Squishy Unity

I wandered to a site that I rarely visit anymore and observed a video presentation entitled My Squishy Unity Jesus.  In this presentation the Reverend Pastor Fisk in his usual less than reverent style speaks to the issue of the Twentieth Century Ecumenical Movement as it has progressed to the present day.  He addresses the issue that the concept of unity has been redefined to mean the exact opposite of what the Scriptures teach that the unity of the Church is.

He makes valid points concerning the invalidity of this altered definition.  He makes valid points concerning what unity really is and why it is necessary.  He attempts to call those who profess to be Christian to embrace the unity that the Holy Spirit creates through the means of grace.

It continues to perplex me that men such as the Reverend Pastor Fisk make such a big deal out of something that they themselves do not truly believe.  After all, if they truly believed the marks of the Church to be the administration of the pure means of grace and if they truly believed that unity in the doctrine and practice of these to be necessary for the existence of the true Church and for the salvific power of the Gospel to be effected, would they not actually practice in accord with this unity?

Yet they remain in a church body that teaches that true unity in doctrine and practice and mission do not exist within that church body.  Even more amazingly, they pride themselves for embracing the notion that striving to achieve 85% unity is a noble goal that is achievable.

If unity in doctrine and practice concerning the pure Gospel and Sacraments is the definition of the true Church, as Fisk claims to believe, then what is he and his brethren really saying of their own church body?

Fisk continually says on his site that he believes and unconditionally subscribes with a quia subscription to the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as found in the Book of Concord.  Of these Confessions or statements of belief and practice the Augsburg Confession is especially set forward.  And this Confession states the definition of the Church in Article VII, saying of what the “Lutherans” teach:

    1] Also they teach that one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.

    2] And to the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and 3] the administration of the Sacraments. Nor is it necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies, instituted by men, should be everywhere alike. 4] As Paul says: One faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, etc. Eph. 4, 5, 6.

It would be cause for rejoicing if this were truly what Christians believed, taught, confessed, AND practiced.

How many Churches does AC VII teach?  ONE.

There are not many Churches but One Church.

This Church is holy, which means sacred or set apart by the Lord unto Himself to be perfect even as He is perfect.  This perfection of the Church is not found as perfection of the individuals but in the perfection of the Lord.  He gives His perfection through His means of grace.  The perfect holiness of the Church is its unity of doctrine and practice, that is, in its unity as “the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.”

How wonderful it would be if Pastor Fisk and his fellow pastors and the leaders of his church body actually believed this so as to abide by it.  How wonderful it would be if they actually believed this so that they rejected the notion of 85% and actually embraced the unity in which the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the true believers in Christ.

Sadly, this is not their way.  It is heart-breaking to observe what they hold high in place of this unity.  It is gut wrenching to observe the thing that matters most, as this video yet again displays at the very end:

This sentiment truly is the issue at hand.  St. Paul addresses this concerning his former idolatry from which the Lord converted and saved him.

   

     Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.  (Philippians 3:1-7)

And again:

   

     But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.  (Galatians 1:11-16)

While loyalty to Grandpa remains the defining nature of membership and participation in a church body, to whom are such devotees ultimately devoted?  Whose word and way ultimately defines that church and the life and way of its members?

This is a very dangerous matter.  It leads away from the true unity of the one true faith and the life that flows from that faith.  It leads to the inevitable dysfunction that sin produces.  If the church is Grandpa’s church, then it bears Grandpa’s image and suffers Grandpa’s imperfection and corruption.

This is not the Church confessed in the Augsburg Confession.  AC VII confesses one holy Church that is united not by the traditions of men/grandpas, but united in the agreement concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the right administration the Sacraments.

Grandpa is rotting in the grave awaiting the day of the resurrection and the judgment of mankind.  That is where he should be left until the great day of the return of the Lord Jesus in His glory.  Leave sinful Grandpa and draw near to the Lord of glory who comes to His Church wherever the means of grace are rightly administered.  Wherever this is the way, the Church is truly united in the Lord’s holiness.  No disunity remains in this Church.  No dysfunction surfaces.  For the unity of doctrine and practice rule this Church, as the Lord has promised.

Oh that this would be what is proclaimed in place of Grandpa and us and our church.  Then all of our squishy ways would be replaced by the Rock solid foundation of the means through which God Himself solidifies His Church.  His gifts are 100% pure and where they are administered in this purity the congregation is gathered into the absolute unity that belongs to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  The ultimate earthly expression and confession of this is the Supper of His Holy Communion.

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An Apology Is Not Repentance

In the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) is the following conversation between Rannulph Junuh and Adele Invergordon.


Adele approaches Junuh and sits beside him on the bench, uncomfortably.

Junuh:  There something you wanted to tell me?

Adele:  Well, I'm trying to think of how to say it, Junuh.

       There is a purpose to this visit...
       ...and that's to apologize.

       I'm not an apologetic woman, it takes me longer to organize my thoughts.

       I want to seem properly contrite for having gotten you into this match...
       ...but not seem what I did was ill-intentioned, since it wasn't.

Junuh:  What exactly are you apologizing for?

Adele:  For publicly humiliating you.

Junuh:  That'd be a good thing to apologize for.

Adele:  However, I think that...

       Basically, what I'm trying to say is...

       ...that I'm sorry.

       But it's not my fault.

       You're the one to blame.

Junuh:   That's one hell of an apology, Adele.

Adele:  I'd stop the tournament in a flash, if I could. I truly, truly would.

       Because I know it's just gonna get worse.
       The way you're playing, you're destroying...
       ...any chance Jones and Hagen have of doing well.

       And your supporters? Every man, woman, and child in Savannah...
       ...are so demoralized that they can barely hold down their lunches.

       So, you want my apology or not?

Junuh:  No.

Adele:  Well...

       That's the Junuh I know. Just full of little surprises.

What was this?

Why did Adele even approach her estranged husband?

Years earlier poor Junuh was the sole survivor in a World War I battle.  He did not know how to face people after this.  He could not explain it for himself.  He was counted as a hero by everyone except himself.  He felt guilty for surviving.  So he returned to his hometown but not to his wife.  He was not able to forgive himself so as to face himself, so he could not be open to face her, either.

This was wrong.  She was deeply injured.  She suffered for over ten years because of his inability to face the circumstances of his life honestly.  He sought for answers without turning to the source of truth and goodness.  So he tried to hide from himself.  He could not do this while embracing his wife.  The marital union requires honesty.  All unity is completely dependent upon the Truth.  Junuh had turned his face, his heart, his soul away from the Truth.

Adele wanted to save her father’s legacy.  She wanted to save the golf course and fortune of her father.  She devised a grand plan to have a legendary tournament to initiate interest in the golf course.  So she coerced her husband to come forth and play in the tournament.  Her motives were mixed, but were selfish.  She thought only of what she wanted, even though deep down that included reconciliation with her husband.  But even this reconciliation she sought for selfish motives.

Eventually she confronted her husband with his sin against her.  He apologized sincerely.  He confessed his sin and asked forgiveness, which she initially refused to give.  But he repented nonetheless.  Eventually she did forgive him and rejoin him.  And he forgave her even though she never truly confessed her own sin against him.  But she did turn from her sin.  She stopped blaming him and hating him.  Though her confession was incomplete, she was turned again to love and true compassion for her husband, and he received her with no demands upon her.  Her confession and contrition were false, but she was nevertheless turned from this falseness back to the truth of their love.

The confrontation took place.  Both hearts were turned.  Forgiveness and healing and reconciliation resulted.  They began life together anew.

This story does not fully portray the life of the forgiveness that is in Christ, but it does demonstrate some of the important aspects.  The reconciliation that God works is far greater.  It is a one sided reconciliation in that God initiates it and fulfills it.  He is the innocent one, the one who has been wronged, and yet He willingly takes the blame and buries it with His own death.  He rises up and continually calls to us to confess our waywardness and to be reconciled to Him in His love.  Even though we are unable fully to confess our sin, He eagerly forgives us and restores us.  Even though we turn from the truth, He proclaims it openly and fully so that we are moved to believe it and be turned again to Him to receive His grace, mercy, and peace.

Like Junuh, we need to hear the good news that though we are lost, our place has been reserved for us.  When we finally hear this in faith, we are turned from our obstinate unbelief so that we gladly and humbly return to the one calling us back to His fatherly embrace.

Like Adele, though we are confused and angry, often not even knowing why we are angry, God’s continual call melts our stubbornness so that His love prevails and we are rejoined to Him in His Holy Communion.  Deep down that is what we want all along, but because we seek to be strong on our own we resist His loving call to return humbly to Him.  When we finally hear the truth that His love and His calling are the answer, when we finally are broken with the weariness of fighting to make things right in our lives by our own reason and strength, when we finally admit that we cannot do for ourselves what God graciously does freely for us, then we look up and see that the battle has already been won and the life is already restored for us.

---

I was moved to write this as my heart sought a way to address the fraudulence in the following video.  In this video the president of the LC-MS seeks to effect healing within his church body through a pretense of repentance.  In this and the letters at Pastoral Letters on the Newtown Tragedy no wrongdoing is ever actually confessed or addressed.



If one carefully observes both the video and the letters, both Adele and Junuh show forth in various ways.  There is hiding from the truth.  There is lack of open confrontation of wrongdoing.  There are false attempts at apologies that really are not apologies at all.

In the end this is much worse because there is no repentance, no forgiveness, no healing.

There is, however, a very subtle pointing of the finger of blame away from those who are in the middle of the conflict.  Very subtly the blame is placed upon those within the church body who are calling out for the leaders and pastors and congregations to turn from the pretense.  Those who are calling for the truth to be confessed and the hypocrisy to be abandoned are being told that they are unloving for not being willing to pretend that all is well.  Those seeking honest confession and absolution and a genuine turning from corruption of the truth are being told that they should turn a blind eye and be quiet for the sake of a pretense of unity and love.

This is not the way of true healing.  This is not the way of real unity.

It would be wonderful to see the leaders and people of this church body to realize this and to be turned to the Truth so that they may receive the healing that their hearts long to receive.  The problem remains for them that they serve their mammon and imagine that they can serve God also.  They continue to fight to preserve what they hold most dear, that is, their church body.

It would truly be a joyous day if like Adele they realized that saving the legacy of their fathers is not what matters.  Then they would walk away from their church body and be reunited in the union of the true faith.  Then they would truly be “synod” not through a corporate charter and a constitution and by-laws, but as those truly in the “together-way.”

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My Matryoshka Doll

If my gaze out of the window is well timed, I can see my wife returning from her morning walk.  In the winter she bundles herself with layers of clothing so that she looks like a matryoshka trudging through the streets.  When she returns to the house she removes layer after layer until finally my sweet and tiny little wife lady appears.



Wikipedia has an article entitled Matryoshka doll, with an explanation and various varieties of the matryoshkas displayed.

In times past I always had heard these called Babushka dolls.  Their correct name, however, is said to be matryoshka.

I suppose that we could say that in a way we all are matryoshkas.  We all have layers that we build up around ourselves so that the person deep within cannot be seen without peeling away the layers.  This can actually be understood from two perspectives.

From the one perspective we tend to cover up the person that we don’t want to face.  That person is the Old Adam of the sinful nature.  We try to cover that person with attempts at good works and pretense.  We try to cover our failures at being good with layers of prayers and devotions and offerings and tithes and other forms of worship.  Some people try to escape their awareness of self through drugs and alcohol or through food or sexual activities or pornography.  Some become workaholics, trying to stay too busy to take notice of the person underneath, striving for the sense of success that evades them no matter how much they achieve or acquire.  Some turn to psychology and psychiatry for help.  And some turn directly to the influences of the devil and the world and just let the monster loose.

The other perspective is one that a person cannot find for oneself.  It is a gift.  It is poured out from heaven through the waters of Baptism.  St. Paul calls this the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.  He also refers to it as the adoption of sons into God’s kingdom as those who have been crucified with Christ to sin and raised with Christ as a new creation in the new life in God’s Holy Communion.  St. Peter calls it the answer of a good conscience through the power of the resurrection. 

In this wondrous heavenly activity enacted on earth through His Church, God drowns out the old sinful nature and brings forth a new and beautiful person who is regenerated with the faith of Jesus so that the person is restored in the image of God that sin corrupted and caused to be lost.  From this perspective the person comes to God with a very different approach.  Now the person peels off the layers of pretense.  This is done through honest confrontation and confession of one’s sins.  The power to face these honestly is this “good conscience” that St. Peter says is generated in us through the power of the resurrection applied to us in our baptism.  Having heard the sweet words of the Gospel we know that in Christ our sins are forgiven us.  This knowledge empowers us to come to God honestly confessing the sins that weigh upon our hearts so that we may hear Him assure us that for Christ’s sake our sins are forgiven us.  In Baptism God makes this declaration and imputation to us once and for all.  But since we need to hear it again and again on account of the sinful nature that still inheres in us, God commands us to come to Him continually with our confession so that we may hear His absolution.  Furthermore, He has given us His called servants within the public office of the ministry.  He has authorized them to speak for Him concerning His Gospel within this holy public office.  This way we can hear from a man standing before us that God does indeed forgive even the sins over which we still struggle in our hearts and minds and spirits.

In the divine service a corporate liturgical confession of sins precedes all else that follows the invocation.  In this way we confess our sinfulness and hear God’s blessed absolution and are empowered to come all the way to His Table of His Holy Communion without fear or doubt.  There He gives us the very body of Christ into which we are made to be one with Him and with one another.  There He also gives us the very blood that is shed even from eternity for the remission of our sins.  He gives us His blood over and over so that we are renewed in this life of forgiveness and renewal into His Communion to live freely by grace through faith.

When this is the way in which we walk and live, then we see through all of the layers of our pretense, all of the layers of guilt and iniquity, so that we then see the beautiful child of God that exists purely by God’s gracious decree in our baptism.  Then we live in the freedom that God declares for us, the freedom of our declared righteousness or justification by grace through faith.  Since this is ours purely by God’s work for us and in us through His own ordained means of grace, all cause for doubting is eliminated.  Then we live in the freedom of God’s grace through faith.

For this reason especially I find the little matryoshkas to be joyous little figures.  I also have this special reminder each time that I see my sweet matryoshka wife return home and peel away her layers of winter protection.



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Do You Honestly Believe God?

Is your God a liar?

     If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.  (1 John 1:8-10)

Do you profess to be a Christian?  Do you confess to believe in Christ as your Savior?

Is your sin big enough to need a savior?  Or do you just need a little help?  Are you just needing a push in the right direction?

Those who truly look to Christ as their Savior do not have any little sins.

For example, the sin of praying is taken very seriously by one who truly trusts in Christ.

Do you understand what this means?  Do you understand why your praying is sinful?

According to this passage from John’s letter to those whom he identifies as his little children in the faith, if you imagine that your prayers are without sin, you deceive yourself and call God a liar.

Consider when you pray.  Let’s take the prayer that the Lord Jesus gave us to pray.  When you pray the Our Father, does your mind wander?

Do you pray this prayer perfectly with absolute and undivided attention to the Lord?

If you say that you do, then don’t even bother reading any farther.

But if you answer honestly, then this passage from the Scriptures will be received with great joy and thanksgiving in your heart, soul, and mind.

If you realize that even your best efforts at prayer and worship fall short and are of their own merit nothing but idolatry, then these words recorded by St. John will be wonderful words to you.  For these words are written for real sinners, of whom Isaiah and St. Paul declare that all of our righteousnesses are as bloody rags, corrupt and to be burned forever.  If your best deeds are such, then you will hear what the Holy Spirit is revealing in this text.

Here the grace of God is declared for us all to hear, that God, the faithful and just one, will forgive us our sins when we honestly acknowledge them so that we confess them.

It is a very sad matter that this text is usually proclaimed as though it were a cause and effect scenario, as though God forgives us because we confess our sins.  Most people hear this as though we must confess our sins in order for God to be willing to forgive us.  Most preachers proclaim this as though God forgives us because we humble ourselves and confess our sins.

The truth is far more wonderful!

The truth is that we confess our sins because God forgives us.  We confess our sins because God has declared us to be forgiven in Christ.  Thus, when we hear this wonderful good news and are converted by the Holy Spirit so that we believe it, we no longer are afraid to come to God.  Instead, we now acknowledge God’s forgiveness in Christ and come to God through Christ, confessing that we need to hear His holy absolution.  We hurt because of the knowledge of our sinfulness and we confess this to God who readily and lovingly declares to us yet again, “Yes, My Son has taken your sins so that they are no longer accounted to you.  Your sins have all been forgiven you even from eternity.  Go forth in the blessedness of this forgiveness.”

The Gospel teaches us that in Christ our sins are forgiven.  When we hear this, when we truly hear this, our hearts are changed.  We are regenerated from unbelievers to believers.  When we believe God, we cannot call Him a liar.  When we believe God and His gracious declaration in connection with Christ, we want to be baptized into Christ and to be made to be partakers of this Holy Communion of God in the body of Christ.  The Gospel works this in us.  Then we see that of our own thoughts, words, and deeds, we sin against God continually.  Knowing this, we come and confess our sins so that we can hear Him say again and again and again, “I forgive you.”

We need to hear this.  This is how God sets us free.  We come to Him with hearts burdened with sin and He divorces us of our sins.  He sends our sins away from us.

As we hear the truth concerning Jesus, we believe what He has accomplished for us.  Our natural response is to confess our need for His forgiveness.  His response is to declare it to us as often as we need to hear it.

God does not demand that if we want to be forgiven we must confess our sins.  Rather, He promises that when we confess our sins we will actually hear His forgiveness.

God promises that His forgiveness is purely by grace through faith.  If we insist that we must somehow make ourselves worthy first by believing or by inviting Him into our hearts or by confessing our sins, or by examining ourselves, or by anything else, we call Him a liar.  This is the opposite of believing Him.  This cuts us off from receiving His forgiveness.  This is not because He refuses to grant it, but because we refuse to receive it as it must be received, by grace, through faith, as an absolute gift, purchased and won for us by Christ and made available to us in Christ.

This knowledge of God’s honest proclamation of grace through faith is cause for everlasting thanksgiving or Eucharisting, which in essence is the very life of the Church.

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Confessional Subscription

Does it seem like the churches today who claim to embrace a Confessional Subscription understand this in like manner to a magazine subscription? Do the churches who claim to subscribe to the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church treat their Confessional Subscription like an old subscription to a magazine that upon delivery by the postal carrier is then tossed onto a dusty stack? Do they perhaps dust off the stack from time to time to show others how big their stack is?

A recent post on a “Confessional” blog of a prominent clergyman leaves a person wondering just this. In fact, one of his loyal readers responded with a gentle challenge, which was guffawed and brow beaten into submission.

The post is actually copied and pasted from another blog and then praised as a wonderful example of true Lutheran confessionalism. It is a portion of another translation/edition of CFW Walther’s Church and Ministry.

Isn’t that grand? Isn’t that splendid? Yet another edition of Church and Ministry, as if one translation into English was not sufficient. And with all of the English translations of the Book of Concord, that was translated again not long ago, too. Wow, the Concordia Triglotta and the Jacob’s Edition and the Tappert Edition and the Kolb Edition were not sufficient!

Now the new president of the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod has shown how devoted he is to the faithfulness of the LC-MS fathers and has shown how truly scholarly he is by producing another translation of Walther’s Church and Ministry. The portion that is posted by President Matthew Harrison on his blog Mercy Journeys with Pastor Harrison is entitled, ““Missouri's Position on Intercommunion - Warning! Strong Lutheran Content!” This is copied and posted by Paul McCain at “The LCMS Position on Intercommunion: WARNING – STRONG LUTHERAN CONTENT.”

McCain introduces it, saying:

From the president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Pastor Matthew Harrison, via his blog site. Pastor Harrison is providing the Missouri Synod with a new edition of C.F.W. Walther’s Church and Ministry, this is from his revised translation.

In the Comments section the following comments were shared:

From Jeff K:

Kind of a jarring juxtaposition to the immediately preceeding post where you heartily commend us to listen to Dr. Albert Mohler, a Baptist. Last time I checked Baptists denied the Real Presence in the Lord’s Supper and Baptismal Regeneration.

McCain responds:

Insert face palm here.

I invited you to listen to an academic lecture, not to take communion with him.

Good grief.

Then after a supportive comment from an ELCA pastor Jeff K responds:

OK, I figured that you would draw a distinction between a lecture and Communion, and I hope that you would continue to post good things that you hear from Dr. Mohler. May God have mercy on all of us who call on His Name but for conscience sake are not able to share His Supper with each other on this side of heaven. @ptmccain

I offered a comment in which I encouraged Jeff K not to abandon his very valid challenge, and the ever fair and magnanimous and open McCain deleted my comment. Imagine that!

Jeff’s question or challenge is a valid concern. McCain’s answer is typical of the modern understanding of Confessional Subscription. “We hold to a quia subscription to the Lutheran Confessions. We hold them to be true expositions of God’s Word and we treasure them! Just look at how many translations we have made!”

But did McCain even read what Jeff did? Jeff noticed and responded both to the statement by Walther as well as Walther’s quotation from the Apology of the Augsburg Confession from the Book of Concord that Walther boldly quotes and Harrison translates.

First the statement of Walther:

B. Every believer for the sake of his salvation must flee all false teachers and avoid fellowship [Gemeinschaft] with heterodox congregations [Gemeinden] or sects.

Next the quote from the Apology:

2. Witnesses of the Church in Its Official Confessions

Apology: “Nevertheless, we should not receive or listen to false teachers, for they no longer stand in Christ’s place [Christus statt] but are antichrists [Widerchristi]. And Christ clearly commands [befohlen] us regarding them: ‘Beware of false prophets’ (Matt. 7:15). And Paul [writes] to the Galatians: ‘If anyone preaches any other gospel to you, … let him be accursed’ (Gal. 1:9)” (Ap. VII/VIII [IV]. 48; German text, Triglot, pp. 242–43; Mueller p. 162; BSLK 246.20f.).

Let’s see if we can decipher what Jeff must have misunderstood.

Walther says: “Every believer for the sake of his salvation must flee all false teachers and avoid fellowship with heterodox congregations or sects.”

What does McCain say? “Insert face palm here. I invited you to listen to an academic lecture, not to take communion with him. Good grief.”

What does the Apology say? “Nevertheless, we should not receive or listen to false teachers, for they no longer stand in Christ’s place but are antichrists.”

So McCain encourages people to listen to lectures from those whom the Confessions to which he boldly and loudly subscribes say we should not receive or listen to. The Confessions say that such teachers have nothing good to say because they are antichrists. McCain says, just listen but don’t take communion with them.

Jeff says: “Huh?”

McCain says: “Good grief.”

McCain is in agreement with President Harrison. Yet both actually do commune with them as well. Both are in communion with the pastors and congregations of the LC-MS, most of which practice open communion where people who have not even been baptized frequently are communed.

How do I know this? I have read the communion statements of LC-MS congregations where this is what they themselves declare as their practice. I also have spoken with people who are not members of these congregations, who have not been baptized, who do not have any substantive understanding of the faith, who have no idea what the Sacrament is, yet they commune regularly from the hands of smiling LC-MS pastors.

Yes, these people have been some of my customers. Yes, I talk to my customers about what they believe and where they go to church and how they understand the Sacraments. The LC-MS pastors who claim to be so caring and loving and welcoming don’t talk to them about these things, but their arborist does.

So why bother quoting Walther on this issue? Why bother translating the Confessions and quoting them?

What is the point?

It brings to mind the many road signs that say, “Right lane closed ahead.” Which is translated by somewhere between 45 and 85 percent of the drivers, depending on the length of the line:

“Stay in this lane until it runs out and then force your way into line ahead of your neighbors who have respectfully merged and waited their turn.”

It also brings to my mind the many times the same sign has been left posted for weeks after the road work has been completed.

Why do men like McCain and Harrison make so much noise about their Confessional Subscription? Why do they go so far as to translate such things anew and post them for everyone to read, and then deny the meaning of the words when someone asks?

Do you know why? Can you guess?

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Blending versus Unity

Yesterday I had a telephone conversation that left me feeling very downhearted. I had a question regarding one of my Thrivent insurance policies, so I called to obtain an answer. After working through the automated rigamarole a sweet, bubbly voice greeted me. This lady was able to give immediate answer to my question, which was a very pleasant surprise, considering the difficulty that I usually encounter with such inquiries.

Her attitude was extremely friendly and upbeat, extreeeeemely upbeat. I asked her if she worked at this or if it was just her natural manner. She said it was her natural way, which I expected. In the conversation I asked what her faith profession is and she replied that she was Lutheran. I commented that it then is true that there are at least some Lutherans working at Thrivent. “Oh yes, there are many.” She exuberantly replied.

As is my manner in accord with my perpetual desire to learn of people and their understanding in further accord with my eternal desire to find those with whom I am in true communion, I asked what variety of Lutheran she was. She said Catholic.

But I thought that she meant catholic, and I inquired further. After a few questions she said that she did not attend a Lutheran church but she had been raised Catholic and was raising her children in the Catholic church and traditions, but that she counted herself to be a good Lutheran. I was perplexed and told her that I did not understand what that meant. At this point she began to act as though I had offended her and declined to discuss the matter any further, asking whether I had any further questions regarding my insurance policy.

The conversation ended with polite terms and I felt deeply hurt. This very sweet person did not mean to hurt me, but she did, in several ways. First I was hurt by the abrupt change in her manner toward me. She acted as though I had done her some wrong by expressing interest in her understanding and by asking for an explanation regarding this understanding. I had not challenged her in any direct way whatsoever. I only expressed my bewilderment and lack of understanding concerning what she told me. I suppose that this in itself is a challenge, even though it was not presented as such. The very fact that I questioned it with bewilderment says much more than I even intended. I suppose there is no way to avoid this, as such questioning automatically presents the reality that a very obvious and enormous difference exists in our understanding. The irreconcilability of these two understandings cannot be downplayed through pleasantries.

The fact is that by this question I identified myself as this person’s enemy. The fact that I love my enemies and pray for them does not reduce the tension that exists between us. The fact that my concern for my enemies motivates me to ask challenging questions is not received kindly in many cases. In fact, as St. Paul teaches, it actually heaps coals of fire upon the head of the other person so that anger and angry reaction is the result. It also causes feelings of condemnation to be felt, even though I myself have condemned no one.

This rejection is a cause of deep pain for me as I continue to reach out to others with the unadulterated truth of the Gospel. My desire is to be united with others in the one true faith. But this is not the desire of most people. Most people want to be blended rather than united. Most people want to exist in a blending of the various understandings of the Christian faith and traditions, with tolerance of diversity in these matters as the consensus.

This is the second cause of my feeling hurt. For I know that this blending is a lie. Such blending is not of God but of the devil and the sinful fleshly nature. It is the way of the world, where every person selfishly pursues and demands that one’s own opinion must be treated as genuine and valid. Such dealings declare that the Truth does not matter. Such dealings actually deny that the Truth even exists or that it can be known. Such dealings declare that belief in the Truth must be abandoned or at least not pressed. And so I feel deeply hurt, because I have been declared to be unacceptable and unwanted. My belief in the Truth and my insistence upon unity in the Truth and my dependency upon this belief and unity in the Truth, place me beyond any desirability by those who prefer blending to unity.

A third cause for my feeling hurt is that such dealings dishonestly steal from me my identity. Identity theft is a horrible thing to endure. It is a very traumatic violation of oneself. It steals away one’s most precious possession, one’s true identity.

Those who falsely profess to be what I am steal from me my ability to be known by my identity. This steals from me the hope of others knowing me with certainly so as to be united with me. Those who say, “I am a good Lutheran,” while blending other doctrines and practices within this false claim, reduce the identity of Lutheran to nothing. Thus, when people hear the name of Lutheran, they cannot distinguish me from the ELCAite or the WELSian or the LC-MSer. And since each of these practice open communion, claiming to be united while blending with many faiths, not only many versions of the Lutheran confession but also with other religions, my identity as a confessor of the faith declared in the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church is reduced to nothing, for people will count me to be one of them instead of who I am in Christ.

This hurts me deeply. Not only does it leave me as rejected by the various other so-called Lutherans, but it steals from me the identity that belongs to those who do not blend with the world but stand apart in accord with the homologia, the Same-Word of united confession.

This hurts me because my deep desire is for true unity with others in the one true faith through the Same-Word or confession of the same understanding and practice. I feel deeply hurt when I realize that I am unable to find others who share this deep desire and therefore I stand nearly alone in the world. While there surely must be others somewhere who share with me in this blessed communion, I have been able to find only a handful. And the false confession of the big groups makes it very hard to find those who are not of the blending mentality.

Few people even grasp the difference between blending and unity. As an example, I regularly use our VitaMix blender to grind and pulverize various grains and fruits into a blended drink and food source. By this action I reduce the particle size beyond what I am able to masticate (chew) so as to aid digestion and absorption of the precious nutrients. It becomes a blended mixture of the ingredients.

It does not, however, become unified. The components become mixed in a suspension, with some of the juices becoming one but with most of the components merely being reduced in size and suspended as particles in the mix. Many of these can still be separated and identified as separate components. They have not been truly united into one. This will not occur until full digestion has been accomplished and the various nutrients are absorbed and incorporated into the cells of the body.

The Church, the body of Christ is something like this, although not made up of ingredients that are digested, the members of Christ’s body are truly brought into complete union through absolute incorporation into the body. They can no longer be identified separately. They have been given a new identity. They no longer function individually. They live as one. Their life has one source. Apart from one another they are no longer functional. They think the same, speak the same, and believe the same. By this union they are now known.

This is not the way with those who are of blended communions. They do not live as one. They do not think the same or speak the same. They gather in diverse manners of worship even within the same congregation. They confess to the world to be in the same church body and in communion with the various congregations of that body, even though they do not think, speak, or worship the same throughout.

So how does this hurt me? It leaves me standing apart from those for whom I care deeply. It leaves me as counted as separatistic and schismatic when the exact opposite is true. It leaves me unable to embrace even blood relatives as true family because I will not yield to their acceptance of blending in place of unity. It leaves me to be judged falsely as unloving and uncaring and obstinate and arrogant and self-serving.

It seems that I have no choice but to accept this as how things are. This hurts. This hurts deeply.

It also motivates me to take upon myself a burden that I ought not to imagine as mine own. It is idolatrous for me to imagine that this is my burden, when Christ has already carried it. Thus I continually long for and flee to the tiny little congregation where we are gathered by the Spirit to receive the unadulterated means of grace. There this self-imposed burden along with all of my other sinful burdens are again taken up by the Lord Jesus, who in their place grants to me and all who are so gathered His peace that surpasses all understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Him. In this blessed communion it matters not whether those gathered number in the thousands or are merely two. God’s promise cannot be nullified. He does as He has promised. And so hurt is turned to peace and sorrow is turned to joy. Only the Lord has this magnificent power. Only His means can effect such transformation.

Therefore, to His means I shall continually flee and in His means I shall find rest and comfort for my weary soul. From this wondrously safe haven I shall call out to all who are willing to hear, and even to those who feel the coals burning upon their heads. How else can I respond to such incalculable gifts of grace, mercy, and peace? And so, while others may steal the outward identity, the true identity cannot be taken away or even corrupted. For that identity has been engraved in the palms of His hands and in the book of life. No one can erase what He has written.

I do not know what value my writing of such a post has for others, but for me, the hurt is assuaged through the reciting of what the God of all grace has declared and continues to declare forevermore.