By Dr. Walter Sundberg
To sustain his theme, Dr. Sundbergadvancedthreeofsixtheses inParti (see the last issue of FOCL-POINT.) The third, "We must preach the burden of Christ crucified," means, Sundberg said, to agree with Martin Luther in the first of his 95 theseswhich sparked the Reformation, that the entirety of the Christian life is lived in "repentance." Sundberg continues by offering the Lutheran liturgical activity around the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper as an example.
In 1525 pastor Nicholas Housman set about wriiing new liturgies in German- He sent the package to Luther, who wrote back, "I've made one addition: 'An Exhortation to Communicants.' It's meant to come after the sermon, before people come up to receive the Holy Supper."
A Proclamation of His Death, Suffered for Our Sins
This commemoration requires a firm faith to make the heart and conscience of everyone who wants to partake of this supper, sure and certain that Christ has suffered death for ail his sins. But whoever doubts, and does not in some manner feel such faith should know that this supper is of no avail to him but will rather be to his hurt and he should stay away from it. Since we cannot see such faith, and it is known only to God, we leave it to the conscience of him who comes and admit him who requests and desires it.
"But those who cling to open sins such as greed, hatred, anger, envy, profiteering, unchastity and the like, and are not minded to renounce them, shall herewith be barred from the supper and be warned faithfully not to come, lest they incur judgment and damnation for their own souls, as St. Paul says.
"If, however, someone has fallen because of weakness and proves by his acts that he earnestly desires to better himself, this grace and communion, the body and blood of Christ, shall not be denied to him. In this fashion, each must judge himself and look out for himself, for God is not mocked, nor will He give that which is holy unto dogs or cast pearls before swine. Amen."
Luther's "Entire Life of Repentance" is something we have forgotten in the Church. It's one of the basics, it can be recovered.
The Office of the Keys
Here may be one way. One function of ministry is to exercise the so-called "Power of the Keys"-รน-the power to bind and the power to loose sins. In the now-retired Service Book and Hymnal (the "red book"), the two keys were operative in "The Orderfor Public Confession." They have been stricken from our present "green book."
After the public admission of guilt and sin, The Order read: "Almighty God, our Heavenly Father hath had mercy upon us and for the sake of the sufferings and death and resurrection of His dear son, Jesus Christ our Lord, forgiveth us all our sins. As a minister of the church of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore declare unto you whodo truly repent and believe in Him the entire forgiveness of all your sins. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen, "On the other hand, by the same authority I declare to the impenitent and unbelieving, that so long as they continue in their impenitence, God hath not forgiven their sins and will assuredly visit their iniquities upon them, if they turn not from their evil ways and come to true repentance and faith in Christ, ere the day of grace be ended."
I think returning to something as simple asthiswouldservethe cause of making us honest about our faith, calling us to reflection and repentance before God's holy throne.
Thesis Four:
Hold to the unchanging truth that the Scriptures are inspired by God.
The Bible itself tells us, "All scripture is inspired" (2 Timothy 3:16). How do we hold on to this truth? I think we ought to read the Bible every day. That would show our allegiance to this principle.
We ought to read the Bible with an attitude. How? Imagine returning from the midnight Christmas service. It's 2:30 a.m. and you're trying to put togetherthe Barbie Boca Raton Beach House. The most important thing in your life in those wee hours is what? The instruction manual! Youhangon every word. You are a beggar. That manual has the truth, the truth you need: "Connect A to B."
That's how we should read the Bible. Read it as the beggars that we are. Who here is an expert on life; who knows how it all fits together? Where do we turn for the truth, the instructions?
We have trouble in the Church today. Many in the Church believe they know more than the Scriptures. So the Scriptures can be ignored, or used to support some truth that they adhere to on other grounds.
I don't understand why we do this. If you or I or any pastor holds to a spiritual truth on grounds other than Scripture, we ought to get into another line of work. For it is our privilege to direct to the instruction manual.
Thesis Five:
Attend to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in your life
One of the most inspiring figures in the history of American Lutheranism was the patriarch Henry Melchior Muhienberg. He came from Germany in 1742 to help organize the ragtag outfitthatwas Lutheranism in America. Few church buildings, a huge wilderness, and extended geography put an end quickly to any idea there would be a parish system. People lived hither and yon.
With no central organization, someone would often say, "Hey, I'm a preacher." They'd hire him. He could be a scalawag; they did not know.
Muhlenberg Takes Hold
Muhlenberg tried to get control of this problem, traveling by horseback yearafteryear in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, NewJersey. He kept a daily journal, a classic in colonial literature. He knew that every day of his life was under the power of the Holy Spirit. So one entry from February 1748, tells how Muhienberg was lost, trying to find the worship service he was supposed to preside at the next day. I quote:
"First I rode two miles in the wrong direction and had to work my way laboriously back again. Several times I fell suddenly with the poor horse through the snow and soft ice into the swamp and had to work my way out again with God's help. The horse became weary and reluctant lo go through the unbeaten tracks of deep snow, so I was obliged to walk ahead on foot and make a track for the horse. I would have been glad to sit down in sheer weariness, but it was so bitterly cold and I was perspiring so profusely I did not dare to rest and risk the sleep of death.
"I once more summoned up my remaining energies in the name of the Lord and finally reached my lodging safely that same night. Had I remained on the road my enemies would probably have jeered and said that I had died drunk since I had no witnesses with me.
"I was unusually encouraged on this trip to the congregations because I perceived a number of beneficent stories of the Spirit of God. Sometimes one would rather stay home when the bad roads and weather set in, but since one's coming must usually be announced several weeks in advance and people must gather from considerable distances, the sectarian people profit by it if one fails to come. They say to our people, 'That's the way your parsons are. They promise much but keep little.'"
Muhlenberg kept his promises. He showed up despite all sorts of hardships, encouraged by the beneficent stirring of the Holy Spirit.
Open to the Spirit
Are we open to the Spirit's work? Very often we do things without reference to God the Holy Spirit. We do them in the church too, practically, coldly.
One of the gifts that God gives us is the gift of spirituality, the ability to be related to Him. We need to practice our spiritual life so that we are open to God's stirring. One of the dangers besetting the card-carrying members of a mainline church, is that people do not share the faith at home in the family. We cannot let go of this family faith-sharing.
Thesis Six: Remember who's boss
Who's boss? The Lord Jesus Christ alone! A couple of years ago two ELCA synods held a youth convention. Among the speakers was a Native American who told of his faith in the great spirit. He did not believe in Jesus Christ; he was not a Christian and wanted nothing to do with the Christian faith. It was fine that he wanted to pursue his native roots in spiritual faith. But why bring this to a convention of Christian young people?
What were we trying to teach them? We believe what Christ says, don't we, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes unto the Father but by me?" We uphold the name of Christ before whom every knee shall bow, not because it makes us great, but because Christ is great. He died for us.
So why do we do things like this in the church? Why emphasize and promote diversity as a total tolerance of faith and pluralism in belief? I don't understand. People are naturally tolerant, but we must hold to the center: Christ alone.
Three sociologists, Johnson, Luddins, and Hoagie, published a study last year called Vanishing Boundaries, concerning the decline of the Episcopal Church in Canada and the Presbyterian Church in America. Both are badly losing membership. They decided the basic problem is that the church is filled with what they called "lay liberals," that is, people who believe there are many paths to God and each path is fine.
This, said the sociologists, was the problem. The church was losing the faith that salvation is through Christ alone. When we lose that faith the church dies. REMEMBER WHO IS BOSS!
*SUNDBERG teaches at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, and is co-editor of The Rose, a journal of personal faith, and of the recent volume on the historical critical method in biblical study, The Bible in Modern Culture.