Christ Ascends to God's Right Hand

Ascension icon.

Ascension

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen (Mark 16:14-20).

Jesus appears to the eleven and rebukes them. This makes sense; they certainly deserve a scolding. Jesus had chosen specific people to be the first witnesses of His resurrection: Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. He appeared to them and told them to bring the news of His defeat of death and the grave to His disciples. But, when Mary Magdalene went and told them, as they mourned and wept, the disciples did not believe. Jesus also appeared to two of them on the road to Emmaus;[1] they went and told the rest of the disciples, but they did not believe them either. Isn’t it a little ironic that the disciples, who would soon be the Apostles (the sent ones), did not believe the ones sent to them?

How could the disciples expect others to believe them, when they in turn would be sent out to proclaim the risen Lord, if the disciples themselves persisted in unbelief? Besides, Jesus had even prophesied his resurrection while he was still with them.[2]

Then Jesus speaks what we have come to call The Great Commission to His disciples, though Mark records it differently from Matthew:

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.[3]

What Mark writes here is often interpreted, particularly by certain factions of American Protestantism, as commanding that Christians only baptize those who profess faith beforehand: First, a person declares that they believe; then, and only then, they are to be baptized. This is not so. Through the sacrament of Holy Baptism God creates faith, saves, and washes away sin. This promise, Peter will later proclaim to the crowd:

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord Our God will call.”[4]

Baptism is connected to repentance, to the remission of sins, and to the giving of the Holy Spirit; it connects us to Christ’s death and resurrection;[5] in baptism we are clothed with Christ.[6] The order of the actions is not as important as the one who is doing the actions; and the person doing all the actions in conversion is God.

What I mean is this: It is the means of the Word that creates faith, by the working of the Holy Spirit.[7] Baptism, which God calls a washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,[8] is a way God has instituted of delivering the Word that creates faith, using a physical thing. In baptism, God bound His word to a physical thing, water; He promised when water and His Word were bound in the way He gave it, it would be for creating faith, forgiving sins, and giving the Holy Spirit - just as with His preached word. The power working in baptism is the power of the Gospel of Christ, or as Peter says, the resurrection of Jesus Christ;[9] that is the same Gospel that is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.[10] The preaching, teaching, and baptizing cannot be separated from one another.

Continuing His commission of His disciples-turned-Apostles, Jesus describes a list of signs that would go with them as they preached: exorcism, speaking in tongues, taking up serpents, drinking poison, and healing the sick. If these are the signs that will follow those who believe, then I am in trouble, as are most people who have called themselves Christians for the last 2,000 years. I have cast out no demons; I speak a foreign language, but only due to hard studying; it was no miracle. I have not ever taken up serpents or imbibed poison. The only healing I have ever done by my own hand was to provide medicine to members of my family when they were sick. Not only have I not performed any of these signs and wonders, but I also know no one personally who even makes such a claim. If we are to understand what Jesus says here as applying to all people at all times, as many in the Pentecostal movement do, there are far fewer Christians out there than previous assumed.

Mark, conveniently enough, explains the purpose of these signs:

And they [the Apostles] went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.[11]

Amen indeed! These signs were promised to the Apostles, not to every individual Christian as a sign of faith. These signs were the credentials of the Apostles to verify that what they were saying was true. All of these signs

were already promised (Mark 3:15) when he [Jesus] called the Twelve and were put into practice when they went out on their first preaching journey (Mark 6:13). Examples of all of them are recorded in the book of Acts...Nowhere did Jesus say that they would continue to the end of time. What is to continue is the preaching of the gospel.[12]

And the thing that each Christian is given, that they may cling to, that will reassure them that they are connected to Christ and His righteousness, and are a child of God, is their baptism - the preaching of the Gospel through physical means - not signs and wonders, or personal, inward encounters with God.

Do not misunderstand: It isn’t that God can’t cause signs and wonders to happen. God is able to do whatever He wants to do. If He chooses to give someone the gift of healing, of speaking a language that they previously did not know, of speaking to someone directly, He can and will. The issue is that God does not want to do these things. He has made that clear to us in His Word. Those things are the incredibly rare exception, not the rule. The author of Hebrews writes,

"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;"[13]

And what does Jesus, through whom God the Father has spoken to us in these last days, say? Rather than looking to perform signs and wonders, He tells His Christians that the people who will perform signs and wonders are the false prophets:

“And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ of ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.”[14]

Since Christ ascended to the right hand of God the Father, we have no more need of signs, wonders, and direct revelation. He does not wish to deal with us in any other way than through His external Word.[15] It is in that Word, proclaimed by the Apostles, attested by God through their signs and wonders, that He creates faith, forgives sins, teaches good doctrine, and brings us to everlasting life in Christ Jesus. We should praise God that He has given us such a wondrously simple, and gracious, way to reach all people, infant or adult, hearing or deaf, mentally sound or mentally handicapped, with His saving Word through baptism, which now saves us through the resurrection of the ascended Jesus Christ.

  

Bibliography

McCain, Paul T, Robert C Baker, Gene E Veith, and Edward A Engelbrecht,. Concordia, The Lutheran Confessions: A Reader's Edition of the Book of Concord. 1st. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005.

Wicke, Harold E. People's Bible Commentary: Mark. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2004.

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[1] Luke 24:13-35

[2] Wicke, People’s Bible Commentary: Mark, p.238

[3] Mark 16:15-16

[4] Acts 2:38-39

[5] Romans 6:3-5

[6] Galatians 3:27

[7] Romans 10:17

[8] Titus 3:5

[9] 1 Peter 3:18-22

[10] Romans 1:16

[11] Mark 16:20

[12] Wicke, People’s Bible Commentary: Mark, p.239

[13] Hebrews 1:1-2

[14] Matthew 24:22-25

[15] SA III VIII 10-13, McCain, et. al., Concordia, the Lutheran Confessions,p.307

The Savior of the World

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum - The Word of the Lord endures forever.

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word (John 4:39-41).

The Word is the thing. It is the tool God uses to create faith. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.[1] It was her encounter with the Incarnate Word which kindled faith in the heart of the Samaritan woman. It was the word of the Samaritan woman to her neighbors that brought them to Jesus; it was Jesus’ words, His teaching, which strengthened their faith and caused it to grow, so that they could declare that Jesus was the Savior of the world. This is the miracle: God created faith in the hearts of sinners, who were incapable of understanding the spiritual things of God, through His Word, by the working of His Holy Spirit.[2]

He works the same way with all people, including man today. Some believe a man must be convinced by logic and rational argument to believe in Christ; he must be reasoned into the faith and make a decision to follow Jesus by the power of his will. Others think, as the Pharisees did, that they can make themselves acceptable to God by following the Law, and doing good works of their own devising. Still others attempt to reach God through mystical experiences; they follow rituals and practices designed to manipulate emotions, and they look for signs and personal revelations from God. But the Word is the thing. God does not want to deal with us in any other way than through the spoken word and the Sacraments, which are God’s word and promise associated by Him with a physical element.[3]

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son.[4] God’s communication with man has been concentrated down to Christ’s atoning death and resurrection. This message of Christ has been collected for us into the volume of Holy Scripture we call the Bible. When you read the words of the Bible, you hear God’s voice for it is God who speaks to you in the pages of Holy Scripture. When you hear faithful preaching, it is God’s voice you hear through the mouth of your faithful pastor. There is no need to search for personal revelation; God has already given you His revelation. God, however, does not use His Word only as a means of creating faith in unbelieving hearts. God has also given us the external Word so we can be certain of His promise of forgiveness and eternal life, even when we don’t feel saved. Bosoms will cease to burn. Inner illuminations will dim. Enthusiasm will wane. Our works will fail to measure up. The Word of the Lord, however, endures forever. When we remember what kind of rotten sinners we really are, we can look to God’s external Word. We find that Word in the Scriptures, in the preaching of a faithful pastor, in the Lord’s Supper or remembrance of our Baptism. By the external Word we have assurance that though we are sinners, God has forgiven us for Christ’s sake, and is faithful.[5]

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[1] Romans 10:17

[2] 1 Corinthians 2:14

[3] McCain, Paul T., Robert C. Baker, Gene E. Veith, and Edward A. Engelbrecht, eds. Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. A Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005.

SA VIII, 10

[4] Hebrews 1:1-2

[5] Klotz, Joseph D. "The External Word." The Hodgkins Lutheran. December 4, 2014. Accessed April 14, 2018. http://hodgkinslutheran.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-external-word.html.

Prayer, Enthusiasm, and Vain Repetitions

Joel Osteen in "prayer."

A friend once took me to a Bible study many years ago. It was quite different than any other Bible study I had ever been to, for two main reasons. First, while we talked about “spiritual things”, there was no actual studying done of God’s Word. The scripture passage to be discussed was read, and we spent a long time going around the room, talking about what the passage meant to us. Second, near the end of the meeting, we engaged in a form of prayer that was exceedingly strange to me. The leader said that it was time to join together in prayer. He dimmed the lights, and as the group moved in closely enough to put their hands on each other’s shoulders, another member grabbed his guitar.

When everyone was in position, the guitar man began to strum out his chord progression. The leader began with his petitions, mostly centered on the greatness of God’s glory. When he finished, other members of the group would randomly offer their petitions, in unctuous voices, trembling with spiritual emotion. All this was accompanied by the soft strains of the guitar, and the spontaneous ejaculations of “Amen!” and “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!” While swaying. In the dark. For about half an hour.

I was caught by surprise. Never before had I experienced such a thing in a church setting. I got the vague sense that I did upset the apple cart to some degree. During the periods of silence between random petitions, several people cast a furtive glance in my direction; I suspect to see what I, the new guy, was going to offer. I offered nothing but silence. The space between prayers gradually became longer and longer. Eventually the guitar man changed his progression, cadenced, and the prayers were concluded.

While I didn’t realize it at the time, such mystical prayer practices are, in American Evangelicalism, standard operating procedure. To the American Evangelical, prayer is not simply asking God for things. Prayer is a two way line of communication, and a way in which we come into God’s presence.

Prayer is the practice of the presence of God. It is the place where pride is abandoned, hope is lifted, and supplication is made. Prayer is the place of admitting our need, of adopting humility, and claiming dependence upon God... Prayer changes the one praying because in prayer, you are in the presence of God as you lay before Him your complete self in confession and dependence. There is nothing to hide when in quiet supplication we are reaching into the deepest part of ourselves and admitting our needs and failures. In so doing, our hearts are quieted and pride is stripped and we enjoy the presence of God.[1]

We get in the right emotional state, tell Him how great He is, and God will speak to our hearts. The idea that prayers would be composed prior to the act of praying, let alone written down, is bad, and to be discouraged. Spontaneous prayers uttered from the heart are more authentic than reading written prayers, or reciting memorized prayers by rote:

Like turning to the right channel, God speaks to individuals who are ready and prepared to listen. A friend once put it this way: A Christ follower who builds the following four habits in his life will be in a good place to hear from God... A Christ follower should spend daily time reading the Bible, mulling over the message, and praying for ways to make scripture’s lessons into a lifestyle.[2]

Prayer, in and of itself, has power which the Christian can wield to get God to bring blessing into their lives. This is from Joel Osteen Ministries:

We Believe in the Power of Prayer: The Bible says the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective, yet something extraordinary happens when two or more agree together in prayer. In Matt. 18:19, Jesus said, “If any two of you agree touching any matter on this earth, it shall be done.” Post your prayer request below and believe that God is going to move mightily in your life as others from around the world pray in agreement with your request![3]

In short, the complete opposite of the way we Confessional Lutherans pray.

Is this really the right way to pray? Many people, even some Confessional Lutherans, seem to think so. I hear Lutherans complain all the time about how boring their pastor is when he prays; or, how we need to spice things up when we pray. We can’t just keep using that stodgy old General Prayer in the liturgy, Sunday after Sunday. People stop paying attention after a while. Our pastors need to do more extemporaneously, and come up with their prayers on the spot from their hearts. Those prayers will be more interesting and meaningful.

This is nothing more than Enthusiasm. Luther used the term Enthusiasm, or enthusiast (in the German, Schwärmer, which means one who swarms, like a group of buzzing bees on a hive), to describe those who sought God through their feelings and spiritual experiences, outside of, and apart from, God’s Word. We know, however, that Scripture teaches that God does not want to deal with us in any way other than through Word and Sacrament.[4] Therefore, as Luther says, whatever is praised as from the Spirit, without the Word and Sacraments, is from the Devil himself.[5]

The American Evangelical view of prayer turns us away from the Biblical teaching on prayer, and makes us into Enthusiasts and magicians. Through prayer, rather than through Word and Sacrament, we would seek to come into God’s presence, commune with Him, and receive His instruction. This view turns prayer into a means of grace. Satan loves this, since it diverts our focus from the actual means of grace God has given us, and renders useless our prayers by turning them into mystical experiences and incantations, rather than petitions to the Almighty God. 

Likewise, to believe in, and rely on, the “power of prayer” is dangerous. If, by the phrase one means that prayer is powerful because Almighty God has promised to hear us when we pray, and to answer our prayers, then yes, prayer is powerful. If one believes that, simply by repeating a certain prayer, or “declaring” to inanimate things such as storms, diseases, your job, etc., you can change reality because God is obligated to give you what you have declared for, then no. Prayer has no power in and of itself or, as the Lutherans would say, by the outward act. That isn’t even praying. That is saying a magic incantation, and makes you some kind of witch or sorcerer. When explained like that it may sound silly. Who would ever do such a thing? This is the next step down the road of the misuse of prayer, and it is taught by all the beloved American health and wealth prosperity gospel heretic preachers.

What does God say prayer is? It’s pretty simple: Prayer is speaking to God, in words or thoughts.[6] The Bible is filled with good examples of what prayer is: Abraham praying for Sodom;[7] Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane;[8] St. Stephen praying for those who were murdering him,[9] among many others. Scripture tells us that we should make our requests of Him in thankfulness, in the name of Jesus, and in accordance with His revealed will:

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus... “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full... Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him (Philippians 4:6-7; John 16:23; 1 John 5:14-15).

We should pray for ourselves and for others, including our enemies, everywhere, regularly and frequently:

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence...“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust... I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting...Then He [Jesus] spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart... pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Timothy 2:1-2; Matthew 5:43-45; 1 Timothy 2:8; Luke 18:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18).

Jesus even gives us a model prayer, recorded in St. Matthew’s Gospel:

In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen (Matthew 6:9-13).

And also in St. Luke’s:

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one (Luke 11:1-4).

In this, the Lord’s Prayer, we find, as Luther observes, seven petitions that include every need and never cease to apply to us.[10] So, if we find ourselves at a loss for what we should pray, we have Jesus’ own instruction to guide us. But don’t ignore, as many do that St. Luke is quoting Christ when he writes, “When you pray, say...”

But, in the same sermon, Jesus tells us to avoid vain repetitions! Wouldn’t reciting the Lord’s Prayer, or the General Prayer from the Divine Service, over and over, week after week, be the definition of vain repetitions?

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words (Matthew 6:5-7).

In short, no. He’s talking about using repeated prayers as a sorcerer uses incantations, or as one who prays using the same words over and over, thinking that his mere act of praying causes his prayer to be effective, apart from it’s content. Stated another way, Jesus condemns the idea that the “power of prayer” is in the performance of the outward act. To the contrary, Jesus himself used repeated prayers:

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless[a] I drink it, Your will be done.” And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand” (Matthew 26:36-46).

He does not merely give us a model prayer; he also gives us a prayer to pray at all times, in the Lord’s Prayer. When we pray this prayer, we can be sure that we are praying according to His will, and therefore that He hears us. It also shows us that, while extemporaneous prayers “from the heart” are not necessarily always bad, God encourages us to pray following guides which He provides, and using prayers that have been previously composed is acceptable. The Jesus who prayed “from the heart” in Gethsemane is, after all, the same Jesus who gave us the Lord’s Prayer, and prayed the “written prayers” of the Psalms “by rote” as he hung on the cross.

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[1] Slick, Matt. "Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry." What is Prayer? July 01, 2017. Accessed September 21, 2017. https://carm.org/what-prayer.

[2] Burns, Tim. "How Can I Hear God Speaking to Me?" How Can I Hear God Speaking to Me? May 27, 2016. Accessed September 21, 2017. http://www1.cbn.com/how-can-i-hear-god-speaking-me.

[3] "We Believe in the Power of Prayer." Pray Together. Accessed September 21, 2017. https://www.joelosteen.com/Pages/PrayTogether.aspx.

[4] Hebrews 1:1-2

[5] SA III IX 10

[6] Luther, Martin. Luther’s Small Catechism, with Explanation. St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 2005.

[7] Genesis 18:22-23

[8] Matthew 26:36-44

[9] Acts 7:59-60

[10] LC III 34

Liturgical Worship...Also Not Fit for Lutheran Consumption?

I am a high-church weirdo. I like the “smells and bells.” I like incense. I want my pastor to wear vestments…Lots of vestments. I think genuflecting is neat. If I were the king of church, things would look a lot different. Worship in the Lutheran Church – Joseph Synod would look a lot more like the 16th century than the 20th century. And the chanting…there would be sooooooo much chanting. Some of the chanting might be in English, as a good-will gesture to some of my more low-church friends…but not much.

Those who know me are rolling their eyes, chuckling softly to themselves now (I hope), and offering a silent prayer that there are, as of yet, no plans to elevate me to the throne. While they may not wish to return to a chanted Latin mass, my friends do know that my respect for our Lutheran liturgical heritage, as rooted in the western catholic liturgy, is genuine. In fact, though I may be decried as a filthy papist by some, I do not advocate “high-church” forms as necessary, or view them as good works. I do not, in reality, wish to exchange Wittenberg for Rome. Perhaps it is simply the result of my conservative inclinations to resist the novel. It is in keeping with the spirit of the Reformation to retain that which is beneficial, and to dispense with that which is harmful and contrary to God’s Word. Maybe my attraction to ancient liturgical forms is even a bit reactionary, considering the trends in modern Christianity to absorb as much secular culture as possible in an effort to simplify, and make people feel comfortable. Pastor Benjamin Mayes describes it this way:

“Within the last two decades, the Lutheran Church in the United States, and perhaps all Christendom in North America, has seen two tendencies in worship. One tendency is to make worship as accessible as possible to modern man, for the sake of mission. This tendency has led to wholesale or partial abandonment of historic western liturgical forms and has often neglected liturgical song, making worship music the business of a band or song leader. Music and text have striven for simplicity[1].”

This trend of modernizing worship for the sake of mission, and abandoning traditional forms and practices, is readily apparent, even to the most casual observer. The mission doesn’t even have to be legitimate. There are people who have made these changes for well-intended reasons, and there are those who have made them so as to tickle as many ears as possible, for the sake of filthy lucre. All you have to do is tune into TBN to see a parade of prosperity preachers promising you your best life now, if only you send in your seed offering. Mega churches like Willow Creek are trying to make “seekers” more comfortable, so that they will be persuaded to enter the church and, once inside, have their felt needs met. Not that I would necessarily call mega church worship “simple.” It takes a lot of time, money, equipment, planning, and personnel to pull off what goes on there, if it is to have the intended revivalist effect. From the worshipper’s point of view, however, it is somewhat passive. You sit, you listen, you repeat words and phrases as instructed by the leader. Maybe you sing, if you know the words to the latest CoWo rock song. But mostly you just “be emotionally manipulated” into making some kind of decision, or reaffirmation. This is much simpler than worshiping by using an archaic liturgy printed in some moldy old hymnal, or engaging the text of a Paul Gerhardt hymn.

While we (particularly we Confessional Lutherans) may see the danger of modernization and simplification easily enough, we often miss the dangers which approach us from the other direction. Our direction. Well meaning people – people like me – who love and respect our Lutheran liturgical heritage, and wish to preserve it, also are in danger of worshipping the form for the sake of mission, rather than Christ, who ought to always be the object of our worship.

What I’m saying is this: Sometimes we traditional types fall into the same pit as the contemporary worship types; We come to rely on our form and style of worship to draw people into the church and, to save them.

I believe wholeheartedly that “Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi” is true. I believe that the traditional liturgy, developed over the course of 2,000 years, is the best vehicle for delivering God’s gifts to his people gathered together as the church. I believe that the traditional liturgy is the type of worship most harmonious with Christian doctrine as presented in Scripture, and taught in the Lutheran Confessions. I do not believe, however, that Christ ceases to care for his people, or is hampered in his work, when we “don’t do church well.”

It is wrong to adopt contemporary worship practices in order to get people into the church, and keep it from closing. It is equally wrong to practice the liturgy in order to do the same.

This phenomenon may be explained like this: Our church is “dying,” and we want people to come and support it, so that we don’t close our doors, and so the Gospel continues to be proclaimed in this place. We know that the mega church model is contrary to Scripture and our confessions; what we will do instead of abandoning the liturgy, is embrace it…so tightly that we strangle it to death. We need the perfect pastor…one who has an excellent singing voice so that he can chant the liturgy perfectly. We need the perfect organist…what is E. Power Biggs up to these days? Dead, you say? See if we can get a hold of that Hector Olivera guy then. We have to have an organist who won’t detract from the worship experience with his bumbling mistakes. Speaking of worship experience, let’s see if we can get an acting coach for the new pastor while we’re at it. His sermons are orthodox, but he’s driving people away because he’s so boring. The liturgy, after all, is a play, and in order for it to be as effective as possible we have to make sure the pastor doesn’t screw it up by his mediocre performance skills. Did you hear how flat and monotone he delivered the Prayers of the Church last week? So distracting…And what’s with that choir?! Maybe we can find some ringers from some other church to help them out with their intonation. After all, we don’t want them to detract from the worship experience and drive people away. One more of those out-of-tune Graduals and the whole place will be empty.

It is frighteningly easy to develop the attitude that, if any one of a number of factors is missing or done “incorrectly” during the course of the worship service, then “church” has not been properly achieved. I know, because I was there.

The problem is that these aren’t really the things that drive people away from the church. The reason people stay away from church is because they hate Jesus.

Repent.

People are drawn to contemporary worship and the mega church because it focuses on them. It meets their felt needs. It enshrines their contemporary culture, which makes them feel comfortable. On the other side of that coin, people aren’t pushed away from the liturgy because the pastor has a nasal singing voice, or a dry delivery, or because the organist pumps out a few clinkers during the Te Deum (though this can be annoying). They walk away because, enshrined in the liturgy is Law and Gospel. People are told that they are sinful and need to repent. They are confronted with their sin and their need for a savior, week after week, and they don’t like it. Heck, I don’t like it. But, I know I need what Christ provides for me there – repentance, faith, and the forgiveness of my sin. And the people who remain know that as well.

So, how do we keep our churches open? We don’t. Jesus does that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, working through the means he has appointed – Word, Water, Bread and Wine.

The response I have most often received to this concept from many of my concerned brethren is something like, “Yes, yes, I know…Holy Spirit, and all that, but…” Or, “With all due respect to Word and Sacrament ministry, and the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish great things through them, I believe…” What this has in common with the contemporary worship mistake is that it focuses us, on us. Any time you add a “something” as necessary, you negate the sufficiency of Christ, even if that something is one of the liturgical bells/whistles we like. At that point, whatever that something is, it has supplanted Christ.

So, is it still church if we don’t have incense? How about if we don’t process? What if we don’t have kneelers, and my pastor doesn’t genuflect? What if we don’t have a choir? Or an organ? What if we only speak the liturgy, rather than chant it? Can we still worship in line with our liturgical tradition, in a way which teaches Christian doctrine as taught in the Scriptures and affirmed in the Confessions, without these things? I, at one time, would have answered no. History, and Holy Scripture, however, says yes.

“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:18-20).

Christ, in this passage from Matthew 18, teaches the church how to deal with a sinning brother. He is not here referring to the universal church, but the congregation[2]. Jesus emphasized his point that the gathering of Christians (the congregation), no matter how large or small, has the power to come together to bind and loose by using the phrase, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name.” Luther explains:

“Here we hear that also two or three assembled in Christ’s name have the same power over everything which St. Peter and all the Apostles have. For the Lord Himself is present, as He says, too, John 14:23: ‘If a man love Me, he will keep My words, and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him and make Our abode with him.’…We here have present the Lord himself, the Lord of all angles and creatures; it is He who says that all are to have equal authority, keys, and office, even two common Christians by themselves, when gathered in His name. Of this Lord the Pope and all devils shall not make a fool, liar or drunkard, but we will trample on the Pope and declare that he is a confirmed liar, blasphemer, and idolatrous devil, who under St. Peter’s name has arrogated the keys to himself alone, while Christ has given them equally to all in common.[3]”

The thing that makes church, according to Christ, is the gathering of Christians together in his name. Where two or three are thus gathered, there he is with them. The Augsburg Confession explains that, where the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel, there is the church[4], whether there are two Christians present in a dark basement for fear of persecution, or 2,000 in an ornate cathedral. The Church’s existence and growth doesn’t depend on us, but rather on Christ, whose body the Church is. We should, as the Catechism explains, maintain and extend God’s church by telling others about Jesus Christ, by personal service, and by prayer and financial support[5]. We must ultimately, however, recognize the truth of St. Paul’s words:

“I [Paul] planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor" (1 Cor. 3:6-8).

God will increase his Church as he sees fit, working by His Holy Spirit, through the means he has provided, when and where he wills. In the words of the Small Catechism:

“I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives me all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true[6].”

It doesn’t matter if your church is large or small. It doesn’t matter if your church performs the liturgy perfectly, by the outward act. You can’t grow the church by catering to people’s inclinations. Christ must grow his church. Leave it to him. Plant. Water. Let him worry about the increase. Your method – whatever it might be – may get more bodies inside the building, but they will, most likely, be worshiping an idol. Stop worrying; Preach Christ crucified. 

End Notes

[1] Mayes, Rev. Benjamin T. G. The Brotherhood Prayer Book. 2nd ed. Kansas City, KS: Emmanuel Press, 2007.

[2] The Smalcald Articles do not, of course, refer to the Church Universal, scattered over the whole world (ecclesia universalis), with the phrase “given to the Church,” but to the congregation (ecclesia particularis), as the passage added indicates: “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” For the Church possesses all spiritual treasures and privileges, not inasmuch as it is large or small, but inasmuch as it consists of believers (Pieper, Franz. Christian Dogmatics. Vol. III. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publ. House, 1953. p. 452).

[3] Pieper, Franz. Christian Dogmatics. Vol. III. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publ. House, 1953. p. 452

[4] AC VII 1

[5] Luther, Martin. Luther's Small catechism, with explanation. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House, 1991. p. 159.

[6] Luther, Martin. Luther's Small catechism, with explanation. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House, 1991. p. 15.