian Church, and is not invalidated or rendered inefficacious by the worthiness or unworthiness of the minister, nor by the unbelief of the one who receives it."
            Formula of Concord, SD VII, #89. Holy Supper. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1003. Tappert, p. 585. Heiser, p. 272.

Benefits of Holy Communion 


J-885

"Besides this, you will also have the devil about you, whom you will not entirely tread under foot, because our Lord Christ Himself could not entirely avoid him. Now, what is the devil? Nothing else than what the Scriptures call him, a liar and murderer. A liar, to lead the heart astray from the Word of God, and blind it, that you cannot feel your distress or come to Christ. A murderer, who cannot bear to see you live one single hour. If you could see how many knives, darts, and arrows are every moment aimed at you, you would be glad to come to the Sacrament as often as possible."
The Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar. #80-82. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 771f. Tappert, p. 456. Heiser, p. 214.

J-886

"However, you will be sure as to whether the Sacrament is efficacious in your heart, if you watch your conduct toward your neighbor. If you discover that the words and the symbol soften and move you to be friendly to your enemy, to take an interest in your neighbor's welfare, and to help him bear his suffering and affliction, then all is well. On the other hand, if you do not find it so, you continue uncertain even if you were to commune a hundred times a day with devotions so great as to move you to tears for very joy; for wonderful devotions like this, very sweet to experience, yet as dangerous as sweet, amount to nothing before God. Therefore we must above all be certain for ourselves, as Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:10: 'Give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure.'"
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983 II, p. 211.

J-887

"Accordingly, we say that by virtue of the institution, the holy Supper was established by Christ and was used by the believers chiefly to this end: that the promise of the gracious forgiveness of sins should be sealed and our faith should thus be strengthened. Then, too, we are incorporated in Christ and are thus sustained to eternal life; in addition, subsequently, other end results and benefits of the holy Supper come to pass. Yet, both of the fruits indicated above always remain the foremost."
Johann Gerhard, A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 1610, ed. D. Berger, J. Heiser, Malone, Texas: Repristination Press, 2000, p. 369.

J-888

"O living Bread from heaven,
How richly hast Thou fed Thy guest!
The gifts Thou now hast given
Have filled my heart with joy and rest.
O wondrous food of blessing,
O cup that heals our woes!
My heart, this gift professing,
In thankful songs overflows;
For while the faith within me
Was quickened by this food,
My soul hath gazed upon Thee,
My highest, only Good."

Johann Rist, 1651, "O Living Bread from Heaven," The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941, Hymn #316. Matthew 26:26-29.

J-889

(1) "Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly pray
That we may feed on Thee today;
Beneath these forms of bread and wine
Enrich us with Thy grace divine.

(2) The chastened peace of sin forgiven,
The filial joy of heirs of heaven,
Grant as we share this wondrous food,
Thy body broken and Thy blood.

(3) Our trembling hearts cleave to Thy Word;
All Thou hast said Thou dost afford,
All that Thou art we here receive,
And all we are to Thee we give."

Henry E. Jacobs, 1910, "Lord Jesus Christ, We Humbly Pray," The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941, Hymn #314. 1 Corinthians 10:17.