It seems that everyone in the world (this may be a SLIGHT exaggeration) has been talking about the recent Vatican statement about the true nature of the Church. By now my comments may be old news but I still feel lead to make some comments in response and to share my faith, so here I go:
Why am I a Lutheran? This is an interesting question and one that I believe every Lutheran needs to ask of themselves every day. Even if you are not a Lutheran, answering why you are part of a particular denomination is important. Recently a brother in Christ, Chris, has embarked on a very important journey; asking this very same question. He is a former Lutheran making the move to the Catholic Church (follow the link and check out his blog to read more about his journey). I may not agree with some of his answers, but we are still brothers in Christ and I still have a great deal of respect for him. Chris is asking questions and not taking anything at face value.
And even though the Vatican has issued a very stern statement about the "true nature of the Church" I still have a great deal of respect for all my Catholic brothers and sisters. Rome may have their firm stance on what constitutes the Church and Protestants have theirs but behind all the rhetoric, we are all still brothers and sisters in Christ. We acknowledge "…one holy catholic church…", we uphold scripture and believe in salvation through Jesus Christ.
As Lutherans we have varying doctrines that Catholics are not going to teach such as: the priesthood of all believers and simul iustus et peceator (simultaneously righteous/saint and a sinner) among others. But what ever our differences, Jesus prays that we may be one "My prayer is not for them (the disciples) alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one…" (John 17:20) I believe in Jesus Christ though the witness of the first apostles. I am every bit a part of the Church. Jesus died that I may live and no one can take that away from me.
But what does it mean to be one…the Lutheran Confessions assert:
Concerning the Church:
"It is also taught that at all times there must be and remain one holy, Christian church. It is the assembly of all believers among whom the gospel is purely preached and the holy sacraments are administered according to the gospel.
For it is enough for the true unity of the Christian church that there the gospel is preached harmoniously according to the pure understanding and the sacraments are administered in conformity with the divine Word. It is not necessary for the true unity of the Christian church that uniform ceremonies instituted by human beings, be observed everywhere." (Augsburg Confession VII)
What is the Church?
Likewise, although the Christian church is, properly speaking, nothing else than the assembly of all believers and saints…" (Augsburg Confession VIII)
But we cannot end with a quote from the Lutheran Confessions for they are not the sole authority in our lives. I believe in the authority of scripture so let’s hear what the apostle Paul has to say: "If you confess with you mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Romans 10:9-10) Faith comes first through the Holy Spirit and our confession follows.
Through faith we are one. Jesus is our authority and I believe we can celebrate that as common ground if nothing else. So why am I Lutheran? It is a question I ask myself everyday. I take nothing for granted. But in the end I am a Christian…AND…in the end…denominations will not matter. We are brothers and sisters through faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So let’s celebrate THAT and move on in proclaiming this Good News.
Praise be to God, always and forever. Amen!
-edh-
The Heart of a Pastor 
This is a very good post, and a good explanation of what the church is.
Of course, in my human way of processing thought, the doctrines of the Lutheran church are what I have come to know as truth. That does not necessarily mean it is the complete truth; but truth none the less.
Some church doctrine as taught by other protestant denominations, or as taught by the RCC are things that I cannot accept as truth. That does not necessarily mean they are wrong; only that I can’t process it as truth.
One’s faith journey is a walk with God, listening for his still, small voice in the activities of the world around us. As I listen to God’s voice, I find God’s peace, and peace of mind within the doctrines and confessions of the Lutheran Church. This is why I am Lutheran.
I hear you, David. As I reflect more on why I am a Lutheran I keep coming back to what you describe as “peace of mind” about the Lutheran Confessions. You don’t hold as truth what other denominations hold as truth but you respect your brothers and sisters in Christ…and that is all anyone of us can do. And because different churches have different confessions of “truth” it makes for an interesting dialog and that is what I enjoy. Because it is through that dialog that my own faith is tested and refined.
Thanks for your comment.
I remember reading an article in the Christian Century some time about about protestants who who becoming Catholic, feeling that it better represented their views on some things, or they felt that their particular protestant denomination had lost something, or they appreciated the breadth of tradition available to them.
Funny, they were all men. None of them seemed sad at all that they were going to a church that did not, in the breadth of their tradition, value the gifts of women, at least as respects ordained ministry.
So I struggle with that. How do you respect something or someone that does not respect you?
A few years ago I met a colleague (someone I had known in seminary) while I was on a youth trip. We had been casual friends in seminary.
It turns out that he didn’t get ordained in the ELCA…. because he doesn’t believe women have any place in the leadership of the church.
Of course, I quoted him passages from Paul… but he just smiled and said, “I don’t believe that scripture contradicts itself,” which is to say, since there are other scriptures that say, women should be silent, then these others have to be made to agree with them.
So… yes, I want to be irenic, but how DO you respect someone who doesn’t respect me, or believe that I am called?
Diane,
You bring up a very good point. I don’t agree with how the Catholic Church or the LCMS and WELS view woman in ministry. I believe women are just as called as men. And in Christ there is neither Jew or Greek, man or woman, etc… I know we have not met face to face, but you come off as one of the most faithful people I know. So there is no question in my mind and heart that you are called. So don’t get me wrong…I am not disrespecting you.
When I say “respect” I am not saying I agree with what they believe or support their view points…far from it. When I say I “respect” Catholics I respect the fact they take a stance for what they believe in (whether I agree or not). But more importantly I respect Catholics if they are willing to respect my faith and church doctrine. When the pope says my church is not a “real” Church…I have a problem with that.
I respect Catholics and LCMS and WELS as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I respect Jews and Muslims as fellow children of God. Of course I don’t believe what they believe but I am willing to listen to them and I hope they respect me enough to listen to my faith and beliefs.
Your colleague obviously did not respect you and that would make it hard to respect them. That I can see. So maybe this “respect” thing has to work both ways. Chris has been blogging about his conversion from the Lutheran churcn to the RCC. I know he respects me as a fellow brother in Christ so I can respect him (and I believe he would respect your ministry as well…right Chris?)
Did I address your question, Diane?
Yes, you addressed my issue… and of course we don’t have to agree with people to respect them… but it is painful. And can we respect a person or an idea, and still be angry?
I will admit…I am struggling with this a little. Maybe “respect” is the wrong word to use here. Any other thoughts here?
“Can we respect a person or an idea, and still be angry?” — that is a good question. I think it would be hard for me to respect a person AND be angry with them. I need to contemplate this more. Thanks for the question.
I have been following this with great interest and as a lawyer perhaps my experience has been a little different because my work has been frequently about agreeing to disagree, even vehemently disagree. In the end, though, unless the person on the other side acts in a way that is unethical or a real falsehood, when the posturing is done, we can talk about our great vacations and how big the kids are getting. The law, in part, is about getting to have a say. This is of course from the perspective of the lawyer. My clients would surely disagree and say it is about being right, being validated. What could be more personal than my faith? And are there not many sides? And when we care passionately about our faith we personalize our discussions even more. I think some one can make you very angry but you can respect their advocacy of their view most of the time, even when it involves faith. Having not been a cradle Lutheran, I really appreciate the discussion about various denominations even more. Raised Presbyterian, and told women have no place in ministry, I argued, but accepted, and went to law school. Married a lapsed Catholic and “we” became Lutherans by choice. Having chosen this denomination though is not a blanket endorsement of everyone’s expression of it. There are things going on within our church that I am not keen on, there are things I think other denominations hit spot on. It is very hard to think that someone else would not respect my call, now that I have reached the point of going to seminary, however, in the end, this conversation is first and foremost between me and God. And that grace should be sufficient. Not easy, but sufficient. And I examine it everyday. Do I have it right, do we have it right? I cannot say for sure. I know that someday we will see clearly, what our mortal attempts cannot capture. We cannot totally pigeonhole God, no matter how much we would like to. In the meantime, I read, study, pray, and listen for God every day. And sometimes change my thinking. Characterizing this process as being unable to process something as truth is a good way to look at it. Being snarky for one moment though I do find it hard to believe that the early church, comprised predominantly at first of converted Jews, where men and women had leadership roles, is somehow only expressed for centuries by Italian cardinals.
Law and gospel, thanks for all that…I am thinking more about my own journey. Yes, we do agree to disagree, and often vehemently disagree. And no, there is no perfect place. Well, I think I will probably post about this, later. For example, I know that there are catholic women who have been trying to change the church so that women can be ordained. There is a part of me that thinks, just become Lutheran or some denomination that ordains women. But they love their church, and they really want to serve in a way that they are not able. That’s not my battle, but sometimes I do have to decide where to stand. And on this one, much as I respect certain aspects of the catholic faith, I don’t stand with the Pope.
I think that’s where the “anger” statement came from, Eric.
A dear friend of mine was Catholic for awhile, because of her marriage, and she was very active in her church with Christian education. But she got really tired of the top down structure. And in the local church, what the priest says, goes. So she attends at the Lutheran church now.
When people react to the RC’s, it isn’t just the theology, but the structure that becomes important.
I hadn’t thought before about the word Respect regarding women in ministry. I just figured it was blind literal reading of the Bible (yeah, right,so why don’t those “others” take some other passages as literal?”
On a LCMS blog, I made the “mistake” of saying something about helping serve communion in my church. The pastor/blogger jumped on me about how that would never happen in “my church.” He didn’t know the details, of course, but all I was doing was holding the tray. You could start getting picky about who poured the wine, who bottled the wine, etc.
Women DO do ministry in every aspect of their lives, in their families, in Sunday School, in visiting their neighbors. Always have. Only people with blinders on or only those who see only from the front of the scanctuary wouldn’t see that. Women are more likely to bloom where they are planted, but sometimes the Master Gardener wants that plant in a special position.
I totally agree with you. And when I used the word “respect” in reference to my Catholic brothers and sisters I was in no way inferring I agree with everything they believe (including their views of women in ministry). The top down structure is also something I don’t like and that is one of the worries I have of the ELCA with CCM. I hope that is not the direction the ELCA is heading.
Thank you for your comment.
Good Post Eric. I wanted to wait and get my head straightened out before commenting.
You’ve pointed out some very important facts and I think my post today sums up some things on where I’ve been and where I’m now going as it relates to “Church” and Christian Living.
Chris