Robert Smith – Page 8 – What Does This Mean?

Church Word #4: Catholic

Encore Post: “That’s Catholic!” you may hear someone say when they see a Lutheran make the sign of the cross, see a crucifix hanging in the sanctuary of a Lutheran church, a pastor wearing a clerical collar or some other traditional practice they’ve not seen Lutherans do. What they’re thinking is this means the Lutheran in question is acting like a Roman Catholic. They are often unaware that Lutherans have had these practices since the time of the Reformation or that the word catholic did not originally refer to the Christian tradition headed by the Pope. The word catholic has been used since the days of the early church to mean the whole Christian Church.

The word catholic is from the Greek word καθολικός (literally “according to the whole”) and means “universal.” So, if we wanted to be sarcastic, we could answer the objection “that’s catholic,” “Why, yes! The whole church does it!” The early church would use the phrase: “catholic church” to mean the invisible church. When someone wanted to talk about the faith of the whole church and not just a single congregation or region, they would call it the “catholic faith.”

Soon, the word was used to separate false teachings and false teachers from orthodox teachings and leaders. The true faith was called the “catholic” or “orthodox” faith. False teachings were called heresies (literally “other teachings”) and the groups that promoted it schisms (literally “divisions”) At the time of the Reformation, Luther’s opponents quickly charged him and his associates with not being “catholic” but heretical. They labeled them Lutherans as an insult (meaning followers of Luther and not Christ) and themselves as Catholic. From the very beginning, Luther and Lutheran theologians defended themselves by saying they were the true catholics, teaching the orthodox faith which was taught and practiced from the beginning. As you might guess, they did not win this argument, even though they were right.

You will occasionally run into the word in Lutheran circles, even today. You will sometimes see it in the creeds — especially the Apostles’ Creed, which reads in Latin and Greek (translated) “one holy, catholic and apostolic church.” Martin Luther changed the word in the Apostles’ Creed to “Christian” to avoid confusion. Theologians will still use the term from time to time when emphasizing that we believe and teach what the church has always believed. So, don’t panic if you are asked to confess that you believe in the catholic faith — because you do!

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Blog Post Series

Church Words #3: Communion of Saints

Encore Post: Every Sunday, we confess that we believe in the “communion of saints.” This phrase is not about the Lord’s Supper (yes, I know we sometimes call it Holy Communion !) It refers to the fellowship between members of their invisible church, both in the paradise with the Lord and with us on earth.

Theologians call Christians who have died trusting in Jesus for their salvation the Church Triumphant. They have been cleansed of their sin. God has dried every tear in their eyes. They praise the Lamb of God night and day with great joy. In Jesus, they have conquered sin, death, and the power of the devil. On the last day, God will raise them from their graves and we will join them forever at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb.

The Christians in this world, who still fight every day with the Devil and his forces, the world and its pressures to worship other gods and the old Adam, are called the Church Militant. The word is Latin for “to fight like a soldier.” When the Christian dies, he or she enters the Church Triumphant. William W. How describes the relationship between the two states of the church well in his beloved hymn, “For All the Saints:”

O blest communion, fellowship divine
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia! (TLH 463 Stanza four)

When a Christian dies and enters eternal life, they no longer are aware of this world. We do not pray for them, because they no longer need prayer. We do not pray to them, because they do not answer, nor is there anything they can do for us. We pray to the Father and the Son and sometimes the Holy Spirit. They are where help can be found.

But there is a time when we pray with them. When we gather for worship, we are not just praying with those in the room with us. We pray together with the whole church — both the Church Militant around the world of all nations, races, languages and places, with Angels and Archangels, and the Church Triumphant, the whole company of heaven. The day will soon enough come — today, tomorrow, decades from now, or at the end of time — when we will worship in the presence of God as members of the Church Triumphant. For now, we join them every time we gather to praise God. It is why theologians often call Sunday the eighth day of the week. It is a time outside of time itself in eternity, when the clock stops for us until the pastor makes the sign of the cross at the end of worship and we realize about an hour has passed in the world around us!

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Blog Post Series

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Church Words #2: Church Invisible, Visible, etc.

Encore Post: Jesus told Peter that he would “build [his] church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) St. Paul described this church as ” one body and … you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6) In many other places and using many metaphors, Scripture is clear that there is only one Church, and that it lasts forever. Theologians call the church catholic (the Latin word for universal — that word is for yet another post!) Another term we use for this Church is the invisible Church. St. Augustine came up with the term because we really do not know absolutely for sure who is a Christian and who is not. Only God, who can see what is in a person’s heart, knows that. Martin Luther puts it this way: “these two belong together, faith and God. That now, I say, upon which you set your heart and put your trust, is properly your god. ” (Large Catechism 1.1.3)

Yet the church does not look like it is one at all. ” Tho’ with a scornful wonder, men see her sore oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed ” (The Church’s One Foundation, Stanza 3) There are thousands of denominations, theological positions, opposing camps. There are evil people who pretend to be holy in their midst. There are religions that pretend to be Christian, but in truth, are far from it. And in the hearts of every Christian living in this world, sin itself still lives and pollutes hearts and minds. We’ve met the enemy — and it is us. This is the church we can see. Theologians call it the visible church. In the visible church, both the save and the lost live together. We take people at their word when they say they believe, but there are many that are just acting. (ὑποκριτής = hypocrite = Greek word for actor)

Yet even in the visible church, signs of the true, invisible church can be seen. Where the Gospel is purely preached and the Sacraments rightly administered, there the true Church is at work. We call these the marks of the church. There Christ builds his church — on the rock of His Word and trust in it. Go where you hear his voice and you are at home — even on earth!

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Church Words #1: The Church

Encore Post: A little Sunday School song shows a few of the many ways we use the word church in English: “The church is not a building. The church is not a steeple. The church is not a resting place. The church is a people.” The problem, of course, is it is both. The meanings of two ancient Greek words merge together into our English term. The word church itself comes to us from the phrase κυριακός οἰκία (kuriakos oikia = the Lord’s house), used by the early church, through the Germanic, and Scandinavian languages (think kirk and kirche) and means the place where Christians gather to worship. (so… it is a building!) The other word, ἐκκλησία (ekklesia = to call together an assembly) means both a local congregation and all Christians worldwide. This is the word used for the word church in the New Testament. (so.. it is a people!)

Besides these two meanings, we use the word church for what Christian people do in this building — we talk about going to church —going to worship. There is some reason to do so. In the Smalcald Articles, Luther says:

God be praised, a seven-year-old child knows what the church is: holy believers and “the little sheep who hear the voice of their shepherd.” This is why children pray in this way, “I believe in one holy Christian church.” This holiness does not consist of surplices, tonsures, long albs, or other ceremonies of theirs that they have invented over and above the Holy Scriptures. Its holiness exists in the Word of God and true faith. — Smalcald Articles 3.12.2

Yet the main way we use the word is for the whole church in heaven and on earth. It comprises all who have ever trusted in God’s promises, especially those to save us. The first generations of Missouri Synod pastors tended to use the word kirche (church) for the invisible church (that term in another post), synode (synod) for church bodies and gemeinde (local community) for congregations. It is this church that has one Lord, one faith and one God the Father. (Ephesians 4:4-5) They are “the assembly of all believers and saints” (Augsburg Confession 1.8)

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Blog Post Series

It is the End of the World

Encore post: Yes, we are living in the last days. All the signs of the return of Christ have been fulfilled. Jesus may return any moment now. So be ready! He is coming for you!

Now, to be fair, it has been the last days for nearly 2000 years now. The signs of the Second Advent were fulfilled before the New Testament Scriptures were written down. That is why the Apostles and every generation since their time fully expected to greet Jesus. Just like a child thinks a day lasts forever while days clip by ever faster as adults grow older, so two thousand years are to God short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun. (2 Peter 3:8-10) Even if the end of days does not come in our day, the end of our days will come.

So, the end times are not a complicated weave of events, hidden in riddles recorded in the Book of Revelation. It is already here, ushered in when Jesus died, rose and ascended into heaven. Jesus is quite clear that “no one knows the day or hour” that he will return suddenly, like a thief in the night. It will be like the days of Noah. He doesn’t tip us off so we will remain alert, rather than relax and grow lazy.

In fact, the way Jesus tells us about that day is very simple and straightforward. He will return suddenly, accompanied by the angels and the saints. It will be sudden, complete and final. The angels gather us before the judgment throne. We are judged and the righteous live forever, the unrighteous thrown into hell with Satan and his demons.

For a Christian, this is greatly comforting. God will live with us forever. There will be no more sorrow, crying, grief and pain. Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Meet Martin Chemnitz, the Second Martin

Encore Post: Martin Chemnitz was a gifted churchman. He reformed churches, examined and taught pastors, preached and brought doctrinal unity to regions he supervised. As a skilled ecclesiastical diplomat, he helped opposing theologians settle disagreements. As a careful, well-read and thorough author, he clarified the teachings of Martin Luther and forged bodies of doctrine for Lutheran territories. Most importantly, he led a team of theologians to craft the Formula of Concord and to gather the chief confessions of the Lutheran church into one volume, The Book of Concord.

Martin Chemnitz was born in Treuenbrietzen of Brandenburg. Saxony, Germany, on 9 November 1522 to Paul and Euphemia Chemnitz and baptized in St. Mary’s Church. His father died when he was eleven years old. To help support the family, he first became a weaver’s apprentice and later worked for his brother in the family business. When he was twenty, he began his university studies, interrupted by the need to work to finance his education, teaching school and collecting local taxes on fish. He briefly attended the University of Wittenberg, where he studied under Philipp Melanchthon, and heard Martin Luther lecture and preach.

After the death of Luther, Chemnitz attended the then new University of Königsberg, where he served as the librarian for the Duke of Prussia and the University. He used the time to read widely and begin his study of theology. He returned to Wittenberg in 1554 to study under Melanchthon and lecture on the reformer’s Loci Communes.

Martin Chemnitz was ordained in November of 1554 by Johannes Bugenhagen to become co-adjutor of Joachim Mörlin, who was ecclesiastical superintendent for the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and a leader in the Gnesio Lutheran movement. In 1566, he followed Mörlin as superintendent, in which office he served until he died.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Saints’ Days and Commemorations

Encore Post: During Martin Luther’s lifetime, the Church Year was filled with Saints’ Days. Thousands of saints were remembered — and venerated. Some of the pressure on time was controlled by celebrating All Saints’ Day, so the ones without a day could be remembered. The day after was remembered as All Souls’ Day, to pray for the rest of us!

The Lutheran Reformers solved the crowding of the calendar by removing almost all the non-Biblical saints. A few like St. Valentine, St. Nicholas — and, curiously, St. Lawrence, remain to this day. Local congregations are, of course, free to celebrate others.

Some church bodies, like the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod have recognized the desire to remember figures from church history. They provide a list of commemorations for figures like Wilhelm Löhe, C. F. W. Walther, Martin Luther and so on. Commemorations, unlike saints’ days, do not have their own propers — special readings, a prayer of the day, psalms, etc.

The point of both kinds of days is to thank God for these faithful men and women. We remember their lives, the way they lived their lives in faith and to pray that we, too, may be faithful. After all, their suffering is over, their tears are gone, and their sorrows turned to joy. And it will not be very long before our Lord comes to bring us home, too. With them numbered may we be here and in eternity.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastpr Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Did Martin Luther Write Sin Boldly?

Encore Post: When I was a reference librarian, I frequently get asked whether (and where!) Martin Luther said a quotation people claim he said. Most of the time when I am asked to do so, I cannot find a place where he is recorded as saying or writing such a thing. That is not the case with the Luther quote “sin boldly,” which is often used by his opponents to claim Luther rejects God’s law for Christians. The short answer is: yes, he wrote this phrase, but, no, it does not mean what his opponents think it means.

Over Five hundred years ago, Luther was living in the Wartburg Castle — kind of as a safe house of sorts — under the name of Junker Jorg. At first, he had a difficult time adjusting — his diet switched from that of a monk to that fit for a noble. By August, he was settling in. He was far from idle there. Among the things he did was write an incredible number of letters to friends, allies, his prince and others. Few people knew exactly where he was — the letters all went to his friend Georg Spalatin, who was the chancellor for his prince Frederick the Wise. Spalatin then sent them on.

Soon Luther’s friends used the same channel to reply and to ask advice as to how to proceed in his absence. The letter where Luther writes — in Latin — “sin boldly” was penned August 1st, 1521. In it, Luther addresses the questions of whether monks should be held to their monastic vows and whether priests should be allowed to marry. Luther criticized these vows — among other things — as man-made laws. That these were to be valued more highly than God’s Word was a false commandment. To violate them was not a sin but an imaginary sin.

Serious Christians, such as Luther himself, had tortured themselves trying to observe such traditions. They felt great burdens of guilt for breaking these. Apparently, Philip Melanchthon and Luther’s allies couldn’t decide whether to set these aside. Luther’s advice was not to worry about these so-called sins. Be bold to just live your lives, but believe in Christ, who forgives sins even more boldly.

In this sinful world, Christians will never be free of sin. As another so-called Luther quote (this one he didn’t likely say) goes: “the Old Adam is a good swimmer.” He is drowning in baptism, but doesn’t give up without a good fight! As Christians, we need to remember to look to Jesus. He bore all our real sins to the cross. There he paid the full price due for our sin and the sins it performs and removes them forever. In Christ, we die to rise again on the last day without sin.

So, Luther’s advice to Melanchthon is good. Here is how he put it: “If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2. Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign. It suffices that through God’s glory, we have recognized the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day. Do you think such an exalted Lamb paid merely a small price with a meager sacrifice for our sins? Pray hard for you are quite a sinner.”

And He Shall Reign Forever and Ever

Encore Post: When Handel’s Messiah premiered in London, even the King of England attended. When the choir sang, “The Kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,” King George II, moved by the music, stood and with him all the audiences from that day forward to the present — or so the legend goes. These words from Scripture set as a liturgical gospel verse capture a profound truth. No matter how evil and chaotic the world looks, God’s kingdom rules the universe.

So, why does Jesus have us pray: “your kingdom come?” Luther explains that God’s kingdom comes whether or not we pray for it. But we pray that it will come to us. Jesus himself suggests this when he sums up his message: “the kingdom of heaven is here! Repent (literally: change your mind completely) and believe the good news.”

God’s kingdom comes to us in two ways. First, when God the Holy Spirit plants faith in our hearts, we believe our sins are forgiven because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. We turn away from our sins and desire to live according to his word. We do this together with all our fellow citizens of his kingdom. Our prayer is that God will give us the strength to live this way.

The second way the kingdom comes when, on the day known only by the Heavenly Father, Jesus returns with his angels to bring an end to sin, disease, grief and death, to open the graves of all people, raise them from death and bring them before his throne. On that day, all will be set right. The devil, his angels and unbelievers cast into hell and God’s children go to live with him forever. Then he will reign forever and ever.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Blog Post Series

Pay Caesar what you owe Caesar

Sermon on Matthew 22:15-22
Monday of the 20th Sunday after Pentecost
Our Hope Lutheran Church
October 18th, 2020

Text: “Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you trying to trick me, Actors? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore pay Caesar what you owe Caesar, and God what you owe God”

Intro: The year Isaac Watts wrote “Our God, our Help in Ages Past,” Queen Anne was dying. Her reign was an age of religious peace and tolerance. Watts was a dissenting protestant and before Queen Anne, his church was persecuted by the crown. The leading heir to the crown was Catholic, and many worried about a return of persecution. The fear was relieved when the Lutheran George I was crowned. The hymn reminded them—and us — that God is in charge of the world and our eternal home. On Tuesday of the first Holy Week, the Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus into a sound bite that would undo him. That day they tried politics. It didn’t work.

God appoints earthly governments—even the bad ones.
1. Earthly governments maintain order and restrain evil.
2. We owe them honor, obedience in earthly matters, prayers for their well-being and wisdom.
3. When governments call on us to sin, only then may we disobey.
4. When, as in a democracy, we are a part of the government; we are called by God to steer it towards the purposes for which it is ordained.
Yet obedience does not come easily to sinners.
1. We cherish our freedom, and no one can tell us what to do.
2. Government is made up by sinners, who often serve themselves more than God or the people.
3. Even when they mean well, they often make things worse.
4. We are tempted, then, to take things into our own hands.
God is our Eternal Home
1. Yet Jesus reigns and will return to judge the world.
2. He left his throne to die for our rebellion.
3. He rose to open the grave to all believers.
4. He has adopted us in Holy Baptism.
5. We are now citizens of a heavenly kingdom.

Conclusion: So, we gladly serve our Lord, by supporting the government he’s given us, exercising our office of Elector of the Republic for his sake, but seeking first his kingdom, knowing all too soon we will go home where we truly belong.

Prayer: Our God, our Help in ages past, our Hope for years to come, our Shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal Home; Be thou our guard while troubles last, And our eternal home. Amen.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sermon on Matthew 22:15-22 Monday of the 20th Sunday after Pentecost Our Hope Lutheran Church October 18th, 2020

Sermon on Matthew 22:15-22
Monday of the 20th Sunday after Pentecost
Our Hope Lutheran Church
October 18th, 2020