Reformation Tuesday: priesthood of all believers, part 2

I thought we might better stick with this subject for two days with the hope that we will be able to bring it to some kind of conclusion.

If Luther's thoughts about the sacraments led to pastors replacing priests, the why would Luther develop an idea of a priesthood who is not ordained, is not presiding at Communion or baptizing?  How could Luther call all believers 'priests'?

It begins in baptism (as almost all things do with Luther).  In baptism, every believer begins a new life which is formed and found in the risen Lord Jesus.  We live because He lives; our lives are now transformed by His life.  This baptismal calling is a lifelong journey of faith, not just the increase of personal faith, but also the living out of the Divine Plan through word and deed.

Remember how in your baptism and confirmation promises were made to live among God's faithful people, to be present at communion and study scripture, to practice prayer and almsgiving.......and to work for peace and justice for all people throughout the world?   These promises define what a baptismal life looks like (some days we do better, some days worse).

We are called into a life of faith which is manifest in both word and deed.  We are called to be 'little Christs' to one another: to care for others as Christ cares for us; to forgive others as Christ forgives us; to welcome others as Christ welcomes us. So in each of these actions, we are to be the face of Jesus to others.  We are to be the conduit for the presence of the Holy Jesus in those moments with those people.  When we do so, we function as priests.

Luther was not elevating another class of people, but reminding and reiterating the response that is expected of a person who calls on the name of the Lord for salvation.  Baptized persons are expected to live holy lives, to be the presence of the holy in this world and to bring the word of salvation through Jesus to others.  These tasks belong to all of us.

We can be the conduits of God's presence in actions as simple as a hosting a meal, or caring for a neighbor or visiting the sick.  As important as the sacraments of baptism and holy communion are for our continued spiritual strength and growth, these other actions are likewise sacred moments when the love of Jesus flows through us to those around us.

Luther's priesthood of all believers does not eliminate the role and function of persons set aside specifically for ministry.  Pastors have dedicated their lives to learning, teaching, proclaiming and bringing the Word of Love in Jesus to all, and to equipping their flock to do this same work in the world.  It is a joy and wonder to live out our baptism in this way.

However, in the middle of the night, or in the ER, or even when you want your child to begin the baptismal life, there are pastors (and priests) standing by, ready to remind you of God's saving word of grace.....and to remind you that God's word of grace is for you.

Reformation Monday: priesthood of all believers, part 1

Before we wrap our heads around the concept of a 'priesthood of all believers' we might want to clarify a few issues around the title 'priest.'

We don't have priests in the Lutheran tradition; we have pastors.  The difference is more than semantics.  There are a very different understandings of the function, power and role of the individual who is ordained, whether as a priest or as a pastor.  It has nothing to do with whether the person is male or female; it has everything to do with the relationship between God and humankind.

A priest, as a result of his/her ordination, receives specific powers to effectively bring into reality the holy intersection of Divine and Human.  Eucharist, baptism, holy anointing of the sick, anointing of the dying are moments when the membrane between this world and the next is very thin; these are moments when the presence of the Holy is more palpable.  Priests are able to take the ritual and bring about the presence of the holy, that is, to make the bread and wine or anointing oil a conduit for God's holy presence.  This is the sacramental work of a priest; these things and events are holy because the priest makes them holy.

Lutherans have a different understanding of God's interactions with the creation God loves along with the unique role of Jesus as the ultimate high priest, the divine-human, god-man and intermediary between God and humankind.  Jesus is the final, complete revelation of God on this side of life.  Jesus is holy and through him the holy touches down on this earth.  In the cross, Jesus crosses the divide between this world and the next and carries God's beloved children with him back into the arms of the Divine Creator.  Jesus does the work; Jesus makes it happen and no one can repeat that transaction.  Nor should anyone have to; either Jesus is enough (as Son of God) or Jesus is not.

Therefore, there is no need for priests.  There is no need for a person, elevated through ritual, anointing and prayer, to bring the holy into reality among us.  The living Lord Jesus is always present, and most especially present at those times and places that Jesus identifies:  baptism and Eucharist.  Jesus promises to be present in the holy meal of bread and wine, and in the new birth that comes through baptism.  God is present because Jesus said God would be present, not because of special powers granted to the person who presides at the ritual.

So Lutherans have pastors.  These women and men are set apart by the faith community to give full attention to continued learning and teaching, and to organize and oversee times for worship, praise, prayer and the sacraments, and to lead God's people in the work of serving others.

A priest is a mediator.  A pastor is a shepherd.  Eucharist is 'made holy' by those who understand themselves to be priests.  Those who understand themselves to be pastors, also celebrate Eucharist, but the bread and wine are made holy by Jesus' eternal promise to be present. [please understand that this is the most basic description of the differences between these two offices, and as such, ignores all the fine nuances of theology involved.]

All of this to get us to Luther's concept of a priesthood of all believers.........more tomorrow, and thank you for reading this far.



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Reformation Monday: Sola Scriptura 2

Now that you have the basics on how the Lutherans read the Bible, we can figure out why Luther made such a big deal about Word Alone.  But it's not as easy as all that........


When Luther spoke about the Word....he was rarely speaking simply about the Bible.  He was speaking about Jesus: who is The Word.  Made Flesh.  Who dwelt among us.  (see John 1).  Jesus is the logos - a Greek word that means 'a means of communicating a meaning'.  When the writer of John uses it s/he means 'the embodiment of a concept'.  It doesn't mean just a 'word;' it is a word that when spoken becomes the thing it signifies.

And even if Jesus is 'just a word' then what word is he?  He is God's word of grace.  In fact, the graciousness of God's love for us, which is made flesh in the person of Jesus, is the key understanding of the Good News for Luther.  Luther said that we are justified by grace through faith and not by any works of our own.  (look up the 3rd chapter of Romans and read from there to begin to grasp where Luther got this).  It is that Word:  grace through faith ...which is the core of the message of God's love for humankind.  So first, The Word is that we are saved by grace through faith.  

The second understanding of The Word is Jesus:  we come to understand God's gracious love through the life, teaching, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus the person, Son of God.  So, second, The Word = Jesus.

#3  The Word is the Bible.  We get to know all of this through the words of the Bible.  The Bible's primary purpose is to transmit this truth:  Jesus is God incarnate demonstrating in word, deed and life and death, the gracious love of God.  We read the Bible with this lens of God's love for us through Jesus.

And in the end, whatever we want to say about God and Jesus, we need to find some support for it within the scripture's message of Divine Love.  Sola Scriptura.  No building our doctrines on the teachings of some scholar and holding them as important as the message of the Bible.  No pronouncements from fallible humans which cannot be understood through the eyes of the Bible.  No human made rituals and traditions have the same authority as the Bible and its witness to God's great love as Creator for all of creation.  No tradition can get in the way of proclaiming God's great love either.

Whew!  It took us a long way to get here, but I think we have the basics.  God is revealed to us through the stories of people of faith, and most perfectly in the person of Jesus.  If you have a God question, go to the scriptures to seek an answer. Sola Scriptura.

Reformation Monday: Sola Scriptura

I find it amusing that Lutherans are known for their 'alone' theology:  Word alone. Faith alone, Grace alone.  We who do 'both and' theology also have 3 distinct 'alones' to guide our way.

So let's look at Sola Scriptura:  Word Alone.  As simple as the phrase is, it is a complex concept.  Luther was NOT saying that anybody reading the plain words of the Bible could clearly ascertain the message of the Bible from its plain meaning.  [Just like 'we'll have to do lunch sometime' means you can expect an invitation this week.]


#1 Lutherans do not interpret the Bible literally. Luther and Lutherans of the ELCA kind are not literal interpreters of the Bible.  So in the story where Balaam's donkey speaks, we do not think that there truly was a talking ass.  Certainly there is a message in that story, but not that donkeys had a day once when they spoke in comprehensible language.

#2 Not every ancient manuscript which claimed to be speaking God's Word was considered authentic or authoritative. Not everything was included in the official canon (the agreed upon list of writings to be included in the Bible) because church leaders felt they distorted the God story. .  For years in the early church, the list of recognized writings to be included shifted a little back and forth until the canon was closed in the early 400's.  These other writings are called 'extra-textual' by the scholars and can provide some insight into early practice and the evolution of creeds.  One such is The Didache which you can read here Didache text

#3 Lutherans understand the Bible to be the inspired Word of God.  Inspired = Spirit led, but transmitted to us through human agents.  God may be eternal but humans are rooted in time and space.  We are shaped by the culture in which we live, the part of the world where we are born, even our social class and gender.  A simple example of this might be:  a fireman would tell stories in terms of emergencies and fast response and putting out fires.  A 1st century woman would tell her stories from the perspective of birthing and raising children, cooking and sewing.  They are trying to tell us something about this God that they know and who has been revealed to them, but they use the images and experiences that are a part of their lives.

This means that the Bible is tied to particular historic times and cultures and practices.  These practices shape the way in which the God story is told because that is the only way the folks writing it all down know how to tell the story.  The 16 year old girls of Jesus' time were not discussing which college they wanted to attend.  They were about to be married (if not already) and have children.  That's what 16 year old girls did.

So as we read the Bible together and listen for God's voice and God's revelation, we also need to know the context in which the story was written.  A good study Bible will include an introduction to each of the books and helpful notes at the bottom of the pages to help you figure some of this out.  There are lots of books published by Augsburg Fortress to help you figure it out.

This figuring out process is best done in a community: a group discussion where lots of questions are raised and multiple points of view expressed.....because God continues to speak to us today, sending the Spirit to guide our study and open new insights.  It is easy to see that an eternal God who speaks through an unchanging script from an ancient time can have multiple interpretations - and all those readings are skewed by our own time and place.

Ahhhhh!  I will never understand the Bible!  Not true, but it is a journey that requires time, patience and attentiveness to what is said, what is not said, who speaks, who is silent, and......my own prejudices that I bring into the mix.

The good news is, it's just loads of fun to explore and consider and break open in new ways.  Even with a bit of higher education on the subject, I am continually fed by the new and insightful readings of my study partners.

All of that, and guess what?  We haven't really gotten to Sola Scriptura yet.  But there were a few basics we needed first.  Watch this space for more Reformation Monday posts on reading the Bible.