Ecclesiology – Page 2 – What Does This Mean?

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

©2019-2024 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

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

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

Church and State Relations

The State, as we learned, is to wield the sword and keep rampant evil and sin at bay. The Church is given to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

So, how do we citizens of the State and the Church fit into both categories? What ought we be doing? The answer, I believe, comes through vocation.

One vocation that we all have is being citizen of the State. This vocation is informed by the many others we have, as well as the Word of God, especially the vocation that comes from being baptized into Christ. Each vocation places duties on us, and the Small Catechism gives us a small picture into some of those duties. Peter in his first letter reminds us to honor all, even the Emperor.

Christ our Lord says in the Gospel of John, be in the world but not of the world. And Paul also reminds us that our citizenship truly lies in heaven. But we aren’t in heaven yet, but we live in that hope. We are here in the world to serve our neighbor through our various vocations, and that includes the State and our government leaders. The Church is in the unique position to inform the State of God’s law and gospel.

We are even given the command that when the state compels us by law to do something against the Lord’s will, we are to obey God rather than men. The Church has a voice in the public sphere, particularly to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How else will the citizens of the state receive the grace of God? Certainly, they will not see that grace from the State. That is not the State’s job or purpose.

What do we do as citizens of the State? We desire peace and prosperity. We pray for our government leaders in our worship services, even those we don’t agree with politically. We pray that the Lord God use them to fulfill their vocation as leaders and give us a peaceful and quiet life that allows us to worship our God and Savior Jesus Christ without fear.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp

Christ Lutheran Church

Noblesville, Indiana

The Church and the State

Encore Post: The Church and State have always had an interesting relationship at least here in the U.S.A. And if we look across the pond to Europe, the history is even more blurry because for the longest time the Church and the State were essentially working together. The Holy Roman Empire, for instance, was given that name because of its connections to the Holy Roman Catholic Church. The Pope actually was the one who crowned the emperor. Hence, Luther and the Lutheran Confessions dealt with both the Emperor and the Pope during the time of the Reformation. The Church and State went hand in hand, so it seemed.

However, that is not necessarily always a good thing. St. Paul tells us that the Church and the State serve two distinctly different purposes. The State was given to curb evil and violence. The State wields the sword. You could say that they help people follow and enforce the first use of the Law. The State (government) keeps its citizens from committing rampant sin against other civilians and even themselves.

The Church has the purpose of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world. The Church has no use for the sword in this endeavor. Rather, the Church’s weapon of choice is her pastors’ voices proclaiming the Word of God to sinful men and women in the world. That means the Church is to inform the people, even the leaders of the State, of their sin and proclaim to them forgiveness of their sins in and through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

This post begins a series about the State and Church relationship and we will explore a bit more how we as Christians can and should pray and inform the policies of the State as well as when the State makes us Christians do things that are against our deeply held beliefs and conscience.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp

Christ Lutheran Church

Noblesville, Indiana

Worship is About God’s Gifts to You

Encore Post: In most churches, worship is about what Christians do to glorify God. It is about praying, giving contributions to support the work of the Church, singing your song, and dedicating yourself to follow Jesus. Lutherans understand worship as all about what God gives to us — Absolution, God’s Word read, sung by us and preached to us, and the Sacraments, especially the Lord’s Supper, where Jesus gives us his body to eat with bread and his blood to drink with wine. In these gifts, his means of grace, mysteriously, God places and strengthens faith in our hearts, gives us the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. We sing his praises, pray to him at his invitation, and offer the sacrifice of our lives to thank him for these gifts.

So, worship really is not about us — it is about God’s gifts. God invites us to gather together the same way that our mothers and fathers gathered for dinner. When we call us to eat a well-prepared, delicious feast, we don’t say “Do I have to eat it?” or “But we just had a big dinner last week!” We get up and hurry to receive this wonderful gift of our host’s love and enjoy the time together with those we love.

So, the question we should ask ourselves and each other is not: “Do we have to go to church?” but really is “Do we get to go to church?” The Lord and Creator of the Universe is coming to church. He is the same Jesus who loved us so much that he became one of us, suffered, died and rose again so that he could give us his gifts, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. So, let’s go and unwrap them!

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2018-2024 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

The Colorful End of the Church Year

Encore post: Fall brings changing colors to landscapes in northern areas of the United States. Green leaves change to a breathtaking variety of red, orange, yellow and brown. People will drive miles to just take in all in. The beauty of it all brings out praise of God for his creation.

In Lutheran Churches, colors change in the sanctuary almost weekly during late October and early November as the church marks the last weeks of ordinary time. This time begins with red paraments for Reformation Day, celebrated on the nearest Sunday before October 31. Red is the color used for the Holy Spirit and his work and martyrdom.

The color soon changes to white for All Saints’ Sunday, celebrated the Sunday after November 1, All Saints’ Day. White is the color of the resurrection, celebration and the saints, who wash their robes white in the Blood of the Lamb.

The next week or two, the color returns to the green of Pentecost or Trinity season (the name depends on how your church counts the Sundays of ordinary time) Green is the color of life and growth. It is also used in Epiphany Season.

The theme for the last three Sundays of the church year is preparation for the Second Advent of Christ. In fact, in some lectionaries, the Sundays are referred to as the Third-Last Sunday, Second-Last Sunday and the Last Sunday of the Church year. Some churches call the last Sunday the Sunday of the Fulfillment or Christ the King Sunday. Some churches change color to white.

Finally, the new church year begins with a change to the color blue or purple for the season of Advent and the beginning of a new church year. Purple is the color of repentance and is traditionally used for Lent — where the church fasts to receive Jesus as the Son of God and Son of Mary. Blue is the color of hope and used more recently, where Advent is celebrated as a season of joy.

One more color change happens in some churches (to white) in the United States for Thanksgiving Day, which is the celebration of the good gifts God has given to us and our thanks to him for these blessings.

Enjoy this season of meditation, joy, expectation and hope as we consider the various blessing Jesus has given and will give to us because of his love for us, shown by his incarnation, sufferings, death, resurrection, ascension and soon return in glory.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2018-2023 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

Last Things 7G: Stay Awake! Don’t Close Your Eyes!

Encore Post: Even with the effects of the fall, the world can be very sweet, pleasant and beautiful. When God finished creating the world, he stood back, looked it all over and said, “very good.” (Genesis 1:31) Even after sin entered the world, bringing with it death, sorrow, grief, pain, disease and the disaster, the hand of the creator is present everywhere. Breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, seashore views and gentile, warm breezes, mountain valleys and peaks all speak to us of his majesty. Even cloud patterns before a storm cause us to admire his majesty. There is the pleasure of the presence of loved ones, holding your child or grandchild for the first time.

Life is very precious to us. It absorbs us in planning, working towards goals, saving, dreaming and enjoying the many gifts God gives to us. We deal as best as we can with the tragedies of life, but there are long stretches of time when we think it will never end. We forget that this world — and more to the point — our world is passing away. We go to sleep spiritually. The work that God calls us to do, especially to witness to the Good News of salvation in Jesus, doesn’t seem quite so important. When sports tournaments are held on Sunday, we skip worship to watch our kids compete. We put care for the poor, contributing to the work of the church with our resources and time second, we put off uncomfortable conversations with loved ones who wander from the faith.

Yet it is very much at times like these that our Lord will return for us. He will do so suddenly, without warning, the way that the flood came in the day of Noah, the way the sudden attacks on Pearl Harbor Day and 9/11 came. It may be at the end of time or at the end of our time. So it is that Jesus calls on us to stay awake! We remember that he came at the fullness of time, lived the perfect life for us, suffered and died for us, rose again for us and ascended to prepare a place for us. And so we set the watch, day and night, knowing that he is coming for us. In the meantime, we work, for the day in short and the time is coming when we cannot work. All the while, we pray: come, Lord Jesus, Come!

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things #14: The Missing Millennium

Encore Post: Called the “Jewish opinion” by the Lutheran Confessions, the belief in a Millennium comes from a face value reading of Old Testament prophecy and poetry about the Church or about eternal life with God after the Second Advent. It also treats the Book of Revelation, written in a symbolic code called apocalyptic, in a similar way. By doing so, it uses difficult to understand passages to complicate the very clear words of Jesus, Peter, Paul and other New Testament writers. It is the view of the Pharisees that caused them to rule out Jesus as the Messiah, because he did not intend to battle the Romans and to miss that the Scriptures pointed to the birth, life, sufferings, death and Resurrection of the Son of God.

The word itself comes from Revelation 20, where the reign of Christ through in his church is described as 1000 years. This number is not a literal 1000 years, but is Jewish numerology. The number ten meant to them perfection and when multiplied three times, the number of God, it means when everything is completed. It points to our times when the Gospel has reached every corner of the earth.

While it may seem harmless to believe such things, it detracts from the what Christ has commanded us in order to read every event, looking for the return of Christ. Instead, we should be ready, as Jesus instructs us, making disciples of all nations by baptizing and teaching them, knowing he is with us always.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2018, 2023 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com