Therefore also it is vain talk when they say that the body and blood of Christ are not given and shed for us in the Lord's Supper, hence we could not have forgiveness of sins in the Sacrament. For although the work is accomplished and the forgiveness of sins acquired on the cross, yet it…
Love
Wonderful lines from George Herbert, on the eve of Trinity 2 (Luke 14:15-24) LOVE bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back, Guilty of dust and sin. But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack From my first entrance in, Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning If I lack'd anything. 'A guest,' I answer'd, 'worthy to…
Eating and Eating
Listening to an outstanding sermon (mp3, in Finnish) by the Rev. Markus Pöyry, a very gifted young pastor serving a Luther Foundation congregation in Finland is to blame for the following: I wrote this post quite some time ago about my misgivings concerning the term 'spiritual eating' to refer to the reception of the promise…
Who’s coming to dinner?
Sermon from Our Saviour Lutheran Church on the 17th Sunday after Trinity. Text: Luke 14:1-14 (which takes up the first 2½ minutes or so)
Leaving your gift at the altar
I grew up in Lutheran circles in Western Finland that can only be described as pietist orthodoxy. For many (most?) English-speaking Lutherans, that's supposed to be a contradiction in terms, but take my word for it, it isn't necessarily. My experience is of a rich, deep spirituality rooted in the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions.…
Spiritual eating: Taking issue with Chemnitz
Thus in these latter words concerning the salutary use of the Supper there is a description of the spiritual eating of the body of Christ which takes place by faith. And just as the substance of the Supper and the salutary use of the same are distinguished, so it is one thing when Christ says:…
Lost in silence, saved in song
As part of my preparation for preaching on Isaiah 6:1–13 next Sunday, I was reading Luther's lectures on Isaiah. I was intrigued that the translation (presumably Vulgate) he was using rendered Isa 6:5 as, "Woe is me! For I was silent", rather than the usual "I am lost". Well, some digging around ensued, with the…
Let the little children…
There are certain topics of discussion / debate that tend never to go away among confessional Lutherans. One of them is the age of first communion. In almost all Lutheran churches, first communion is linked closely or inextricably to confirmation—for what can only be described as pragmatic rather than dogmatic reasons. After all, confirmation is…
SimonPotamos 