wfn.org | Lutheran-Reformed Dialogue

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

25-June-1997 
97255 
 
               Why the Lutheran-Reformed Dialogue  
                   Is So Important to Lutherans 
 
                         by Mark Baldwin 
 
CHICAGO--The ecumenical proposals to be voted on this summer have grabbed 
attention in all corners of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 
because they cut to the heart of Lutheran identity. 
 
     One question has dominated the debate: Do the Reformed churches really 
believe that Jesus is bodily present in the eucharistic bread and wine?  Of 
secondary concern is whether the United Church of Christ, a party to the 
"Formula of Agreement" with the Reformed churches, is a reliable ecumenical 
partner.  These concerns have collided head-on with the ELCA's official 
ecumenical goal of pursuing full communion wherever possible. 
 
     "Our basic theological understanding is that while we ourselves are a 
church that preaches the gospel, we're not the only church that has the 
gospel," said Edgar R. Trexler, editor of the denomination's monthly 
magazine, "The Lutheran."  "It's built into our confessional documents that 
we will seek the closest possible ecumenical relationships."  A no vote by 
the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in August could have dire consequences for the 
church's ecumenical efforts, Trexler said. "When is the next time these 
partner churches would trust us again?" he said. 
      
     The anxiety about entering full communion with the churches of the 
Reformed tradition -- Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), UCC and Reformed Church 
in America -- centers on the Reformed view of Jesus' presence in the 
eucharistic elements. 
 
     "Everybody believes Christ is present in communion," said Paull 
Spring, ELCA bishop in northwestern Pennsylvania.  "The question is what 
way he's present.   In, with and under' is our teaching.  I haven't hear 
too many Presbyterians say that.  It's a matter of how seriously you take 
that teaching." 
 
     The Rev. Frank Senn, the ecumenical officer for the ELCA's Metro 
Chicago Synod, said: "There are many in the Calvinist tradition who say we 
experience Christ in the sharing of the meal.  But I can't imagine any 
Calvinist saying Christ is present in the bread and wine."  Senn advocates 
an interim agreement with the Reformed, similar to the 1982 interim 
eucharistic sharing agreement with the Episcopal Church.  An interim 
agreement would provide a chance "to get to know these people better" and 
improve the understanding of the Reformed teaching about the eucharist. 
 
     That line of argument is dismissed as arrogant by other Lutheran 
thinkers. 
 
     "Some in the Lutheran Church believe that unless other Christians use 
the exact same language we can't go forward," said Daniel Martensen, ELCA 
director of ecumenical affairs and assistant to the presiding bishop. 
"It's typical of Lutherans.  All of us have always taken theological 
accuracy with great seriousness."  The reason, Martensen said, is that 
Lutheranism defines itself not only in light of the biblical creeds, but 
also according to the historic Lutheran confessions, particularly the 
Augsburg Confession of 1530 and Luther's Small Catechism, which hold 
unequivocally that Christ is bodily present in the bread and wine. 
"Lutherans are known for testing everything by our confessional heritage," 
he said. 
 
     Senn frets about the potential impact a Lutheran-Reformed 
full-communion agreement would have on other ecumenical relationships. 
"I'm in the camp that says our relationship with the Roman Catholic Church 
has to be the most important agenda for us," he said.  "We're the ones who 
parted company in the 16th century, and we're the ones that must get back 
together again.  The risk is that we give away the whole store for the sake 
of fellowship with the Reformed and have nothing left in store for our 
ecumenical dealings with the Roman Catholics." 
 
     The Lutheran-Episcopal Concordat of Agreement raises an equally 
emotional issue in some corners of the ELCA with its requirement that ELCA 
Lutherans gradually adopt the historic catholic episcopate.  That issue 
also clouds Consultation on Church Union (COCU) discussions, which involve 
the Episcopals, Presbyterians and UCCs.  Adoption of a specific church 
organization would represent a sea change for the Lutheran tradition, which 
has always maintained that any kind of structure will do as long as it 
serves the gospel. 
 
     "Lutherans don't build their worlds around church order," said David 
L. Tiede, president of Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary in St. 
Paul, Minn.  "The Presbyterians don't require that we adopt the presbytery. 
Our own confessions say we need to adapt to the human institutions that 
will make Christ known." 
 
     Lutherans' principal concern, Tiede said, is that the church be an 
effective witness.  "People aren't really persuaded that preoccupation with 
church order is going to yield mission," he said.  "This isn't an 
anti-bishop thing per se." 
 
     The congregationally centered UCC, which traditionally shies away from 
rigid doctrine, presents another set of problems. 
 
     "They are not able to bind the conscience of ministers and 
congregations in terms of confessional touchstones," Senn said.  That 
creates problems regarding the interchangeability of clergy contemplated in 
the Lutheran-Reformed proposal.  "If we're back to the point of selective 
fellowship -- this minister teaches the way we do, this one doesn't -- the 
point of full communion is missed." 
 
     Another sore spot, though not part of the official dialogues, is the 
UCC's willingness to ordain gays and lesbians.  "Among people in the pews 
there are concerns about ordaining practicing homosexuals," Bishop Spring 
said.  "When people mention the UCC, it's what comes up." 
 
     The $64,000 question is whether any of these issues should be allowed 
to divide the church. 
 
     Martin E. Marty, a professor of Christian history at the University of 
Chicago and an ELCA pastor, believes they should not.  He compares this 
ecumenical summer to the early church. 
 
     "You had different theories of the atonement and the sacraments and 
different church structures," Marty said.  "You had agreement on one thing: 
The risen Christ is the exalted Lord." 
 
(Mark Baldwin is a professor at the Medill School of Journalism of 
Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., and is a member of Bethlehem 
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chicago.) 

------------
For more information contact Presbyterian News Service
  phone 502-569-5504             fax 502-569-8073  
  E-mail PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org   Web page: http://www.pcusa.org 
  mailed from World Faith News <wfn-news@wfn.org>  

--