LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 347

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THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS

ate at the administration of Holy Communion God's Word describes
doth the universal priesthood and the office of the pubic ministry as
divine institutions (1 Peter 2:9-10: Titus 1:5-9:). Edmund Schiink. writing
on the confessional wew of church and ministry. succinctly states

Tne Confessions do not permit us to place the universal
priesthood as a divine institution over against the public ministry as a
human institution The idea of a transfer of the nghts of the universal
priesthood to tne person of the pastor 1s foreign to the Confessions
The church does not transfer its otice of Preaching the Gospel! and
administering the sacraments to sndividuals in tts Membership. but it
fils this oftice entrusted to it by God it catis into this office instituted by
God in this office the pastor tnerefore acts in the name and at the
direction of God and in the stead of Jesus Christ He acts with authority
not on the basis of an arrangement made by believers Dut on tne basis
of the divine institution +

Tne Augsburg Confession underscores the importance of a
regularly calied pastor for the administration of Holy Communion.

{ts taugnt among us tnat nobody snould publiciy teach or preach
Or administer tne sacraments in the church without a regular call iAC
XIV)

Our teacners assert that accoraing to the Gospel tne power of
«eys or the power of bishops is a power and command of God to
preach tre Gospel. to forgive and retain sins. and to administer and
distribute tne sacraments ;AC XXVIIi 51

Accordingly. the Apology explains

But iet us talk about the term -iturgy ” It does not realiy mean a
sacrifice Dut a public Service Thus ‘t Squares with Our positon that a
minister who Consecrates snows forth the body and blooc of the Lord
to the people just as a minister who preaches shows forth the gospei to
the people as Paul says i! Cor 41: This is now one should regard us
as ministers of Christ and dispensers of tne sacraments of God. ‘tnatis
of the Word and sacraments ard tl Cor 5 20. "We are ambassadors for
Christ God making nis appeal througn us We beseech you on behalf
of Christ be reconciled to God’ ‘Ap XX{V 80)

2. Confession and Absolution

Article XXV of the Augsburg Confession emphasizes the value of
confession and absolution in Preparing for reception of the Sacrament

Contession mas not beer abaismed by tne preachers on our side
The custom nas been retained among us of not administer:ng the
sacrament tc those who nave not previously been examined and

iui
$a
Edmurc Sem. ne Theology of tne 2U"meran Contess.ons tats Pan F Koerrene

A Bo.

anc Herbert. mar Pm adecr a Mun erperg ress (96 5

Is

claim divine blessings for those who receive the Lord's Supper in a
merely ritualistic fashion

St Pau. taugnt that we obtain grace pefore God througr faith ana

not through works Manifestly contrary to this teaching is the msuse of

tne Mass dy those wno think tnat grace 1s obtained through the perform-

ance of th-s work. for it 1s wel! Known that the Mass 1s used to remove

Sif. ang obtain grace and ail sorts of benefits from God. not only tor the

Pnest himself put also for the wnole worid and for otners potn living

and ceac AC XXIV 28-29)

Also rejected by the Scriptures and the Confessions is that observ-
ance of the Sacrament which would use it merely as a tool toward closer
human fellowship rather than as a thankful celebration of that Christian
fellowship which God has given St Paul in 1 Corinthians details the
abuse which occurred when men sought to serve their social goals rather
tnan the Lord who rnstituted the Sacred Supper

Our Confessions state

Some clever people imagine trat the Lord's Supper was instituted

for two reasons First it was Supposed to be a mark ard witness of

profession. just as a Certain type of nood Is the mark of a particular

monastic profession In the second place Christ was supposed to be
very pleased w:th a mark that tock tne form of a meai symbouizing the

Mutual umon ang frendship among Christians because banquets are

symbols of agreement and frenaship But this is a secular iaea that

ignores tne crief use of what God has instituted It talks oniy about the

Practice of ‘ove wricn even profane and secular men understand. it

does not talx about faith. wnose true meaning very few uncerstand Ap

XXIV. 68 cf FC SD VH. 59)

Thus there is great continuity of concern from our Lord’s words of
guidance to His apostles. through Paul's admonitions in the epis-
tles. through the practice of the early church. to tne practices of the
Reformation church and of confessional Lutheranism today

The catechetical enterprise. whether of the Oidache or Luther's
Catechism. is not non-Biblical legalism but rather Biblical realism (1 Cor
11.17 ff). Its aim is not the exclusion of certain individuals from the
Sacrament. but the honoring of God's Word and the true benefit of a
failen humanity

2. Close Communion*
The practice of refusing Communion to certain Christians and the

‘Wnuie tne term cosec Commurcm rasa ongernstory cf te Bert cm Fane's
regarded Dy some as *"e0 OG: Cally mare pope tnar ciose Communist the latter term
wher mas Deer usec .- Tore "ecent Nistor’, Dy ates The LUtreram Crurcn ~ Missou
Synod May aiso proce’ y De emproyed as a way Of Saying that confess.cva agreemer?
must precede "2 *e.Ows™.p of Crristiars at me Lords Table Wirateser ‘erm s usec 1 §
ceartmatine LOMS offc.ai practice is Comsistest with the nsto” ¢ crac? ce of Ine churce
whic Mas regarsec _~ ty 2! coctrine asa crevec. $.te for aa ssi* f5 ‘Me Sacramer' cf
“967 Pes 2-°9

20

absolved At the same time the people are carefully instructed concern-
ing the consolation of the Word of absoiution so that they may esteem
absolution as a great and precious thing It 1s not the voice or word of
tne man who speaks it Dut tne Word of God who forgives sin for itis
spoker in Gods stead and by Gods commard We teach with great
diugence about this command and power of keys anc how comforting
and “ecessary it 1s for terrified consciences We also teach that Goc
requires uS tO believe th’s absolution as mucn as if we hearc Gods
voice from heaven. tnat we should joyfully comfort ourselves with
abso'ut'on. and that we shoud x ow that throug” Such faith we obtair
forgiveness of sins :AC XXV ‘-4)

It is common practice in our Eucharistic worship to provide for con-
fession and absolution. Normally this occurs in the public service where
the congregation corporately confesses its sin and the pastor pro-
nounces the forgiveness of sins. Lutherans also provide for private con-
fession and absolution in those cases where a terrified conscience seeks
consolation from God's holy Word. Through confession and absolution
whether private or corporate. the Gospel is ciearly articulated in a
manner which property prepares the communicant for the Lord's

Supper

D. Practice in Accord with the Doctrine of the Church
1, Fellowship Considerations

Inasmuch as Communion fellowship Biblically embodies the
confession of a common faith i1 Cor. 1017. Acts 2:42)—for it is a
theological definition of the one true faith. not a sociological-empirical
description of whatever faith a group finds itself agreed in—it is neces-
sary for the church to guard itself from doctrinal fractures of that
fellowsnip (1 Tim. 13-11; To indiscriminately admit even well-inten-
honed peopie to Holy Communion is neither to nonor God nor love our
fetlowmen i1 Cor. 11)

Scripture requires both a knowledge of the Lord’s Supper sufficient
for tts proper reception and a contrite faith which trusts Jesus word. [tis
neither loving nor responsible for a pastor or church to sacrifice theologi-
cal considerations for social pressure or custom If. for example. an
Individual is admitted to Holy Communion simply because he ts a relative
or friend of a member. and that person participates in the sacrament to
his her judgment (1 Cor 11 29)‘ the officiant will one day be asked to
give an account of his sacramental stewardship icf. 2 Tim. 4.1-8)

Lutherans vigorously reyect a view of the Lord's Supper which would

Tre Green word ¢ * Cor ‘* 29 s «rma “re term Used by Pau of wrong
parc pation." tre Loras Supper $ ine ecuralent of our Enc st condermranor Ct
Bauer Arrct Gngrcr Dacwer pe 480 §: Soradctonra ~atera. on tne force stirs,

wore see Treancm Bucnse xr rs Theaog ca D-c! onaty Of tre New Testament oi
Grara Rapcs We 8 EercrrarsPic smngCo ‘968 po

general population at Lutheran altars 1s called close Communion. This
practice serves the Gospel. and even those refused. by its reverence for
our Lord's last will and testament

Martin Chemnitz, in his magisterial work on the Lord’s Supper
writes

Moreover those words because they are the words of the ‘ast wi
anc testament of the very Sor of God must not be treated in a frivolous
or light manner but must be pondered with reverence ard great devo-
tion Since Scripture 's not of private interpretation i2 Peter 120: |
have shown on the basis of tre sure and continugus analogy of tne
ipteroretation of Scripture ano Dy a comparison of those passages 7
wich tre doctrine of tre Lords Supper is treated and repeated ir
Scr. cture tne compelling sure certain. and clear reasons wry the sim-
pie proper and natural meaning of the woras of institution of the
Supper must not be given up or “ejected but ratney Must continue to be
nelc anc achered to in the simpie obedience of ‘a:

Precisely It 1s a desire to honor and obey the word of Christ which
has led Christians to reserve the sacrament for those who share that
desire and understanding. Cnemnuitz. with Luther and the Lutheran Con-
fessions. specifically defends the Real Presence in the Lord's Supper
against the errors of human interpretation in various Christian fellow-
ships of his day

Since fellowship at the Lord's Table is also confession of acommon
faith. it would not be truthful for those who affirm the Real Presence and
those who deny it to join one another Their common Communion would
indicate to the non-Christian community that the last will and testament
of Christ could be interpreted in contradictory ways Indeed. the non-
Christian might rightly ask whether it was Jesus word which determined
the church's position and practice or simply a human consensus

Therefore it is true that No one who truly accepts the Real Presence
as the very Word of God can grant a person the right to deny it and to
commune with him at the same table. Just so. no Presbyterian. for exam-
ple. who deciares that there can be no real eating and drinking of the
body and biood of Christ. could really want to receive the Supper at an
altar where just this impossible thing to him is confessed and taught ~~

Close Communion seeks to prevent a profession of confessional
unity in faith where there 1s. in fact. disunity and disagreement !t would
be neither faithful to the Scriptural requirements for admission to Holy
Communion :1 Cor. 11 27 ff cf 10 16-17) nor heipful to fallen humanity
if the Christian church weicomes to its altars those who deny or question
clear Scriptura! teachings

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