Tuesday, November 19, 2024

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show ***

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

It is a pre-holiday mailbag extravaganza where you get to write to me and ask questions, and, as always, I will do my best to answer as many as I can. Many of you also write to say hi, to suggest a topic, or to correct my pronunciation- which is fine, as long as we remember that pronunciation is a matter of custom and preference and English speakers can “anglicize.” That being said,

Sonia (Sewn'-ya) Schoenfield (Shown’-field) from Mundelein (Mun'-duh-line) Illinois (Ill’-uh-noy) tells me that it called West “Loff—ee--ette" and “Wah'--bash with the emphasis on the first syllable,” I was reading this email on my phone coming out of the YMCA and proceeded to lock my keys in my car. Nevertheless, I appreciate the email. And we got an email all the way from Koszeg, Hungary, from Megan, who is actually from the States but is working with the Lutheran church as a missionary in Hungary. We also see from the information on her email line that she does musical theatre, and we here at the Almanac are pro-musical theatre.

I’m going to paraphrase Megan’s question- she is Lutheran and is at a church that is Lutheran but also has Reformed folk. one such minister gave her communion but did not say anything, and she was wondering if this was cultural or theological.

Ok- first, Hungary, for those trying to remember, has Austria on its western border and Ukraine and Romania on her eastern border. It was settled by Magyars, who converted to Christianity around 1000. It was part of the Habsburg Empire- but because of its location in the east and near Turkey, it was also contending with the Ottoman Empire.

It was the Ottoman Empire sacking the Imperial troops at the Battle of Mohacs in 1526 that led many to move their allegiance from the Habsburgs Catholic Church to the Lutheran church. During the Counter-Reformation, a number of nobles went back to the church, and thus, the money and support returned to the Catholic Church, but there were still pockets of churches of the Reformation.

Hungary became primarily Reformed (that is, following Calvin and Geneva more than Luther- they tended to remove MORE things they considered too Catholic).

There are some Lutherans still, obviously, Megan but they are largely near the Austrian border- folks of Germanic heritage and such is a place like Koszeg, there near the Austrian border. It became common in the 18th century amongst Protestants to form “union” churches between the Lutheran and the Reformed. As you might expect, this was anathema to many (in fact, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod was formed by folks who fled this “unionizing” in Germany).

So, as Megan has discovered, there are many churches today that have found that for various reasons in an increasingly secular society, they choose to band together.

Historically, the main difference between the Reformed and the Lutheran was in how they understood the “natures” of Christ- as God and Man, but how that plays itself out in how Christ is present in the Lord’s Supper (more on this tomorrow).

As has always been the case, people tend to like the way they do things- especially at church. And so it became common amongst pastors, whether they are Lutheran or Reformed or in a radical tradition, to have certain “sayings” or actions they would take around the time of the Lord’s Supper that indicated “this is how WE do it.” And so some took offense at breaking the loaf of bread, others took offense at what they perceived to be “idolizing” the elements.

Where you, Megan, are used to hearing “Christ’s body for you,” but if a Reformed person heard this from a Lutheran, they would get nervous that you thought, that they thought…. For some, this seems like much to do about nothing, but historically, it has been at the center of Christian worship and life, and thus, when there are disagreements, they have led to division. Thus, often, in celebrating the Lord’s Supper with various groups together, it is likely better to be silent than to use a term or phrase that might lead to questioning or trepidation by the recipient. Of course, you are writing because this pastor's silence was curious to you, so there is no one right answer- but like with the pronunciation of places like “Loff—ee—ette," it is an issue of custom and preference can hopefully spark good conversations about what we are doing when we receive that sacrament.

Enjoy your time in Hungary, and may God bless your ministry there.

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary and Hebrews 10:

“In just a little while,
    he who is coming will come

    and will not delay.”

And,
“But my righteous one will live by faith.

    And I take no pleasure

    in the one who shrinks back.”

But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

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

The show is produced by WAH-bash’s own- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a Californian who, of course, supposed he has no accent- we just got the default settings; 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.