The congregation he served had a long and once distinguished history but neighborhood change, Lutherans dying off with no replacements, and other factors had brought about a long, sad decline in the fortunes of both neighborhood and church. I was there to interview on becoming his successor. I had four children to that point, all towheaded. The pastor lived upstairs. The neighborhood then was noted mostly for drunks, drugs, street people, illiterates, and prostitution.
He never distributed Holy Communion in the hand. I thought this practice was kind of medieval and unprogressive. I said so. Lutherans teach and confess, officially anyway, that the true body and blood of Jesus Christ is received in Holy Communion. What Lutherans or Catholics, for that matter individually may believe is one thing. What is formally taught is another. An amazing number Lutherans along with an amazing number of Catholics believe the bread and wine are at best symbolic of Christ.
Yet we both teach the Real Presence. Some of us may not be certain exactly what that means or how deep it goes, but at least we say it is so in our catechisms, new member classes, and doctrinal statements. We describe the location of the Real Presence as being the bread and the wine.
Christ is present in the Sacrament whether we believe it or feel it or not. Sure, you bet, said Martin Luther in his Large Catechism.
Just to pin the matter down, Lutherans have insisted upon two largely obscure Latin phrases to drive the point home. Russell E. His previous On the Square articles can be found here. Comments are visible to subscribers only. Log in or subscribe to join the conversation. Support First Things by turning your adblocker off or by making a donation. Close Login. Video Podcasts. Web Exclusives First Thoughts. The Real Deal by Russell E.
