Why Does Pastor Commune Himself?

Why Does Pastor Commune Himself?

It is certainly a good question.  The Pastor’s self-communing may seem an odd or even a wrong practice if you have never seen it done, but his instructions are actually written plainly and clearly in the Pastor’s Altar book in the rubrics (instructions), “The Pastor and those who assist him receive the body and blood of Christ first, the presiding minister communing himself and his assistants. Then they distribute the body and blood to those who come to receive."  (p. 168) Your called pastor simply follows the rubrics as outlined for him in order to conduct the Divine Service in proper order.  This by far is the simplest answer.  It is a good practice, because it says a lot about what the pastor does as a servant of Christ. But a longer discussion is helpful here, for this is not some recent invention but it has a long historical practice.  For example, Luther is quite clear.  In Luther’s rubric from the Formula Missae, 1523 He writes, “Then, while the Agnus Dei is sung, let him [the pastor] communicate, first himself and then the people.” (AE 53.29) Luther’s Deutche Messe, 1526, makes no change in this order at all.

C.F.W. Walther, our first synod president, concurs:  "Walther considers the question of whether the preacher may commune himself. The consensus of Lutheran theologians is that he may not do so privately, apart from the congregation, which is the meaning of the Smalcald Articles II, 2. But he may commune himself in the public service, which was especially necessary in the nineteenth century America where many preachers were quite isolated and so would otherwise have to go without the Sacrament for a long time." (Pastoral Theology, p. 151)

Let us answer this from a completely different direction. Who preaches to the preacher after he preaches or pronounces the absolution to the Pastor after he has confessed his sins in the general confession?  No one.  The congregation rightly understands that he is among the audience to whom he preaches and absolves. Likewise, there is no need for anyone to commune the celebrant. He is among the people who receives the gifts of Christ. For recall what the pastor says in the absolution, “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ.”  When the fallible pastor speaks the Word of God, you hear the infallible words of Jesus.  You are forgiven. 

               

Look at another example of the Pastor’s work.  Recall what happens right after the Words of Institution are proclaimed, the pastor then turns and speaks the Pax Domini.  What does he say?  The Peace of the Lord be with you always.  It is the pastor who speaks to you but it is Jesus that you hear, for you respond saying, NOT also with you, as you just did but moments ago, but instead with a robust Amen!  In the same way, the Pastor says, “the body of Christ given for you, the blood of Christ shed for you.”  It is not your pastor who presents you with the body and blood of Jesus; it is your Lord and Savior who uses your pastor as his mediator.  And so you respond “Amen.”  Even though the Pastor functions as Christ's representative, as His ambassador (2 Cor. 5:20), he does not identify himself as Christ. He is and must always remain one of the disciples for whose spiritual well-being this sacrament was instituted. As such he is asked to "take and eat" and "to drink of it." So then the Pastor should naturally first receive the body and blood of Christ, being absolved.  Then as Christ’s ambassador sent to God’s holy people, and now forgiven by God, he distributes this blessed gift. 

Some other thoughts here: what does Jesus tell his disciples as he prepares to send out the 72? “The one who hears you hears me,"  (Luke 10:16) and Paul says, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” (1 Corinthians 4:1) The Lord’s Supper is the greatest of these mysteries we are sent out to proclaim and distribute.  When your pastor distributes this gift you hear the pastor's voice, by you really hear Jesus.  So likewise the pastor when he communes himself he also hears Jesus.  Or later in 1 Corinthians 10:18, “are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?”  Paul’s reminder to them is that they like the priests of the Old Testament are also participants in the altar, when the priest ate of the sacrifice with the one who offered it, no one feeds the priest, but the priest serves the one who brought the sacrifice.  Another example, Paul in Acts 20 is in the midst of worship service and we read, “And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while.” teaching us that he ate of the Lord’s Supper that he consecrated, from his own hand not from another’s. (Acts 20:11) Jesus breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (John 20:22-23)  Today, this forgiveness given is just as valid as if Jesus did it himself.  And the Lord’s Supper is certainly where we receive the joy of forgiveness, that your pastor distributes.  It is important that we understand as we read in Luke 10:16 and John 20:22-23 the pastor’s mouth and hand are an extension of Jesus’ mouth and hand, so the Pastor likewise receives the Lord’s Supper not from himself, but really and truly from Jesus’ own hand and mouth. This practice is a good reminder of the mystery and love of God to work to save both pastor and people.

 

Why does the Church preach repentance so much!

Repentance is an interesting subject.  We expect people to repent immediately when they have committed a sin, but it is oftentimes not so simple.  Humans are very recalcitrant.  We get it in our heads that we are right.  The result is that in the midst of our sin we think we have done nothing wrong.  It takes a humble person to admit that what they have in fact done is very wrong.  And that is what repentance does, it humbles the proud in the imagination of their hearts that they are good people. 

It is a shame how so many can be coerced into thinking that their sin is not really sin.  When the Devil has wormed his way into the heart of a previously God-fearing man (for example a pastor or other church leader), he is easy to be believed by the common lay person, for when such a person has respect in the community, people will follow him and believe anything he says.  Such a person who opposes the Word of God, needs to only be told the law, for to tell him the Gospel would provide him only a false comfort that is not his.

Even worse is what he has done to those whom he has coerced with his false teaching.  It is these people who mourn even greater at what their sin has done as they were deceived by the lies of someone who appears God-fearing.

It is the coerced and misled who are the Christians who often feel the most condemned because their trust in the deceiver has led to the hurt of others and most especially to Christ and his bride the church.  The Jews at Pentecost had been coerced by the supposed leaders of the people, the Pharisees and Sadducees into thinking that Jesus was not the Savior.  And it was Peter who set them straight.  He preaches to them, concluding in Acts 2:36, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

The Israelites had been duped by just a few people, who thought they knew all and who wanted things their way.  But when the truth is made known and they do not have these false pretenders breathing down their necks, they say, as in  v. 37, “When they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And the answer is simple: “Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

Repentance and the Gospel go hand in hand, you cannot divorce one from the other.  Just as Jesus said in Mark 1:15, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” The Gospel is for all people, but only when you realize that you need it does it do you any good.  If I believe that I have done nothing wrong, then why should I believe the Gospel.  but as soon as I am led to repentance, the gospel shines upon us as a beacon of light in the darkness of our sin.

Repentance is the joy of the Christian.  There is no doubt, in the sorrow of your sin, you have faith worked in you and you rightly believe you are forgiven.  When we sin against someone, we are to go to them and ask for forgiveness.  When we need that blessed assurance of forgiveness, when you can’t believe that your sins are truly forgivable, then you go to your pastor, and participate in private confession and absolution.  You will hear from your pastor, Do you believe that my forgiveness is God’s forgiveness? You respond, “yes.”  Then the Pastor says, “Let it be done for you as you believe.”  And he places his hand upon your head and says, “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” 

Yes this is as sure and certain as if it was done by God himself.  This act your pastor cherishes, he exhorts you to use, because the benefits are real, loving, and comforting.  For your pastor knows, that this forgiveness is not reliant on himself, but on the word and promise of Jesus.  He is the means by which this blessed gift is delivered, the mouthpiece of your Savior.

We are disobedient, obstinate people in need of the gift of Christ.  We need forgiveness and this is what is delivered in our repentance.  For repentance is simple: It is contrition and faith.  Contrition is the sorrow we have for our sins.  It is the realization of knowing that my sins put Jesus on the cross.  What must be added to it immediately is faith.  Now faith is not anything you do, it is created in you by the hearing of the Word.  Faith has an object, and that object is Jesus.  That is why repentance is a Christian act; it is only the believer who can truly be repentant for only the believer trusts that Jesus has saved him and redeemed him from his sins.  For this reason repentance is also not just a onetime event, it is a mark of the Christian to embrace the gift of Christ daily, as Luther points out in the first of his ninety-five theses.

When the Christian has been confronted by the fullfledged need to repent, true repentance thus becomes easier.  When we realize that we will truly be forgiven for Christ’s sake, we can go before the person we have sinned and say please forgive me.  When we realize that forgiveness is not based on the self but rather in the joy of a loving Savior, we desire to repent and ask for forgiveness all the more readily. 

Also if someone who has sinned against you asks for forgiveness, you do forgive.  Not because they have earned forgiveness, not because you are ready to forgive (which you may think you never are), but rather because you are in Christ, a repentant sinner, you forgive.   You don’t say, hey, it’s no big deal, don’t worry about it, or it’s ok.  Because it’s none of the above, sin is a big deal, and Jesus died for each and every one of your sins.  So the words you use are: I forgive you.

The one who is finally led to repentance is cause for great excitement.  As Jesus teaches in Luke 15, there is more rejoicing over the one lost person who has repented then over the 99 others who did not need to repent.  The reality being is that everyone needs to repent.  Everyone needs what their pastor’s mouth speaks. 

The next time you are called to repent by your pastor, don’t look at him like he has three eyeballs.  Don’t sneer at him  and complain how dare he tell me to repent.  Your pastor has your best interest at heart. He has your salvation in mind.  Repent and believe the Gospel.  Jesus desires to make your sins his and save you.

The Harvest is plentiful but the Laborers are few (Matt 9:37)

I have seen a number of posts lamenting that there were 61 congregations that will not receive a candidate from one of our seminaries. The call goes out the harvest is plentiful, but the Laborers are few. (Matthew 9:37) Yes I agree with that statement wholeheartedly. But.

I would be remiss to not remind you that there is another category of candidates who goes ignored. These are the men who have for a variety reasons no call. They have no flock to care for and would simply love to have sheep to care for. The numbers vary greatly as to how many men there are, from over 200 to dozens, depending on which person you ask. We don’t need to rehearse the reasons for why some are not available for a call.  For in the end there are men who are willing and able to serve.  The number of them does not matter, what matters is that there are faithful men out there who are ordained and approved for reception of a call, and are willing and able to go out and serve, and because the laborers are few, these men who are still rostered in the LCMS need to be placed.

Are any of these men perfect? No!  Do they make mistakes, might they even…sin? Shock of all shocks, yes! But so also the 1000's of pastors who do currently serve as a called pastor.  What each and every member of a congregation must remember is that we have a good and perfect Law that calls us to do two things, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, AND love your neighbor as yourself.  When your pastor sins against you, you tell him, so that he may repent.  If you disagree with your pastor about how he faithful applies Law and Gospel, you bear with him and let him teach you.  As long he is faithful to what he has been called to do, he may do things differently then how you are accustomed, but he is not wrong.  So…you must trust him.  Because he is your called Pastor.  But that is another topic for another time. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have been derelict in our duty to place these men into churches where they might serve our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. If you are a church who is looking for a pastor, specifically request men who are on candidate status and languish without a call.  Do not take no for an answer from your district.  You have the right to call any pastor who is on the roster in our synod as long as he is not restricted by his District President from receive a call, but that Pastor will know if he is restricted or not.  Thanks be to God for our faithful District Presidents who are striving to get men on candidate status placed.

As you read the information on these men and work through the call process, do not take up the sinful attitude and attempt to ask, “What did this man do wrong? Why has no one called him?” This is simply not the direction you should go, as Jesus reminds us, “first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matt 7:5)

I am thankful for my flock, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, to call me as their pastor.  Thankful that they bear with me as I strive to preach, teach, and administer the sacraments as I have been called to do.  A pastor’s only goal is to be faithful to the Truth. And it is a challenging task to communicate this truth.  It is especially a challenge as we get compared to previous pastors, as we get told that we have never done it this way before, or as they are influenced by other worldly factors.  Your pastor’s goal is never to upset you or hurt you, but rather to deliver to you the means of grace as he has been taught, by delivering to you Law and Gospel.  Being a pastor is no easy task, especially in today’s climate, but it is a task to which our Lord calls men in order that all may be saved come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2:4)

Consider that as you call your pastor.  Consider that in light of your current pastor.  Consider that as you await your recently called pastor.  Consider that if you are one of hundreds of churches that are currently in the process of calling a pastor.  Your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has already given you one or will provide a shepherd for you.  He will give you one who will love you and care for you, because he knows that the Lord has placed you into his care.  

The Harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. We have a great task in front of us.  We need pastors more now then ever, to teach, preach, and administer the sacraments.  We need pastors to admonish us and forgive us.  We need pastors to shepherd.  If your church is calling a pastor or you know someone who has a church calling a pastor be sure to suggest an ordained candidate.  They are ready to go out into the harvest field!