God’s Gifts in the Life of His Church

Newsletter article for December 2002

© 2002 by Rev. Paul A. Wolff

Jesus said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) God has also said, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) These words are a wonderful source of comfort and consolation from a God who loves us and cares for us, and watches over us, but in addition to these words God has given us something more substantial upon which we base our faith. God has given us the “Means of Grace” to give us His presence, and also to prove to us that He is here with us when we need Him. The Means of Grace are the ways that God delivers to us His good gifts of salvation. The Means of Grace are God’s Word, and the sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Although the Means of Grace are the ways that God makes Himself and His Gospel tangible and real to us, each of the Means works in a different way, and each one has a special place in the life of the Church (i.e. God’s people). It is important for us as a Church to understand how the Means of Grace work among us so that we can gain the full blessings which Christ wants for His church. For example, if we use the Lord’s Supper the same way we use the Holy Scriptures, then we may miss out on some of the extraordinary blessings of this sacrament.

In my personal studies recently I have been working my way through a book of essays by the 20^th century Lutheran theologian and historian, Hermann Sasse. Pastor Sasse spent much of his ministry dealing with the unionistic Lutheran Church in Germany (and elsewhere), and I have found that his essays from the 1930’s are surprisingly relevant now. The unfaithful desire for unity without full agreement in the Gospel and all of its articles, which has afflicted American Lutheranism for years, is now beginning to infect the Missouri Synod as well. American Lutherans have not done well to learn from history in this case, but as history repeats itself, our Synod (and we, as faithful Christians) can remain faithful to God and show the world the true blessings of God’s Church, and not some man-made unity based on lies.

Dr. Sasse recognized that in the Union church in Germany the use of the Means of Grace suffered. In his 1938 essay “Church and the Lord’s Supper” he noted how the Means of Grace work to build Christ’s church. He begins by telling how God’s Word works in the church. “Because the Word of God is given to the whole world, it resounds throughout the world, which is why the Christian service of the Word has been a public event open also to non-Christians, as a matter of principle, since time immemorial.”* This shows that God’s Word is a Means of Grace which is to be shared with everyone. The “whole world” is to know about Jesus through the Word, but the other Means of Grace don’t work the same way.

The next of the Means of Grace is Holy Baptism. Dr. Sasse says this about this Sacrament: “Baptism stands at the borderline of church and world, acting either by itself or in combination with the closely associated rite of confirmation to disclose to people the inner space of the church, which is forever hidden from the gaze and understanding of the world.” Since Baptism makes a person a child of God, and a member of Christ’s church it has a special place in the life of the church. Through Baptism we are given new citizenship, so to speak, as it says in Philippians 3:20, “our citizenship is in heaven.” Also, the grace of God is nowhere more clearly shown than in the practice of infant Baptism. Infant Baptism clearly recognizes the original sin which afflicts every person, and also shows God’s Grace in that an infant can do nothing to bring this blessing upon himself or herself, neither to ask God for forgiveness and salvation, nor to earn it through good works. But whether it is infant or adult Baptism, God brings us into His kingdom through this means.

Finally, the Lord’s Supper, has a still different role in building up the church of Christ on earth. Sasse notes: “As the sacrament proper to the church, the [Lord’s] Supper is, therefore, as a matter of principle, not a public event. Thus the most ancient church celebrated it behind closed doors (Rev. 3:20)…. Although it is celebrated in a particular place at a particular time with earthly elements, the Supper does not belong to this world but always remains an intrusive alien element within it. Even for this reason, the church needs the Supper.” We dare not treat the Lord’s Supper as we do God’s Word or vice versa, although they are both His means of delivering His grace to us. We ought to share the Word of God with all people, but Scripture itself (1 Corinthians 11:29) warns us not to give the Lord’s Supper to just anyone, only those faithful Christians who can recognize it for what it really is, the true body and blood of Jesus.

Since the Lord’s Supper brings the body and blood of Jesus to all those who partake the Sacrament it truly brings the metaphor to life that the church is the “body of Christ.” Since Jesus comes to His people in this real, physical way, the Lord’s Supper is very important for the life of the church. Dr. Sasse observes, “Whenever the Lord’s Supper has been permitted to decay, the boundary lines between the church and the world have universally disappeared and the church has been absorbed into the world. The Supper is thus the Sacrament in which the church’s ‘foreignness from the world,’ and hence her essence as the church of God, finds visible expression.” He is talking about both the doctrine and the practice of the Lord’s Supper. Where these decay the church decays and is no longer separate from the world. This is always a great tragedy, and when we see it happening we should work hard to prevent it by remaining faithful to Christ’s words and His sacraments.

Although Jesus ascended into heaven some 1,970 years ago to rule with the Father over all creation, He hasn’t left us. Jesus is still with us, and working among us through these three gifts, His Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. These are precious gifts, and we should treasure them, and we should faithfully make use of them whenever we can so that God’s people are strengthened, and His will is done here on earth.

* The quotes from Hermann Sasse come from “Church and Lord’s Supper”, quoted in The Lonely Way, p. 378-380, CPH 2001.

The Meaning of “Is”

Newsletter Article for August 1999

© 1999 Rev. Paul A. Wolff

One of the most bizarre bits of information to come out of the investigation and impeachment of President Clinton was a sound bite of him trying to avoid admitting his sexual relationship with a young woman who was not his wife. He said the following on August 17, 1998 to the grand jury investigating the Jones' harassment case. What Mr. Clinton said was, “That depends on what the meaning of 'is' is.”

As soon as this statement became public Mr. Clinton was (and continues to be) harshly derided for this transparent effort to avoid giving a straight answer to a direct, although poorly worded, question. He was asked, “Is there a relationship?” instead of “Was there a relationship?” Taking advantage of this small mistake, Mr. Clinton focused on the tense of the verb, saying that “is” doesn't mean “was” or “will be.” The verb “to be” is one of the most basic verbs in the English language, or any other language for that matter. To quibble over the meaning of “is” is to be completely ignorant, or desperate, or malicious.

This is not the first time in history that the meaning of “is” has been called into question. A long, long time before our scoundrel President tried to weasel his way out of admitting his sordid affair with a young intern some prominent theologians in the sixteenth century debated the meaning of Jesus' words about the Lord's Supper, “This is my body”. The meaning of “is” which was at issue then compares two equivalent things, or states that one thing is exactly the same as another, or that two things are, in fact, the same thing. This incident is particularly meaningful for Lutherans so I would like take this opportunity to review this historical debate.

The focus of the dispute in 1529 was the Lord's Supper. Specifically, it was the question of the real, physical, bodily presence of Jesus in the bread and wine of the Sacrament. Ulrich Zwingli was a Swiss reformer who could not accept the miraculous nature of the sacrament. Since it is naturally impossible for a body to be physically present in two or more places at once, Zwingli claimed that when Jesus said, “This is my body” He really meant, “This represents my body.” By saying that “is” means “symbolizes” or “represents” Zwingli was saying that the physical body of Jesus is not present in the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper even though Jesus says it is.

Martin Luther, the German reformer, maintained that the words of Jesus are clear and unambiguous. When Jesus said, “This is my body” and “This is my blood” that is exactly what He was giving His disciples in the bread and wine. Luther claimed that Jesus wasn't speaking figuratively or metaphorically, but literally.

Luther didn't try to explain how Jesus could give His body and blood in bread and wine to His disciples, instead Luther simply trusted that because Jesus is both God and man, He has the power to do whatever He says. If Jesus says that the bread is His body and the wine is His blood, then it must be just as He says it is. The words of Jesus are clear about what He was then giving to His disciples, and what He now gives to all who receive the Sacrament to this very day. Even if a billion Christians around the world receive the Lord's Supper each Sunday each receives the body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and the strengthening of their faith.

To try to explain away miracles such as the real, bodily presence of Jesus in the Sacrament is to cast doubt on Jesus, on His power, on His person, and ultimately, it casts doubt on Christ's ability to save us from our sins. After all, if Jesus cannot personally give each communicant His body and blood to eat and drink in the Lord's Supper, as He says He does, then we cannot be sure that He can reach us with His forgiveness, as He also says He does.

If we claim that Jesus isn't really present in the Sacrament, how do we suppose that Jesus will recognize each of us when He returns to judge us? Jesus says in John 10:14, “I know my sheep, and my sheep know me” and we should trust that he is telling the truth there, too, but in the Lord's Supper we have His promise made more sure because He personally gives us His body and blood. We are in Christ because He makes us part of His body as 1 Corinthians 12:27 states, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” So when Christ returns, He will know His people because He is a part of them, and they are a part of His body.

It is truly a mystery how Jesus can give His true body and blood to each person in the world who receives the Sacrament. Fortunately for us Jesus doesn't ask that we understand it, or be able to explain it, He simply asks us to believe it. And although Jesus doesn't tell us how He does this, He does tell us why. Jesus' body and blood is “for you” (1 Corinthians 11:24 and Luke 22:19-20) and “for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28)

You don't have to be a scholar to understand what “is” means. We all use it every day. I have used a form of the verb “to be” in each paragraph of this essay, and I didn't even try to do this, it came naturally. People's inability to believe God's word doesn't come from a lack of understanding of the grammar of Scripture. Instead unbelief comes from a lack of faith in God and in His power to save us. We may not always understand why God does what He does, but we should trust that God loves us all, and that everything He does, He does because of His love so that we will be saved from our sins and receive eternal life through Jesus Christ our savior.

P.S. I found it interesting when looking up the definition for “be” in my dictionary among several examples of the usage of this verb and its cognates there were two examples from Holy Scripture: “God is love” 1 John 4:16 ; and “Christ is risen from the dead” 1 Corinthians 15:20.

The Church is a Hospital to Heal Sin Sick Souls

Newsletter article for May 1998

© 1998 by Rev. Paul A. Wolff

After further thought about last month’s article on crime, and discussions with people about it, I believe I made certain assumptions in the article which if you didn’t catch them would give you the wrong idea. Crime is not the problem. Crime is only a symptom of the problem.

Sin is the real problem. Sin is the cause of all crime. Sin is the cause of broken relationships and broken families. Sin is the cause of racism. Sin is what makes people distrust one another. Sin causes envy and obsessive jealousy which destroys people. If we want to get rid of the symptoms of crime, violence, and hatred, we need to address the cause, not just the symptoms.

In last month’s article I in no way meant to suggest that there are somehow two or more societies within American society. Nor did I intend to suggest that black society is somehow responsible for all the problems of crime. There is no such thing as a white society in our country which is removed from, and unaffected by, a separate black society. My assumption is that we are all in this together. What hurts (or helps) one part of our one society, hurts (or helps) all the other parts. White people cannot say, “It’s a black problem, it doesn’t affect me.” Black people cannot say, “It’s a white problem, it doesn’t affect me.” If there is a relaxed attitude about crime and violence in America, it certainly didn’t originate among the African American segments of society, but as the newspaper article I cited pointed out — the black segments of our society are suffering a disproportionate amount of the tragic consequences. My point is that this hurts us all.

The trouble with sin is that it is an incurable disease, and we are all infected. Sin is not limited to any national borders, or racial differences, or gender differences. Sin is much worse than AIDS or cancer, or any other disease, because the mortality rate is 100%. Every day of our lives is a battle against sin. The question is, how can we fight against sin?

Sin cannot be overcome by attacking the symptoms. We cannot become less sinful by sinning less. It sounds like a paradox, but only if we think of sin as only something we do, and not something that infects us. A person with AIDS cannot be cured by simply avoiding sickness. Even if we somehow could stop sinning (an impossible task) the disease would remain.

The danger with treating only the symptoms of sin is that if you are even a little bit successful in keeping yourself away from committing sins, you might convince yourself that you had overcome the disease. This is called “self righteousness.” If you convince yourself that you are healed from sin, or at least that you do not need the cure, then you won’t look for the cure, or you will reject it when it comes.

The only cure for sin is Jesus. He is the only way that we have any hope of surviving this disease called sin. Jesus cured our disease when He died on the cross. Unfortunately, we must wait to see the full benefits of the cure. The good news is that the cure (Jesus) gives us life that lasts forever. The bad news is that we must still struggle against sin and its consequences as long as we live. However, even this bad news is tempered by the fact that we are not alone in this struggle. Even in this life, Christ himself gives us the power to love one another and do the good works that God wants us to do.

The Church plays a strong role in helping us overcome the problems that sin causes. If sin is our disease then the Church is the hospital where we go for treatment. The “medicine” which God gives us for healing are called the “means of grace.” They are God’s Word, and the sacraments. Church is where we hear the good news about Jesus, and where our faith in Jesus is strengthened through personal contact with Him in the sacraments. Just like in the Old Testament where the people who were bitten by the snakes had to look up to the bronze snake on the pole in order to be healed, so we need to look to Jesus for the healing of our sin-sick souls. The focus of our worship at St. Timothy is always on what Jesus has done to save us. When we meet together to worship Jesus we are strengthened for our battle against sin. Those who do not attend worship regularly are at a disadvantage.

Where can a person find strength in Christ, if not at Church? Some may say that they can worship Jesus just as well at home or at the golf course, but do they? That’s like me saying that my car can get over 30 miles per gallon. It can, but I’ve only done it once in two years. If I drive on the assumption that I am currently getting 30 mpg then I will soon run out of gas.

My friends, if we wish to get rid of the problems which plague our society, then we must treat the cause, not the symptoms. Although we all contribute to the problem of sin in the world, Christ’s cure is much more powerful than all our diseases. Christ has rescued us from the deadly infection of sin. We should not be content to stand by and watch others be consumed by this disease when we know the cure, but we need to keep ourselves strong through faith in Christ. If you do not make it a habit to strengthen your faith through regular worship and prayer, then you are depriving yourself of a strong weapon to help you survive your battle against sin. We should also encourage one another to attend worship regularly so that we can help build them up too, as St. Paul gave encouragement to the church in Rome, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5-6)

Since Sin is a spiritual problem and a spiritual disease, next month I intend to discuss what it means to have a spiritual life, and what Christian Spirituality is about.