What Does This Mean?

The Treasure of Absolution

[Fifty-Eighth in a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism] Encore Post: In the Lutheran faith of the Reformation, we have the Absolution*. Like nose-blindness by the baker in his kitchen, we don’t always hear it with great joy. The spoken words of forgiveness are the sweetest sound in the ears of a Christian.

* (This post was inspired by a comment from Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller at his presentation for the Lutheran Writer Round-Up at Faith Lutheran High School of Central Texas on 09 Feb 2024)

“What is confession?” Confession has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is forgiveness, from the pastor as from God himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven. (SC 5.1)

For the Romanists (Roman Catholics, Eastern Rite Catholics, Western Rite Orthodox, and the like) absolution exists privately. The penitent must confess. Also, there’s an exchange rate. (Contrition + Penance = a Narrow Absolution) The absolution in this exchange is only available for the specific sins confessed and only if the penance is done correctly. It’s limited. It’s uncertain.

Evangelicals (Baptists, Reformed, Anabaptists, and the like) flatly reject verbal absolution. They’ll sometimes pop off, “only God can forgive sin.” This position doesn’t stand up against scripture as cited at the end of this article. They have strong preaching and teaching of forgiveness. But, there’s no actual delivery. Worse, there’s a limited forgiveness for the “saved.” The concept of “backsliding” and the practice of rebaptism flow from that limitation of God’s grace.

Episcopalians & Anglicans, who lean heavily towards Rome, have a thing like the public absolution. Their assurance of forgiveness is not an actual absolution. Without verbally forgiving sin, the certainty is taken away.

The Enthusiasts (Pentecostals, Holiness Churches, AME Churches, and the like) look inside themselves for assurance. Their certainty rests upon feeling forgiven and demonstrating a zeal in the faith. Without emotional zeal and a feeling of forgiveness, there’s only hopelessness or uncertainty. With the internal zeal, there’s just pride.

Progressive Christians (including many denominations, but encompassing the whole of the ELCA) live in a psycho-social theology. Internally, they’ll embrace a notion that I just have to “Forgive myself.” Externally, they’ll reject the details of God’s Law, citing unkindness, racism, or colonialism. For the progressive, there is a new Law with ever changing names (Political Correctness, Progressivism, Critical Theory, Wokeness, or whatever term comes next). Forgiveness for me, but not for thee. Or, I don’t even need forgiveness. Like the medieval saintly system, the New Law only accepts penance/atonement by you. Set things right by being an ally and fighting the close-minded Christians.

Naturally, the pagans (Muslims, Jews, Mormons, Polytheists, Spiritualists, and the like) don’t get it either. They are trying to balance the scales even harder. Only Christianity features a God who comes to us. Only in the Lutheran church do we find the absolution spoken for you. Pastor speaks as he is commanded in the stead and by the command of Jesus. Yes, a man can forgive sins.

Pastor doesn’t forgive by his own power, ability, or volition. He does it in the stead and by the command of God. He’s following orders given, like a servant does. “When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.’” (John 20:22-23) “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18)

Pastors, faithful pastors, Lutheran pastors, forgive the sins of penitent sinners. It’s an inescapable demand of their office. God has given us this gift for our certainty, confidence, and comfort.

That’s forgiveness you can hear.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

What is Absolution?

Encore Post: [Fifty-Seventh in a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism] Lutherans cherish absolution as a way that the forgiveness of sins won by Jesus on the cross is applied to Christians when they confess their sins. It is a form of the preaching of the Gospel, which takes what God has promised to all who believe in him and announces it to specific individuals. All Christians may assure their brothers and sisters that their sins are forgiven, but ordinarily it is pastors who hear the confession of sins and pronounce the forgiveness of sins to specific individuals or congregations. This is done for the sake of good order and for the assurance of troubled souls that their sins are really forgiven. Pastors are men that God calls through a local congregation to preach the Gospel and administer the sacraments on their behalf and as a instrument of their Lord Jesus.

The form that Lutheran pastors use to absolve sins sounds odd to many Protestants and even offensive to some. Yet they do so at the command of Jesus, who instituted absolution and gave the church the power to forgive sins or retain them. (Matthew 18:18-20, John 20:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:19-21) This power Jesus gives is called by theologians the Office of the Keys.

Confession and Absolution comes in two forms: Private Confession and General Confession. Private Confession is available, especially when you commit a sin that you cannot shake, that Satan uses to accuse you and that you feel God cannot possibly forgive. When he is ordained, a pastor promises before God that he will never reveal what is confessed to him — even to his wife. This seal of the confessional is absolute, unless the person who confesses the sin releases the pastor of the obligation. When you share the deepest of your sins and the pastor forgives you, you can be at rest. Jesus promised you can believe this as if he himself spoke these words — because it is Jesus who is speaking through your pastor. (Luke 10:16)

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Why Confess Your Sins?

Encore Post: [Fifty-Sixth in a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism] After the Sacrament of Holy Baptism in Luther’s Small Catechism, we find the section on Confession. Pastors get the question from time to time: “Why do we keep confessing our sins? Especially if we are baptized?” Confession is the natural extension of our Baptism because in Confession and Absolution, we are brought back to the promises of our Baptism. Think back to the 3rd and 4th parts of Baptism. While we died with Christ in baptism, we still live in the body of sinful flesh. Only when we die do we stop sinning.

Sin is a fearful thing. And continuing to sin even after our baptism can catch up to us. Continuing to sin without sign of contrition/repentance can lead a person to walk away from their Baptismal Identity and lose their faith. Confessing our sins is needed, even after Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and strengthening of our faith.

In Confession we hear plainly God’s two words: Law and Gospel. He is the One who has given us the ten commandments. He is the one who tells that we have fallen short of his glory due to our sins. But, He is also the One who promises us that even though we are sinners, He does love us and forgives us on account of the only begotten Son. He made that clear at our Baptism, but if we don’t hear the words of absolution spoken by Pastor in the stead and mandate of Christ we tend to forget God’s love for us in Christ.

There are some Christians who say that the Pastor cannot say, “You are forgiven.” But Christ our Lord commands his apostles to speak the forgiveness of sins to those men and women who repent of their sins. Confession of sins leads us to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Pastors are in the unique situation to be the very people that God uses to speak this truth to the repentant sinner. They are also the ones who are called to retain the sins of the unrepentant.

Our Lord searches us out, and calls us to the promise He made at our Baptism again. He does not want us to forget our baptism, so he speaks tenderly the same word to us each time we come to Him to confess our sins.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jacob Hercamp

Christ Lutheran Church

Noblesville, Indiana

Blog Post Series

The Trial Before Pilate

The Roman system of law was not much different from ours, kind of a cross between our Grand Jury, Indictment and trial system and a general court-supreme court model. A local court would take on most of the infractions, would look at the evidence when it comes to serious matters and return a charge for the Roman court where necessary. The gathering at the High Priest’s home was much like a grand jury, the Sanhedrin, meeting in the outer courts of the temple, the lower court that brought the formal charges and Pilate’s court the high tribunal.

Pilate was an able, competent and experienced Prefect — a military governor — who had ruled Palestine mostly successfully for over thirty years. The Jewish people were notoriously unruly, requiring occasionally violent suppression from time to time. There were a few incidents where the leaders of the Jews set traps for him, resulting in reprimands from Rome.

When the Sanhedrin came with Jesus, he knew immediately that it was for envy that they charged him. He first tried to shift it back to them, only to be told that only he could judge Jesus, because Jesus was worthy of death. He next sent him to Herod, who was hoping Jesus would entertain him, but Jesus didn’t play along. So, it was back to Pilate.

After questioning Jesus, and hearing from his wife that she had been warned in a dream, Pilate was convinced that Jesus was innocent. So, Pilate offered to release a revolutionary, Barabbas, to them or Jesus. They shouted for Barabbas.

Pilate was still ready to release Jesus, repeating he found Jesus innocent. When, however, the Sanhedrin threatened to report him to Caesar, he gave in and allowed Jesus to be crucified.

He washed his hands, saying he would have nothing to do with it. That really did not work. Every Sunday, we confess Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate.

We are tempted to blame him, seeing he killed a man he knew to be innocent to save his skin. We are tempted to blame the Jewish leaders, for it was they who accused Jesus and assumed responsibility for his death.

But in the end, it was not Pilate, not the Jewish leaders, but Jesus, who is responsible for his death. He told Pilate as much when he said Pilate would have no authority if it wasn’t given to him. It is why he became a man in the womb of the Virgin Mary in the first place. It was he who bowed to his Father’s will, knowing full well he would bear the sins of the whole world to the cross.

Why would Jesus be condemned to die, then? It is because of my sins, because of your sins and the sins of all God’s children. He loved us before the creation of the world, was not willing to be parted from us for all eternity. Someone had to die and only God was innocent enough and man mortal enough to do it. So, he came, the Lamb of God, to take away the sins of the world. He set his face towards Jerusalem and went to his death, for you and for me. So, in this Lent, and always, when we are tempted to downplay our sins, God invites us to consider the cost, repent of them and receive from Jesus the forgiveness he earned for us that first Good Friday.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

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

About Accepting Jesus as your Personal Savior

Encore Post: Our evangelical brothers and sisters in Christ are all about making a decision for Christ. They will often ask, “Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Savior?” Such a question sounds strange to Lutherans, along with the similar question, “are you born again?” The reason is Lutherans believe these are really the wrong questions. Why? Because Jesus sought us, found us, saved us by his suffering and death, accepted us in baptism and gave new birth in it by water and the Holy Spirit. So, yes, thank you, I am born again, but no, I did not accept Jesus as my personal Savior. He accepted me and made me God’s child and his brother. There is nothing more personal than that.

I once was asked by someone if I could study all the Bible passages with him that talk about accepting Jesus as Savior. My answer was no, because there are no such passages. In fact, if you go through the Bible looking for people who were lost and sought God, you will find very few. Think about it for a moment: God made Adam and Eve. When they sinned, he came and found them. He went to Noah and told him to build the ark. He found Abraham and told him to leave home, promising to give him a son. He came to Jacob when the patriarch ran away and wrestled with him. He called to Samuel in the night. He sent Samuel to find and anoint David. Almost every book of the words of the prophets begins with: “and the word of God came to…” We don’t seek God, he seeks us out.

Why is this? We were dead in our sins. (Ephesians 2:1-3) As the saying goes, “Dead men tell no tales.” As Martin Luther says it, “I cannot by my own reason or strength, believe in my Lord Jesus Christ or come to him.” (Small Catechism 2.3) Because he loved us, he is gracious to us. He was moved in Christ Jesus to become one of us, live a perfect life for us, take our sins upon himself and die on the cross for us. It is by this grace we are saved, through his gift to us of faith.

In a sense, we can talk about decision theology, then. God decided to save us. He is our personal savior, because he made it so. We will live with him forever because of this. We can rest in the peace this brings, confident that he will remove every sin from us one day, the day he calls us forth from our graves and dries every tear in our eyes.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

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

Baptized into Christ’s Body

Encore Post: Fifty-Fifth in a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism] Baptism connects us with Christ. We are united with him in his death and when he rose from the dead; we rise with him. That is about as personal a relationship as we can get. Yet there is more. When we are united with Christ, we are also made a part of his body, the Church. We now have brothers and sisters in Christ with whom we will live forever.

When Jesus gave his final instructions to his apostles, he commanded them to make disciples from all peoples, baptizing them and teaching them. (Matthew 28:18-20) When we were baptized, we were put into Christ’s body, one of many members. God knew we would need each other and so bound us together. (1 Corinthians 12:12-27) In this one body, we are united by the Holy Spirit. We have one Lord, one hope, one faith and one God and Father of us all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

For this reason, the church ordinarily baptizes new Christians, young and old, during worship services on a Sunday morning or during the Vigil of Easter. In this way, all the new Christian’s spiritual family can welcome them and rejoice with God that his child who once was lost has now been found and brought home to be him and them forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Stay Calm and Remember Your Baptism

Encore Post: [Fifty-Fourth in a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism] While Baptism is a onetime event, its blessings last a lifetime. Baptism is an event outside of us, observed by witnesses and recorded in books. Especially when we are baptized as children, there is no question that God loves us, that he adopted us as his children and that we will live with him forever. When we are baptized, we realize that we are not seekers, but that God sought us and found us. We can be sure that we are saved and that we will live with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit forever.

In our sin-filled world, where we are at war with the world, the devil and our flesh, life can get confusing very fast. As we are confronted with our sinful nature, we may wonder how God can love us, whether we please him or can ever measure up to his standards. At times like these, we can remember our baptism. No matter what happens, this is the central fact of our lives. I am baptized.

St. Paul reminds us that in baptism, we are united to Christ in his death. (Romans 6:3-11) Christ bore our sins on the cross, suffered and died to pay the full penalty we deserved for them. Because we are baptized, when he died, we died. When He rose from the dead, we rise to new life. Now we can face anything that comes our way.

Each day, we can prepare ourselves in prayer for the day. We can make the sign of the cross, remembering that we are baptized, thank God for his mercies and remember that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Church Year: Epiphany to Ascension

Encore Post: Moving out of the Christmas Season on January sixth, we enter the season of Epiphany. These seasons all adjust around the moveable date of Easter. Epiphany means “revealing.” In this season we celebrate the revealing of Jesus beyond the Christmas activities. The day of Epiphany brings the magi into the picture. This is a kind of Gentile Christmas.

The season then moves through moments where Jesus and His ministry are revealed. It contains several major feasts/festivals. The Epiphany of our Lord, the Baptism of our Lord, the Transfiguration of our Lord, and a handful of minor festivals can all be within the season. Epiphany can be between 13 days, with only one Sunday, and 59 days, with seven Sundays! The common Sundays use green and the festivals use white paraments.

The three “gesima” or pre-Lent Sundays separate Transfiguration from Ash Wednesday. The Sundays are gently moving us from the mountaintop into the penitential season. Their strange names keep us counting towards Easter. Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima simply mean about seventy, sixty, and fifty. Those are the estimations of days until Easter.

There is irregular historical and current practice regarding the paraments and liturgy in the -gesimas. Liturgical practices range from green paraments and unrestricted liturgy to violet paraments and Lenten austerity, and all points in between. At Mt. Calvary, we observe them with green and no restrictions. Other churches may use violet, veiled crucifixes, austere liturgy, and excluded Alleluia. In Christian freedom, all of these things are good practices.

(Using the Vatican II inspired three-year lectionary, The Season of Epiphany keeps the three Sundays of pre-Lent).

“O Lord throughout These Forty (six) Days“

The penitential season of Lent runs from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, covering six Sundays. Ash Wednesday can fall anywhere between February fifth and March ninth. It is always 46 days before Easter. The color of Ash Wednesday paraments are black or violet.

Generally, we say that the Sundays in Lent are not of Lent. That is to say that pious practice of Lenten fasting may exclude the Sundays. Lent is marked by austerity. The color is violet, which suggests sorrow and royalty. We exclude the Gloria in Excelsis (or hymn of praise) and alleluia throughout the season. Like the third Sunday of Advent, the fourth Sunday of Lent sees a softening of our penitence. It is called Laetare, meaning rejoice. The color may shift to rose, reflecting this lighter mood.

Holy Week begins with Palm or Passion Sunday. The color is Scarlet from Sunday through Maundy or Holy Thursday. Often the altar and sanctuary are stripped at the conclusion of the Thursday service. This prepares the space for the great austerity of Good Friday. The altar remains bare and clergy may wear black. Holy Saturday remains black as well. But, the Saturday Easter Vigil begins with a bare altar and continues with white after the Easter proclamation.

The day of Easter is the moving target around which these other seasons adjust. Easter is fixed to the Sunday, after the first full moon, following the vernal equinox. This means Easter can fall anywhere from March 22^nd to April 25^th. This 33 day window was a solution between dissenting Early Christians celebrating on Passover, regardless of the day of the week, and those celebrating Easter on a fixed Sunday. This moveable schedule keeps us close to Passover and always on a Sunday.

The Easter Season is 40 days long, concluding with The Ascension of our Lord on the 40^th day. It’s always a Thursday. We generally treat the eight days after ascension as part of Easter, though they could also be considered the days of Ascension. White is the parament color and all of our liturgical celebration returns.

The 49^th day is the Eve of Pentecost. That moves us into Trinity, the season of the church.

Let us celebrate with contrition and great joy!

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

The First Commandment

[Seventh is a series of posts on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism] Everything that we do as Christians ought to in some way relate to the Ten Commandments. It is through the Ten Commandments that we learn how to worship God and how to love our neighbors.

As you know, laws change each and every day. And that is especially true during times of transitions of power, even in our country. And we ought to be careful in our church too that we do not constantly change the rules, whether they are rules of membership or church meeting time or admission to the Sacrament or some other things that come up.

But I remind you that God’s Law never changes and the laws that He established apply to all people in all times and places. There is definitely an attitude today that the Ten Commandments are old and outdated or that I know what to do and how to be a good person without the Ten Commandments. But that is not how God sees it and neither do we. For each one of us wants to follow Jesus.

So to get started, let’s take a look at the 1^st Commandment: You shall have no other gods. That’s simple enough. God is your God. But He shall not be shared. We cannot believe in God and believe in Buddha. And that might not be so difficult for us here in our community.

But it is this commandment that is the foundation of all the others. It is meet, right, and salutary that we obey our parents, but do we put our trust in them more than we put our trust in God? Do we put our trust in our teachers or our employers more than we put our trust in our God?

What about the political leaders? Is our President our Savior? Of course not. It does not matter who he is. Remember the words of the Psalm. Put not your trust in princes. Rather, let us remember God is the Lord of Lords and the Kings of Kings.

God is God, and we are not. And we fear, love, and trust in Him above all things. Remember the temptation of Eve in the Garden, when the devil says, “You shall be like God.” Eve believed that lie and everybody fell into sin that day. We are not God.

Let us follow Him each one of our days.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. James Peterson
St. John Lutheran Church
Curtis, Nebraska

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Benediction

Encore Post: [Last post in a series on the Divine Service] With the Benediction, the service comes a close. It is the perfect closing to the Lord’s Service to His people. The Aaronic Benediction, the words given by the Lord to Aaron to speak over the assembly who waited at the services of the Tabernacle, is the bookend to the Invocation. There, the Name of the Lord was put upon the people. So now at the conclusion, the Lord’s name is placed upon His people once again before they leave the sanctuary and enter the world to live out their daily lives in their various vocations. Not only does the congregation leave with His Name, but they also leave with His Peace.

The Aaronic Benediction, used as the final words of the Liturgy, is uniquely Lutheran. Note the Tri-fold blessing that the congregation receives. They are to be kept by Him; They are having His face shine upon them, and they are to receive peace. It is the perfect blessing to receive that reminds us of our baptisms as we leave the sanctuary. God goes with us into the world, just as He promised He would. For He shall never leave us but will remain with us until the end of the age.

It is a peace which is only known via Jesus Christ, giving us this peace in Word and Sacrament. He serves us this peace by coming into the world to bear the burden of our sin and stand in our stead at the cross as our substitute. He acts as the great high priest who has atoned for our sin not via the blood of bull or goats, but has obtained our salvation by pouring out His own blood as payment for sin. By Christ we have been reconciled to God. As the Gloria in Excelsis says, “Glory be to God on high and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” we have that peace granted to us. God’s goodwill is shining upon us. He is gracious to us on the account of Christ. And Christ our Lord speaks this peace to His faithful even now through His chosen mouth pieces, the pastors He has placed into your congregations, so that we hear this good news and believe so that Christ’s peace be made your own.

And the congregation, upon receiving this blessing, sings the Triple Amen. Yes, yes, it shall be so. Yes, Lord let is be so, now and always.

I pray that this Walk Through the Liturgy has been a blessing to you. It certainly has been a joy to write this series as it has allowed me to see even more connections between the words of the Liturgy and Scripture. I pray that as you participate and receive God’s gifts for you in the Divine Service, you are able to see how beautiful each piece of the Divine Service truly is and why we Lutherans do what we do in the Liturgy. It’s God serving us, and what a beautiful service He does. He serves us Jesus, and the salvation won for us by Jesus all the way.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana