Monday, August 19, 2024

It is the 19th of August 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A very happy Monday! I am back in the sun of the CHA studios in Lake Forest, California- a great time was had at Mt. Carmel in Alexandria, Minnesota, on the banks of Lake Carlos…  

I told them, I wonder when I get back if I tackle a certain question on the mailbag.. why not? It is a question that came from neighboring Wisconsin- Steve in Marshall. Marshall is a small village in Wisconsin, a population under 4,000- get this, it was the original home of Augsburg Seminary- the Norwegian Lutherans started it there in Marshall before it moved to Minneapolis and then, for quite some time, was one of the main seminaries for the old Lutheran Free Church.

Steve writes: I frequently hear the terms open, close, and closed in reference to communion.  I theologically understand the differences (though I might categorize them a little differently in my own mind), but I haven't found anything about the history of these practices.  What was the practice of the Church and its splinters over time?

Steve- I get a question like this from time to time in the mailbag, and I usually think about answering and then I don’t because:

1. As you suggested, good work on the historical practice of the Lord’s Supper across church bodies does not exist. I can find comparative studies on a lot of things, but for some reason, when it comes to the one, repeated, sacrament or ordinance, it's hard to find much.
2. Disputes over the Lord’s Supper have divided churches and are at the core of some of the earliest divisions in the Protestant church.

In fact, the Salvation Army is one of two major denominations to not celebrate any kind of eucharist/communion precisely because it has caused so much division. The reasoning goes that the Lord’s Supper is not necessary; therefore, to avoid dissent, it is not celebrated. Quakers and some others in the Radical Reformation tradition also don’t celebrate the Lord’s Supper as they believe that all of life is sacramental; in their thinking, good works trump any cultic practices.

Another distinction: among Protestants who celebrate the Eucharist/Communion/Lord’s Supper, there are those from the Magisterial Reformation—Lutheran, Calvinist, Anglican—who retained the idea of “sacraments.” Other splinter groups would tend to reframe the practice as an “ordinance” or “remembrance” to distance themselves from perceived “Catholic practices.”

When it comes to the Lord’s Supper, the ideas of “open,” “close,” or “closed” are a minefield of accusations, fears, and suspicions.

This is a relatively new issue because the major branches of Christendom prior to the Reformation understood communion for members only. Then again, citizenship was for “members only,” so we might need another paradigm outside of “Christendom.” “Close” or “Closed” means “members only” or “those who have a similar confession,” and if someone was visiting (another modern phenomenon with travel, intra-confessional families, etc…), they would need to speak to someone first.

In these traditions, the call to examination (See 1 Corinthians 11) falls, in part, on the priest, pastor, or Elders.

“Open” communion has two kinds- one in which the table is open to literally anyone who desires to come. Just as the pastor or priest might indiscriminately say the words of forgiveness over the congregation, so can they open the table and let the person and the Lord figure it out?

More common is an “open” communion where the examination as to whether or not someone comes to the table is done by the individual after the pastor or priest has “fenced” the table or set some condition- usually: being baptized, being a member at any Christian church, being a follower of Jesus or cognizant of the mystery of what is being offered.

The Lord’s Supper has historically been something of a microcosm of the church herself- stressing union and community while also being a practice so diversely practiced, and the cause of schism.

One of the rubs in tracking the practice of communion is that confessions will stress the theology ‘behind’ the practice but rarely the practice itself (do all come forward? Common cup? What kind of wafer? Am I supposed to get really sad and morose?) All of these are best discussed in the particular context of when it's being celebrated- which isn’t the greatest, most fulfilling answer, but such is the nature of discussing this one practice across church history.

Thanks, Steve! You can send me your questions at danv@1517.org

The last word for today is from Philippians chapter 4:

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 19th of August 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man, not in the “Free Lutheran” tradition; he comes at full sticker price. He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who finds Culver’s butter burger like the children of Lake Wobegon: Above Average— I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.