Archbishop Welby on the baptism of Prince George

Leithart nails it . . . again!

Peter Leithart (H/T to A Living Text) writes today about the real issue behind the Reformation, namely, the elevation of relics and religious images to the level of idolatry.

Like the great reformations of Hezekiah and Josiah, the Protestant Reformation was, above all, a purging of idolatry – a stripping of the altars.

Despite his apparent focus on justification, Luther was equally provoked by the idolatries of late medieval practice and theology. In a stimulating essay, Lutheran theologian David Yeago has argued that the key question that sparked Luther’s “Reformation turn” was not “How can I find a gracious God?” but “How can I find the true God?” Above all, Luther wanted to root out the subtle spiritual idolatry of treating God as a means to the end of one’s own spiritual satisfaction.

Ultimately, Yeago argues, Luther addressed this problem in a way that “anchored [him] more deeply than ever before in the traditions of catholic dogma, catholic sacramentalism, and catholic mysticism.” In particular, Luther’s turn in 1518 hinged on his struggle to formulate a coherent sacramental theology. As Yeago puts it, “Luther’s overriding pastoral concern throughout the indulgence controversy was that ordinary people were being misled about where and how grace is to be found.”

Positively, Luther wanted to direct sinners to those ordinances that Christ Himself had established as the “places” of encounter with God. Christ’s promise to communicate Himself to the faithful through specific means answered Luther’s pastoral concerns and simultaneously resolved the issue of idolatry.

After 1518, Yeago writes, “It is the particularity and concreteness of God’s presence that now bear the brunt of the task of foreclosing idolatry; the true God, who by definition cannot be used, is the God who makes himself available as he chooses, here and not there, in the flesh born of Mary and the specificity of his church’s sacramental practice, not in the groves and high places consecrated by our religious speculation and self-interest.” Luther resolved the theological problem of idolatry by appealing to Christology: Who is the true God? The one incarnate in the womb of Mary and born at Bethlehem, risen and ascended into heaven. He resolved the issue of practical idolatry by an appeal to a sacramental theology founded on Christ’s authoritative word: Where can he now be found? Where He has promised to be.

In short, throughout the Reformation, idolatry was the problem; high sacramentalism allied to a high Christology was the solution.

That, to put it mildly, is not how the Reformation is characterized in textbooks and pulpits, but this double concern with theological and practical idolatry were as much at the heart of the Swiss Reformation as of the Lutheran, and Calvin’s resolution of these issues was the same as Luther’s. Interwoven with his satiric attack on the idolatrous veneration of relics, for instance, was Calvin’s insistence that relics were spiritually destructive because they pointed sinners away from those designated sites where Christ had promised to make Himself available — in the water, where the word is opened, at the table, in the fellowship of saints.

Only by recognizing this underlying concern for idolatry and the centrality of sacramental theology in the Reformation battle with idolatry can we grasp the unity of the doctrinal and practical-liturgical dimensions of the Reformation. Without this insight, the Reformation can look like sophistry, a precisionist movement concerned with nailing down the logical connections between faith, justification, and works.

With this insight, the Reformation can be seen for what it was: an exhumation of fundamental elements of the Christian faith that had been buried for some time under mountains of relics, images, and distorted theology.

It is probably not an exaggeration to say that some contemporary Protestants have so come to revere the Reformation doctrine of justification that they have done with it much the same as their medieval predecessors did the relics.

Leithart on the two witnesses and a major deficiency in Protestantism

Peter Leithart's entry on his blog today is a punch in the gut to anti-sacramental Protestantism and an indictment against the American church in general, which has long been enslaved by such a limited, and limiting, ecclesiology.

James Jordan points out that the two witnesses correspond to two cities and to two forms of judgment (Revelation 11). One weapon of the witnesses is fire, and this corresponds to Sodom, destroyed by fire (vv. 5, 8). Another weapon is turning water to blood and bringing plagues, and this corresponds to Egypt (vv. 6, 8). The first is an Elijah judgment, the second a Moses judgment; the first is royal, the second priestly.

Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed by fire, but the associated cities are spared, though given a dramatic warning. The blood judgment is more complete: Egypt is completely devastated by the plagues and the exodus.

These two clusters of ideas correspond to the larger sequence of Revelation. The trumpets generally bring fire judgments that are partial (8-15). The bowls of wrath-blood bring a final end to the city (chs. 16-18).

We can abstract from this a more general pattern. Trumpet and bowl correspond to Word and Sacrament. Proclaiming the word brings a partial judgment of fire; but it’s the chalice of blood consumed by the saints that brings down cities. Here is the Achilles heel of many forms of Protestantism: Its power to transform is limited insofar as it knows only the weapon of fire and not the weapon of blood, insofar as it has Word without Sacrament.

Change key and the pattern emerges elsewhere: Trumpet is witness in word, blood is witness in death. Witness in word is crucial. It is essential preparation for epochal transformations. But the fire-witness doesn’t shake the city of man to its roots. Only martyrdom, witness in blood, does that.

On a personal level, I am glad to see Leithart, and (presumably) Jordan, agreeing that the "two witnesses" in Revelation 11 are, in fact, Moses and Elijah, as opposed to Enoch and Elijah (as some traditions hold). Following after my old seminary professor M. Robert Mulholland, I have long believed the former to be the correct interpretation.

Holy Communion: A bedside rite

From time to time, in my ministry to hospice patients, I am asked to administer the sacrament of Holy Communion. While both the 1928 and 1979 editions of The Book of Common Prayer provide resources for "Communion of the Sick," the prayers for physical healing are often inappropriate as hospice patients are looking not so much for deliverance from their ailments, but for comfort and peace as they prepare to pass from this life to the next. While the 1928 Prayer Book has an easily accessible rite, complete with collects and Scriptures, its archaic verbiage can be a hindrance to effective ministry even to older patients who may be familiar with such forms. Yet, the simpler rite in the 1979 Prayer Book comes at the expense of sound theology. All these considerations may make the issue more complicated than it should be, but I have had in mind for some time to pool the various resources at my disposal into an appropriate and accessible bedside rite which will fit, front and back, on a half sheet of paper and, thus, can easily be inserted into a standard-sized Bible. Here is the form I have developed at this point. Your comments and critiques are welcome.

The Collect 

O Lord, holy Father, by whose loving-kindness our souls and bodies are renewed, mercifully look on this your servant, lying in great weakness, and comfort him with the promise of life everlasting, given in the resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle (1 John 5.13-15)

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

The Gospel (John 6.47-51)

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Prayer of Confession

Almighty Father, Lord of heaven and earth, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed. Out of your great goodness, O God, have mercy upon us; according to the multitude of your mercies, do away with our offenses and cleanse us from our sins; for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

Absolution

The Almighty and merciful Lord grant you absolution and remission of all your sins, true repentance, amendment of life, and the grace and consolation of his Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Great Thanksgiving

Lift up your hearts and give thanks to the Lord our God; for it is meet and right so to do.

All glory to you, Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who of your tender mercy, gave your only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption; who made there (by his one oblation of himself once offered) a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world; and did institute, and in his holy Gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of his precious death and sacrifice, until his coming again: For on the night in which he was betrayed, he took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take, eat. This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Likewise, after supper, he took the cup; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink this, all of you. This is my blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for you, and for many, for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Therefore, O Lord and heavenly Father, according to the institution of your dearly beloved Son our Savior Jesus Christ, we now celebrate this memorial of our redemption. Recalling Christ’s death and his descent among the dead, proclaiming his resurrection and ascension to your right hand, awaiting his coming in glory; and offering to you, from the gifts you have given us, this bread and this cup, we praise you and we bless you.

And we most humbly beseech you, O merciful Father, to hear us; and in your goodness and mercy, send your Holy Spirit to bless and sanctify these gifts and creatures of bread and wine; that we, receiving them according to your Son our Savior Jesus Christ’s holy institution, in remembrance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed body and blood. 

Grant that all who share this bread and this cup may become one body and one spirit, a living sacrifice in Christ, to the praise of your Name.

Through Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory are yours, Almighty Father, forever and ever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer


The Communion

The body of Christ, the bread of heaven.
The blood of Christ, the cup of salvation.

The Blessing

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord: And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you, and remain with you always. Amen.