Prayer – 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

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©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 #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

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

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

You’re No Angel: Things Angels are Not

Encore Post: Beautiful young women in long, flowing white gowns, with big, downy wings, with a glowing, gold halo. A chubby, winged baby. The spirits of deceased Christians, also bearing wings and a halo, carrying a harp, floating on clouds. Images like these fill our pictures, movies, TV shows and songs. Yet none of these are real nor share much in common with God’s Holy Angels. They are very different creatures and are not mild, gentle beings. They are God’s Heavenly Army, powerful and, when they appear, command respect.

First of all, angels are not people. They are spirits created by God to serve him. (Hebrews 1) Christians do not become angels when they die. Our spirits are unnaturally separated from our bodies at death — bodies which decay. But we do not remain in that state. On the last day, God will raise our bodies from the dead and reunite our spirits with them.

Angels are powerful beings, sometimes tasked with battling Satan and his demons (these are fallen angelic creatures). They guard us, plead for us before the throne of God and stand in his eternal presence. When they appear to people, they so often inspire fear that almost always their first words to humans are “fear not.” Some of God’s people are even tempted when they appear to fall down in worship. Scripture even poetically refers to them as gods.

Unlike the popular TV series and movies, angels are not like humans with flaws, prone to temptation and sin. Good angels are now eternally sinless, having been tested by Lucifer’s rebellion. They have a perfect knowledge of God. While they always take the form of a male human when they appear to humans, they never marry. They also are not young, having existed since before the fall of Adam and Eve, nor are they ever female. The scriptures do not mention halos (these are put into medieval art to draw eyes to images of holy people and beings, especially in stained glass) and only describe angels with wings when referring to seraphim and cherubim).

Most importantly, they ministered to Jesus during his earthly ministry. Angels are used by God to draw us to Jesus. On our last day and the last day, they will escort us to the throne of God, where we will live with God forever. So we thank God for the ministry of Angels and sing with them his praises, both here on earth and forever.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Stay with Us, Lord, for it is Evening

Encore Post: Today, our Easter celebration of the resurrection is filled with joy. White paraments, flowers and banners decorate our churches. Well-practiced organs, choirs and musical instruments of all kinds add to our song. After all, we know the story and how it ends. Jesus is risen!

The first Easter was quite different. Reports from women close to Jesus reported visions of angels and of the Lord himself. The disciples didn’t know what to think. The five accounts of that day show the confusion. (Matthew 28:1-15, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-49, John 20:1-23, 1 Corinthians 15:3-5) Different people were running all over the place and each story is its own. One thing was for sure. The tomb was empty.

The first Sunday afternoon, two disciples were on the road home and were very unsettled. Could it be true? Was the Lord really risen from the dead? Jesus appeared to them, but did not reveal himself to them. As they walked to Emmaus, Jesus showed them how the Old Testament pointed to him and that he had to suffer, die, and rise again from the dead. They invited him to stay with them for the evening. As they ate dinner, Jesus blessed bread, broke it and gave it to them. They recognized him. He immediately vanished.

These two disciples immediately went back to Jerusalem to report to the disciples what had happened. There, they learned Jesus had appeared to Peter. As they were talking about this, Jesus removed all doubt. He appeared to them, ate some food to show them he was not a ghost, but had risen from the dead, body and soul. He then blessed the Apostles and gave them the power to forgive and retain sins.

When life gets confusing and we do not know what to do, Jesus comes to us in his word. Even though we do not see him, he is always with us. When we pray, “stay with us, Lord,” he does. We are never alone, even until the end of time itself.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

My God, My God Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Encore Post: Good Friday is the most somber day in the Church Year. On this day, the price of our sin is paid out in full — by God Himself. The ancient plan for our salvation had been unfolding for thousands of years. The descendant of Eve, of Noah, of Abraham and of David was born to the Virgin Mary. The Son of God, the Author of Life himself, became one of us. At the Jordan River, he made holy the waters of Baptism and took on himself the sins of the world. On Mt. Zion, ancient Mt. Moriah, where the Angel of the Lord stayed the hand of Abraham, God’s Son, His only Son, whom he loves, was condemned to die as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Sentenced by Pilate, he began his final suffering and was nailed to the cross. Even as he began to die, the forgiving began — first of those who killed him and then of a thief on a nearby cross.

The greatest mystery of all came at the height of his suffering. The Eternal Son of God cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) in the language of his boyhood. We should not be surprised that we cannot understand this profound moment. Yet we know a few things for sure. We know this very moment was revealed in detail in the Scripture itself. Jesus’ words are a quotation of his father David in Psalm 22, written a thousand years before. We know Jesus felt abandoned by God. His prayers unanswered and alone show he shares fully our humanity. He is like us in every way, which is why his sacrifice for us is possible. We know that it is our sin he paid for on the cross and that price is unimaginably high. We are moved as we extinguish one light after another, remembering the depth of his suffering.

Yet this is not the last word we hear from the suffering of our Lord. As he died, he said, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) Sin was atoned for, the power of the Devil defeated and the seal of the grave soon to be broken. Jesus knew the Father had not abandoned him. He once again quoted his father David in Psalm 31, “into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46) and entered his three-day rest in the tomb.

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Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sunday School: Angel in the Temple

Encore Post: Four Hundred years had passed since the prophet Malachi spoke to God’s people. God had been silent all those years, but had not been idle. Now an elderly priest named Zechariah was chosen to burn incense in the Holy Place of the temple, right outside the Holy of Holies. The Angel Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God himself appeared to Zechariah to announce the miraculous birth of a son. He was to be named John (God’s gift) and would fulfill Malachi’s last prophecy to send a herald to prepare the way of the Messiah. The last time this angel appeared, he brought dreams to Daniel.

You’d think Zechariah, who should have known better, would accept the news that he would have a son with joy. Yet that, like Abraham, he would have a child in his old age, when he was barren, was too much. Gabriel punished him by taking his voice until the day his son was to be circumcised.

When John was born, his relatives asked Zachariah what name to give his son. Zechariah wrote on a Roman wax tablet, “His name is John.” Then the silence of God was broken. Zechariah prophesied about the coming salvation and the role his son would play. We sing this prophecy in the liturgy of morning prayer. It is called the Benedictus. This old priest was, therefore, the second last prophet of the Old Testament. His son, who we know as John the Baptist, would be the last and greatest.

John the Baptist had almost all the credentials to be the Messiah. His Father was a priest, descended from Aaron. His mother was related to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and so descended from King David. Gabriel the Archangel announced his birth in the temple, while his father was offering the prayers of the people to God. Both of his parents were very old, like Abraham and Sarah, and barren, like Hannah, the mother of Samuel. God named him in the same way he named Isaac and changed Jacob’s name to Israel. The angel announced he would come in the spirit and power of Elijah, one of the greatest prophets. Yet from the very start, he and his parents understood John was not the Messiah, but the one who would reveal him to the world and prepare the way for him.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Sunday School: Daniel and the Lions

Encore post: Daniel lived a long and remarkable life. As a young man, he was carried off into exile by the Babylonians. Because he showed remarkable leadership skills, King Nebuchadnezzar brought him into the court. He lived a long life in the service of Babylon, living until the Persians conquered the empire. He continued to serve the Persians.

Daniel was an honorable official and fell victim to politics in the top ranks of the Persian Empire. His enemies got a law passed that Daniel could not keep. (Daniel 6) The law required that no one pray to any god other than the king for thirty days. Even though he knew the law, Daniel continued his custom of praying three times a day, facing Jerusalem, giving thanks to God. His enemies turned him in to King Darius, who, even though he was Daniel’s friend and didn’t want to condemn him, ordered him thrown to the lions.

Being above reproach, Daniel did not respond as many politicians in his day and those in government even to this day. He did not retaliate, but allowed his innocence to speak for him. Having been thrown to the lions, God rewarded Daniel’s trust and faithfulness by sending an angel to protect his servant. When the king saw Daniel was still alive, he restored Daniel and had his enemies thrown to the lions.

Daniel has become a model for civil service for Christians. His example of faith was praised by the writer of the book of Hebrews, along with his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He shows us the way to love God and serve our nation as well.

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

Sunday School King Hezekiah and the Assyrian Siege

Encore Post: Prior to King Josiah, there was another king who followed in the commandments of of the Lord. His name was Hezekiah. His story is covered in 2 Kings 18-20. There, the author of Kings tells us that Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, cutting down the Asherah poles. He recognized the idolatry which ran rampant among the people. Judah was actually bowing down before the bronze serpent that Moses made in the wilderness! Hezekiah broke it into pieces. He was zealous for proper worship of the Lord.

Hezekiah was king of Judah during the Assyrian destruction of the northern kingdom. After Israel’s defeat, Judah was on high alert. The largest superpower was knocking on their door. And Assyria was a promised instrument of the Lord to exact judgment on His people.

The Rabeshakeh, that is a spokesman for the king of Assyria, spoke to Hezekiah, telling him that no god had saved the other surrounding countries. So, would Hezekiah’s God save Judah? The king of Assyria, Sennacherib, speaks of himself as a god, able to give a land that is good as if not better than what God had promised to the people of Israel way back in his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and again to the people as they were coming into the Promised Land.

Hezekiah, though afraid of the impending doom for Jerusalem, does what a faithful Christian ought to do in time of distress. He spoke with Lord’s servant Isaiah and inquires of the Lord with prayer. God has been mocked in the speech of Sennachrib, and Hezekiah pleads that God hears it. He does and gives peace to Hezekiah, promising that Sennachrib will die by the sword in his own land.

Isaiah 37 records for us what happens to the Assyrian army. The Angel of the Lord struck the army and 185,000 died that night. The Lord preserved Hezekiah and Jerusalem for the time being.

We learn from Hezekiah to rely on God alone when we are in distress as well as times of plenty. Isaiah the prophet and this story of Jerusalem being under siege tells us to rely on God, who gives us our daily bread. For he also gives us the blessed forgiveness of sins in the saving work of Jesus on the cross who took upon the siege of the devil at the cross and won for us the true promised land, the promise of the new heaven and new earth that is to come.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana