The sign of the holy cross is one of the traditional ceremonies retained by Luther and other reformers in the Lutheran confession in the sixteenth-century Reformation. Luther urged in his Large and Small Catechisms that it continue to be used. This holy sign has been used in the church from apostolic times and continues to be used in our day.
Why is this happening? What is real? Who should I trust? How did we get so confused? Have we lost our collective minds? I keep asking these and similar questions. We are mixed up. We don’t know up from down. We can’t figure out who is telling the truth and who is lying. We’re back on our heels and disoriented. We are overwhelmed with information, misinformation, and disinformation.
Christians believe that they live under two kingdoms, God’s eternal kingdom and the temporary earthly kingdom. Civil government belongs to the outward, temporal kingdom. The one holy Christian Church is the kingdom of Christ Jesus. We live and serve in and under both kingdoms, but in different ways.
The Lord’s Supper is a gift of life and love to be received, not a requirement to be fulfilled. What Jesus gave to His church in the Supper is the inviting and absolving Gospel. Therefore, it was celebrated daily Apostles and then weekly by the church. In Acts 2:42 records, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” The “breaking of the bread” was the very means by which the Holy Spirit continued to bring Christ to the baptized at Pentecost. God fed the new life by His Supper that He had gifted them with Holy Baptism. The same form is found later in Acts with the Apostle Paul delivering teaching and those “gathered together to break bread” (Acts 20:7).
It is fitting to use this setting for the end of the church year as we celebrate the Reformation. Luther composed German hymns for the Ordinary so that all of his fellow Germans could learn and understand the Liturgy. Previously, only those few taught Latin could participate and understand the words of the Liturgy. Essential to Luther’s Reformation was and continues to be learning how we live out the faith, what we believe, and why we believe it. These hymns continue to assist us in singing the faith and enhancing our understanding of each part of the Liturgy.
While God is present everywhere, He cannot be found everywhere as the God of love and mercy. Instead, in the Divine Service, Jesus promises to be for us. He is not the abstract or hidden God! Jesus’s presence in the Divine Service is His saving presence in concrete means where He has promised to give us forgiveness and life. He serves us through means that He has appointed and received by us in faith. Word and Sacrament are together the treasures given by the risen Christ as He comes into the midst of His gathered church.
So, it is for those in the Church. We too have “a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence.” For, indeed, the Triune God has promised that “everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (Joel 2:32; Rom. 10:13). He who is Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier gives us His abiding care and protection through all the battles and storms of this life, and He promises to carry us in the ark of His Church into the safe harbor of heaven.
It’s all simple, but it’s not easy. We are learning to guard all that Jesus has commanded us to defend. Speaking, singing, and praying to guard the gifts He gives. We live together with Christ in the life He gives through His gifts. Simple, not easy, but it is good.
Why does the congregation at Sherman Center exist? So that faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sins be received. Simple. And how is this faith given? It is given by the Holy Spirit working through the Word and Sacraments. And what are the Word and Sacraments? Namely, we preach Christ Jesus alone for forgiveness, life, and salvation. We declare absolution in Christ’s name for the justification of sinners. We baptize in the name of the Holy Trinity for forgiveness and new life with Christ. We deliver Christ’s body broken and the blood shed to forgive sins, strengthen faith, and increase love for neighbor.
Trust is earned. Trust is built. This trust is accomplished only as the trustworthy WORD is proclaimed… “and we as children of God lead holy lives according to it. Grant this dear Father in heaven!” The Spirit working by the WORD keeps the pastor in the same WORD!
