The Evangelical Lutheran
Church (not “of America” as in ELCA)
stands on the 1580 Book of Concord, 10 confessions of faith that are official
explanations and summaries of what Lutherans believe, teach, and confess. The
Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod “subscribes” to all 10 confessional statements
of the Book of Concord, most notably the “unaltered” Augsburg Confession of
1530, and stands alongside other Lutheran church bodies with similar doctrine
and practice.
At ordination, Missouri
Synod pastors take a vow of unconditional subscription with the Lutheran
Confessions; in this way pastors, along with laypeople who confess the Small
Catechism, are able to say that what they believe is the truth of God’s Word.
And Zion Lutheran Church, as a Missouri Synod congregation, follows suit (per
Article III of our constitution)—like the Synod, we subscribe to the Lutheran
Confessions because they agree
with Scripture; some other Lutheran bodies, unfortunately, subscribe insofar as they agree with the
Word of God.
Within our congregation
and Synod, confessional subscription is the very foundation of confessional
unity—and nowhere else in the life of the church are believers united in
confession than at the Communion rail; and there is no greater reminder of
confessional unity than the chalice, better known as the “common cup,” upon the
altar (other than, perhaps, the Cross over it). The doctrine behind this vessel
is fundamental. Christ Himself instituted the Lord’s Supper in the close
fellowship of His disciples. And He used one cup, not many, at the Last Supper.
In all four accounts of
the institution of the Lord’s Supper, Christ took a single cup, gave thanks,
and instructed the disciples to drink from it: Matthew 26:27-28, Mark 14:23, Luke
22:20, 1 Corinthians 11:25.
Beginning with the first
Sunday in Advent, there will be a chalice on the altar during the Lord’s Supper
to be used during the Words of Institution, to serve as a reminder of
confessional unity. Does this mean, then, that individual cups are incompatible
with Christ’s institution of the Lord’s Supper? Absolutely not. The Sacrament
is Christ’s body and blood, given orally together with bread and wine, for the
forgiveness of sins.
And the Missouri Synod’s
policy with regard to the use of either the common cup or individual cups is
that in the absence of a specific
Scriptural mandate, either method of distribution, when performed in a reverent
manner, is acceptable.
When we approach the
altar and kneel at the rail together, we are confessing our faith
silently (as well as publicly), both vertically to Christ and horizontally to
each other, that Christ is truly present in the Sacrament and that through
faith we receive His true Body and Blood. Whether in one cup or many cups, the
wine is the blood of Christ,
poured out for us for the forgiveness of sins.
Until
next month, may the Lord bless you and keep you!
Pastor
E.B.
