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Contents Cross Or Crucifix? THE January 2017 The monthly newsletter of Trinity Lutheran Church & School in Fergus Falls, MN Cross Or Crucifix? A Lutheran Perspective Contents What do you suppose is the greatest, most recognizable, symbol of Christianity? Some would From the Pastor’s Desk 1-2 suggest that it is the fish <><. One does, after all, see them on Christian’s cars all over the Lutheran Identity 2 place. True, but I’ve never seen a fish on the top of a steeple. Not that many people wear them Why Do the Pastors Chant? 2 Trinity Events as jewelry. In our church we have banners, paraments, and stained glass windows depicting Epiphany Service 3 Christian symbols, but none of them has a fish. But we do have crosses all over the place, so I Thank You! 3 would contend that of all the symbols of Christianity none stands out above the cross. We Can Teach You! 3 We have crosses on our banners, paraments, stained glass windows, pews and altar. We Historian Asst. Needed 3 have a processional cross. We have two crosses that we use behind the altar, one plain and one Missionary Moment 3 crucifix. We make the sign of the holy cross at Baptisms, during Divine Service, in the morning Ladies’ Bible Study 4 when we arise, before devotions, after receiving the Sacrament and other times. The pastors LWML in January 4 wear pectoral crosses in Divine Service and many of you wear one on a necklace or chain, too. Trinity Men’s NetWork 4 So Lutherans clearly use and love the cross as a symbol of their faith. It reminds us of Jesus Ex Libris Theologicis 4 love for us. It reminds us of the price Jesus paid for our salvation. It is the standard Christian Sanctity of Life Sunday 4 symbol. Preschool News & Pics 4 On Ash Wednesday, we will be dedicating a new large crucifix that will hang on the wall in Faces of the Reformation 5 the sanctuary and there will be some who wonder if we should have it. Member Life So let’s take a closer look at the use of the main Christian symbol, the cross, and through Pray for… 6 questions and answers determine whether or not as a Christian symbol the cross should be Thank You 6 “empty” or if it is okay to use a crucifix. Church & School Info 7 Question: Is the use of crucifixes an exclusively Roman Catholic practice? January Calendar 8 Answer: Not at all. Episcopalians, Anglicans and Orthodox churches use crucifixes and Daily Readings 9 history tells us that the crucifix was a regular feature of Lutheran worship during Luther’s lifetime and for hundreds of years afterward. The founders of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LC-MS) continued Luther’s teaching and worship practice when they arrived in the United States. There are crucifixes in the chapels of both of the LCMS seminaries and you can’t get more “Lutheran” than our seminaries can you? Lutherans consider the crucifix to be a powerful reminder of the sacrifice of Christ for our salvation. The Apostle Paul says in 1st Corinthians, chapter 1: “We preach Christ and Him crucified.” (1 Cor. 1:23). Dr. Luther also commented, “The custom of holding a crucifix before a dying person has kept many in the Christian faith and has enabled them to die with a confident faith in the crucified Christ.” (AE 22,147) Question: What happened in Lutheran history that makes the crucifix somewhat controversial today? Answer: Mainly two things: A movement within the Lutheran Church called “Pietism”. Pietism rejected much of Lutheran doctrine and, consequently, many Lutheran worship practices. Pietists believed that feelings and experience trumped Biblical doctrine. Also, American Lutherans have felt pressure to “fit in” with Reformed Christianity, which became the most common form of Christianity in America during the 20th century. Sadly, and Philosophy of Ministry to our detriment, this meant doing away with crucifixes, vestments, chalices, making the sign of Our primary goal is to the cross, and liturgical orders of worship. bring lost souls into a Question: Isn’t it better to focus on Christ’s Resurrection? Isn’t this why we should use a bare personal relationship with cross, to symbolize the Resurrection? Christ and strengthen the Answer: Some will reject the crucifix, saying that they worship a resurrected Jesus, not a dead faithful in their relationship Jesus. But this reasoning misses the mark. The biblical truth is that we worship Christ who was with Christ. We achieve both crucified and resurrected. We must be careful not to downplay the Crucifixion, because it this by education of all won forgiveness and salvation for us and the Resurrection won for us eternal life. Both are true, members in the true Word and both are necessary. of God through worship, Christ was resurrected from the tomb, not the cross. Therefore, a bare cross cannot be a Christian education and symbol of the Resurrection. If you want to symbolize the Resurrection then you’d better figure day school. We believe that out a way to symbolize an empty tomb, for that is where Christ arose. through education, The point is that both a bare cross and a crucifix symbolize the same thing: Christ’s spiritual growth will occur Crucifixion for the salvation of the world and thus both can rightly be used. and membership in the Question: Isn’t the crucifix a “graven image” that Holy Scripture warns us not to use? kingdom will increase. Answer: Those who claim this usually cite Exodus 20:4: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth Continued on page 2... Continued from page 1... beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” In truth, this Word of God does allow for images – just not the worship of them. In fact, the Lord, Himself, commanded the construction of images, for example in Exodus 25:18-22, when He ordered that two cherubim be carved and placed on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant. Any of God’s good gifts can be used wrongly, because of our sinfulness. But this is the sin of the worshipper, not the object. Even the Altar or the Baptismal Font can be abused, yet we wouldn’t cease to use these things. Rather, Lutherans are to correct false teaching, and forgive the abuse. Besides, how many of you have a crèche with a little baby Jesus in it? Is Jesus still a little baby? Do you worship the carving of the baby Jesus? Indeed, wouldn’t it seem strange to have a nativity scene and then intentionally omit Jesus, lest we make a “graven image”? Question: Wouldn’t it be better, in order to avoid misunderstanding, to simply not have a crucifix? Answer: Lutherans have never believed banning something was the solution to misusing it. Rather, we believe that proper and continual teaching is the best way to avoid misunderstanding. This keeps the good things in use to the Glory of God. Question: In conclusion, are crucifixes good and right according to the Holy Scriptures? Answer: This is the most important point of all: There is nothing contrary to God’s Word, or our Lutheran Confessions, about the proper use of a crucifix. There is nothing wrong with the proper use of either a bare cross or a crucifix, or any other church symbol by which we are reminded of all that Christ has done for our forgiveness and salvation. In an age in which so many things in our society are being “dumbed-down” and changed simply for the sake of change, we should guard against dismissing practices that are historic in the Church, that is, they have roots and teaching that goes back to biblical times. Before rejecting these things, we should learn more about them, and in so doing, have our worship and life enriched and blessed. The crucifix is a visual reminder of the graphic nature of what Christ did for us. This is Christ and Him crucified for us! + Pr. Christensen The Divine Service— A Lutheran Identity: What is Your Story? Dr. Arthur Just begins his book, “Heaven on Earth: The Gifts of Christ in the Divine Service,” by asking the question, “What is your story?” If you asked your grandparents about their life and story, it would likely be intimately interwoven with the Church. If they lost their story, they’d lose their identity, their faith. There was never an identity crisis for the generations of Lutherans living a century ago. Why? Because they always knew that Jesus was present for them in the Liturgy of the Divine Service and they went as frequently as they were able. Jesus was at the center of their identity in the world, because He is at the center of the Divine Service. Dr. Just also wrote, “Perhaps there is confusion about our identity in Christ because we no longer know where it is that we see Jesus.” Rather, cul- ture would have you to believe the only place to find Jesus is in your heart, in your feelings and emotions. While Jesus does dwell in our hearts, He does so through concrete means of His Word, in Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. The age of creative and disposable liturgies has aided the Church in losing its identity. Christ is no longer at the center of our story; rather worship has become more about feelings and emotions. The liturgy of the Divine Service used today by the Lutheran Church may seem out of place with a world that feasts on change and uncertainty, but the liturgy of the Divine Service keeps Christ at its center.
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