Definitions – Page 4 – What Does This Mean?

Preparation for the Gospel: Judaism

Encore Post: When the Babylonians conquered Judah, destroyed the temple and the walls of Jerusalem, and carried off most of her people into exile, the people had a crisis of faith. How could they worship God without a temple where they could sacrifice? How could they relate to him at all? God sent prophets to help them work all this out. The result was the birth of a brand new religion — Judaism. A religion is a series of customs, duties, practices and rites that people do to serve their god or gods. It is a culture, really. God used Judaism as a place where true faith in him could be planted, nurtured and grow, even when there was no temple, sacrificial system and functioning priesthood to support it.

Judaism — especially the party of the Pharisees — was built on a devotion to the Torah. They read it, taught it and even vowed to practice traditions that kept them from ever violating the commandments it teaches. To prevent accidental violation of a particular commandment, the Rabbis taught you should follow a tradition stricter than the Law requires. So, for example, to avoid taking the name of the Lord in vain, they did not pronounce the name of God at all, but said Adonai — my Lord — instead. This practice is called “building a hedge around the Torah.”

During the exile, wherever ten men were available to worship (called a minyan), Jews would gather to pray on the Sabbath. These congregations became known by the Greek word “Synagogue” (“coming together”). When they built houses of prayer, these buildings became known as synagogues. By New Testament times, the worship service settled into a pattern of saying the Shema (“Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one”), prayer, readings from the Torah and the prophets, a sermon and a benediction.

When Cyrus the Great ended the exile, not all Jews returned home. Some stayed in Babylon and Persia, others moved to Greece, Rome and other parts of the world. The Synagogue went with them, along with other aspects of Judaism. In these events, God prepared the world for the ministry of Jesus, the apostles, and especially the Apostle Paul.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Note: This series of blog posts is available as a Kindle book and eventually as a print booklet at: Amazon.com: Preparation for the Gospel. Please note the author makes a small profit on the sale of this book.

Stir up Your Power, O Lord, and Come!

Encore Post: Great forest fires, earthquakes, hurricanes and floods are all over our news. Acts of unspeakable evil and cruelty occur on almost a weekly basis. A nation routinely kills babies in the womb, celebrates immorality and lectures the church when it doesn’t join them. All the signs of the end of days fill our T.V.s, cell phones and computer screens. It makes you just want to scream, “Tear open the heavens and get down here, Lord, and do something about it! What are you waiting for? (See Isaiah 64)

To most of the world’s religions, the high god who made the world is a distant god, who made the world and tired of it, going away to leave it to lesser gods and our own devices. We are left alone to deal with the mess that is our world and our part in making it worse. Even more modern thinkers, like the Deists, thought of God as a great watchmaker, who made the world capable of running itself, wound it up and walked away. Pop songs muse: “God is watching us… from a distance” and “The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, they caught the last train for the coast, the day the music died.” We just have to cope, they advise.

Advent breaks into that mood and reminds us that is not true at all. The God who made the world and called it “very good” intends to do something about it. He promised to come himself, in the person of his Son, born of a woman, to become one of us. It reminds us that he kept that promise and to prepare to celebrate that coming, receive him as he comes to us each day and how he will finally come to set things right.

The season of Advent developed over the centuries to do just that. Like Lent prepared the church to celebrate Easter, Advent would come to celebrate Christmas. For some, it was also a season of repentance, as a deliberate counter to the wild and immoral way pagans celebrate their December holidays. So in many places, Advent’s color is purple or black, the Gloria is not sung and people fast. For others, it is a season of hope, with the color being blue and carols sung to anticipate Christmas.

Either way, the church cries out: “Stir up your power, O Lord, and come!” Come as you did, born to die that we might live. Come with your grace and live among us. Come and bring us all home to be with you. Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

At Just the Right Time

Encore Post: Time is a funny thing. We use clocks that measure the vibrations of atoms, coordinated with telescopes to record its passage with great precision and consistency from place to place, transmit them to us via computers, satellites, radio, television and other digital signals and synchronize our clocks with them. We barely notice that time is a human thing — except on leap year or when we change our clocks twice a year or move from time zone to time zone.

Time is the way we record the change we notice more and more with each year of life. Time passes quickly. When you are a child, an hour drags on forever. As an adult, it passes before your realize it. What is important, our culture has noticed, is not time itself, but what you do with it. It has become our new currency. We sooner will write a check than hang out.

The Greek of the New Testament has two different words for time. καιρός (Chairos) translates roughly “the right time.” χρόνος (Chronos) is about the passage of time, minute after minute, hour after hour, year after year. Seasons like Advent, days like Christmas and New Years Day are χρόνος, times that we plan for, come and go, forming a part of the rhythm of life. That Christmas when you opened your first present is καιρός

The fullness of time when God sent his son, born of a virgin, is God’s καιρός (Galatians 4:4-5). His acts and plans unfolded slowly, one building on another, leading to just that right time. The next big καιρός is the Second Advent, when time itself will come to an end in God’s eternal life with his people.

The persons, events and institutions leading to that first right time, the incarnation, life, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of Immanuel — God-with-us — were called by the Early Church the praeparatio Evangelii (The Preparation of the Gospel).

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Stir up Sunday

Encore Post: In the Anglican Church’s Book of Common Prayer, the collects for the last Sunday of the Church Year and three of the four sundays of Advent begin with the words “Stir up …” In England, where the mix for Christmas Pudding needed to cure for weeks, hearing the words of the collect reminded households to stir up the Christmas pudding! So they nicknamed the Sunday “Stir up Sunday.”

Lutheran Churches do not use the first collect, perhaps because it is kind of works-righteous. But we do use the three Advent Collects. They are:

First Sunday of Advent: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance;

Second Sunday of Advent: Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds;

Fourth Sunday of Advent: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy;

The three prayers summarize the themes of Advent. We call on God to come, knowing he has come in the person of his Son, comes to us each day by the Holy Spirit and will come to us on the last day. But our prayers make his coming our own in a special way. the Spirit and the Bride say to us Come! They invite us also to say Come! to God’s children lost and found. They call on us to say, Come Lord Jesus. And so we do in Advent.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Word #9: Christian

Encore Post: The oldest and most universal name for the Church is “Christian.” In fact, followers of Jesus were first called “Christian” by Gentiles in the city of Antioch — as recorded by St. Luke in the Book of Acts! (Acts 11:26) It was not a complement. The followers of crazy new religions were called by their founder’s name — with the -ian ending! In fact, most of them probably thought the disciples of Jesus were followers of a man named “Chrestus” — a popular name for a slave. Christians seemed to have called themselves “slaves of Jesus Christ” (that’s what the phrase translated “servants of Jesus Christ” really means!), brothers, holy ones (saints) or disciples. Eventually, the nickname stuck when it was used by Romans to charge Christians with believing in Jesus Christ. Since it was good enough for the martyrs, it was good enough for everyone!

Today we use it in a variety of ways. We use it for a follower of Christ, the religion they belong to, a behavior in keeping with the word of God, political parties and many other ways. As fine a word as it is, sometimes it can be quite useless. For example, Mormons, who believe that God was a man and that we, too, can earn god or goddess-hood, Jehovah’s Witnesses, who do not believe Jesus is God or died on the cross, and many others call themselves Christian. In fact, Social Scientists count them along with us. People who have never darkened the door of a church will count themselves as Christians, because they believe they are “good people.”

Yet we confess that we believe in the “one, holy, Christian and Apostolic Church.” For all the false claims and misleading uses of the word, we are proud to “belong to Christ.” After all, he loved us, set aside his glory, suffered and died for us, paying the price of our sins, rose again to break the seal of the grave for us and, in baptism, made us his own. So we fight for the term and gladly wear his name — the name the martyrs confessed and died to proclaim. Lord, may we follow in their train!

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

Blog Post Series

Church Words #8: Apostolic

Encore Post: “I believe in one Holy, Christian and Apostolic Church,” we confess when we recite the Nicene Creed in worship. Most Christians understand what we mean when we say, “one Holy, Christian..,” but what do we mean by Apostolic?

As you might suspect, the word comes from the word Apostle (Greek: ἀπόστολος, someone sent out, an ambassador). Jesus appointed twelve apostles. After the Ascension, the eleven surviving apostles appointed Matthias to take the place of Judas. Jesus appeared personally to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus to appoint him also as an apostle. We call the Church “Apostolic” because it is built upon the teaching of the disciples, which we have today in the books of the New Testament. So, to say the Church is Apostolic is to say that it is built upon the Bible — the foundation of the prophets and apostles, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:19-20)

The Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Anglican (Episcopal) traditions see it differently. For them, the phrase means that the Church is shepherded by the spiritual descendants of the apostles. This is called apostolic succession. When a pastor or bishop is ordained, the pastors present place their hands on the candidate and bless him. This ancient tradition confirms to all present that God has set aside the man to serve as a pastor. There is an unbroken line of pastors laying hands upon new pastors stretching back to the Apostles themselves.

Since the Scriptures do not teach this concept, Lutherans do not attach any sacramental value to ordination and this laying on of hands. We continue the practice, although we do not require the presence of a Bishop to make the ordination valid. We find it to be a meaningful symbol of support from one generation of Pastors to the next and a witness to the fact of the pastor’s call.

So, when we confess that the Church is Apostolic, we commit ourselves to the Holy Scripture. We pledge to believe, teach and confess what it proclaims to us. In doing so, we remain in fellowship with the whole church of all times and places..

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

Blog Post Series

Church Word #7: Congregation

Encore Post: From the very beginning of the church, Christians gathered together to read scripture, sing the praises of God, hear their pastors preach and celebrate the Lord’s Supper. This should not surprise us — Jews had been doing that for centuries — beginning sometime during the Babylonian Exile. Those gatherings became known in Greek as συναγωγή — Synagogues — meaning “to lead, gather together; assemble.” The New Testament calls these groups ἐκκλησία — churches — literally to be called up (to assemble). The Greeks used the word for civil assemblies and the calling up of militias. The word “Congregation” is the Latin translation of these words and means “to gather together.”

The church continued to worship after the pattern of the synagogue, with two exceptions — they met for worship on the Lord’s Day (Sunday) and not the Sabbath (Saturday) because it was the day on which Christ rose from the dead. They also added readings from the Gospels and letters from the Apostles and other respected leaders. These are the books that would be very quickly (for the most part) recognized as Holy Scripture along with the Old Testament.

For the first generation of Missouri Synod leaders, the distinction between the local congregation and the universal church was crucial. They used the German word Gemeinde only for a local church and the word Kirche for the universal church. They deliberately did not call their church body a church. They called it a Synode — a Synod.

Why were they so picky? Because most of the action in God’s kingdom is not done in Church Bodies, which get most of the press, but in the local congregation. They represent the universal Church, the invisible Church. In behalf of the Church, congregations baptize, teach the Word of God, celebrate the Lord’s Supper, use the Office of the Keys to forgive and retain sins and extend God’s call to men to exercise the Office of the Holy Ministry and other church workers to support it. The work of synods are done as local congregations band together to do things no one can do alone.

Congregations are much more than social clubs or private charities. They are God’s kingdom on earth, proclaiming the gospel and giving his gifts to all. In them, the lost get to meet Jesus and through the word preached by them, people are saved. So come! God is waiting to meet you — and we are too!

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

Blog Post Series

Church Word #5: Evangelical

Encore Post: The phrase “Evangelical Lutheran” may sound strange to your ears. When you think of the word “Evangelical,” you think of Baptists, revivals, altar calls, accepting Jesus as your personal Savior, the rapture and many similar notions, measures and cultural traditions. Like F. C. D. Wyneken, you might think: “I don’t know whether it is of God or the Devil, but it is certainly not Lutheran!” You’d be right! This kind of evangelicalism is not Lutheran at all.

You might be surprised that Lutherans actually coined the word “Evangelical.” It comes from the New Testament Greek word: εὐαγγελίον (euangelion, evangel) It means “good message, good news” — the gospel! At first, Lutherans did not call themselves “Lutheran” at all. Their enemies made that term up to suggest that Lutherans were not catholic or orthodox, but were heretics. Lutherans wanted to be known as gospel-oriented. Their faith was founded on the teaching that salvation is by faith alone through the grace of God alone, for Christ’s sake alone. For centuries they preferred to be called Evangelical — and until the 1800s, when someone in Europe used the name Evangelical, Evangelisch, they meant Lutheran.

Like the word “Protestant,” which also used to mean Lutheran, other non-Catholics really liked the sound of the word. Many of them also cherish the gospel of salvation by the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross. They even like the phrase: “salvation by grace or faith alone.” So, even though they believe very different things than Lutherans do, they call themselves Evangelical. Since there are a lot more Christians of this tradition than Lutherans, they are the people that come to mind when people say “Evangelical.”

Unlike the word “Protestant,” however, Lutherans refuse to give up this word, because it summarizes what we believe so well. So, you will notice, we put the word in our church names, include it in our Baptism and Confirmation services and at other times. For the Good News is that it is not God’s will that sinners like us perish forever. So in the person of Jesus Christ, our Lord, he set aside all his power and authority, was born a man in the womb of Mary, bore our sins on the cross, paid their price by his suffering and death and rose again so that our sins might be forgiven, we might rise on the last day from the grave and live with him forever. All that packed into the simple word, “Evangelical.” So we use it proudly, but add the word “Lutheran” to keep from being confused with others.

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

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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