Reminiscere—Examined and Absolved
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many are dead.” (1 Corinthians 11:27–30)
“My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1)
“And obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will give an account.” (Hebrews 13:17)
It is on the basis of these key passages of Scripture, and other passages of Scripture—like the pastor needing to be trained in sound doctrine so that he can instruct the unlearned and admonish or correct those who contradict it (Titus 1:9)—that our Lutheran Confessions say this: “The body of the Lord is not usually given to those who have not been examined and absolved.”
“The body of the Lord—we approve of confession, private confession and absolution.”
Another place in the Book of Concord concludes that some examination is helpful so that people may be instructed better.
Another place: among us many use the Lord’s Supper every Lord’s Day. They do so after they have been first instructed, examined, and absolved.
And then one last place: confession and absolution should by no means be abolished for the sake of timid consciences and untrained young people so that they may be examined and instructed in Christian doctrine.
Now this word examination—the Reformers like Luther write in other places, giving us some more information about what this examination entails. What are you talking about? Examining a pastor? Examining parishioners? What does that mean?
When Luther was writing his reforms of the Roman Mass, in the section on communing the lay people, he says that if you desire to receive the Lord’s Supper, you should request in person to receive the Lord’s Supper so that the pastor may be able to know both your name and manner of life. And let him not admit the applicants unless they can give a reason for their faith and can answer questions about what the Lord’s Supper is, what its benefits are, and what they expect to derive from it.
They should be able to repeat the Words of Institution from memory and explain that they are coming because they are troubled by the consciousness of their sin and now hunger and thirst to receive the Word and sign of grace and salvation, so that they may be consoled and comforted.
When the pastor has convinced himself that they understand all these things, he should also observe whether they prove their faith and understanding in their life and conduct.
Thus, if the pastor should see a fornicator, adulterer, drunkard, gambler, usurer, slanderer, or anyone else disgraced by a manifest vice, he should absolutely exclude such a person from the Supper unless he can give good evidence that his life has been changed. The Supper need not be denied to those who sometimes fall and rise again, but grieve over their lapse.
In his preface to the Small Catechism, Luther says this about the primary texts of the faith—the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer—not his explanations, but just the words. He says, teach them first of all these parts—the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer—according to the text, word for word, so that they too can repeat it in the same way after you and commit it to memory.
But those who are unwilling to learn the Catechism should be told that they deny Christ and are not Christians. They should not be admitted to the Sacrament, accepted as sponsors at Baptism, or practice any part of Christian freedom. They should simply be turned back to the Pope and his officials—indeed, to the devil himself.
It is very clear that it is part of a pastor’s job to ask his parishioners questions about what they believe and why; to ask about their life and conduct; to pay attention to it; to say something when he sees the life and conduct or doctrine of a particular parishioner out of whack.
He is supposed to ask you what’s going on if he doesn’t see you in church, or if he sees you doing this or that thing or hears about it. It is part of a pastor’s job.
It’s like a shepherd of sheep. Just like an actual shepherd needs to open up each sheep’s mouth and check to see if the teeth and gums are doing all right, examine the body to see if there are any wounds or infection, check the hooves for bad spots—so also the pastor must examine and explore the doctrine, life, and conduct of the Christians whom Jesus has placed under his care.
And he needs to do this regardless of those individual parishioners’ age, level of education, personal accomplishments or achievements, or their own perceived level of knowledge. He has to do it for all of them in different ways.
This is most certainly true. But it can be uncomfortable for the pastor and the parishioner. It can sometimes seem forced. It can sometimes feel pedantic or insulting. Sometimes it might even feel a little embarrassing if you get flustered being asked a question and you think, I know that’s a simple question and I should just be able to spout off the answer, but I’m struggling to put the words together.
Questions like: How do you know that you’re a sinner? What are the Words of Institution?
When a visitor comes to an LCMS church—coming from another LCMS congregation—and I ask them if they believe they are a sinner, and when they are seeking the Lord’s Supper, what do they seek in seeking it? What is it? When I ask them questions about their life—Do they have a pastor? Are they regularly attending? Are they under the care of a pastor?—I’m sure it can be surprising.
I’ve been asked these things when I’ve visited congregations where a pastor, doing his job, asked me because he didn’t know me. He didn’t know what I believed. And he loved me enough to be a little uncomfortable and ask me: What do you believe? Why are you here?
So it’s just part of the job. It’s uncomfortable, and it can be surprising, but it’s what we have to do.
But oftentimes, maybe for us, we can feel like, I’ve been going to this LCMS church for a long time. I get to have the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. And you go on vacation to another Missouri Synod church, and you can kind of take it for granted and feel like you’re entitled to go up there, whether that pastor knows you or not.
And that’s not right.
We shouldn’t be treating it like we’re a Costco member—like we’ve paid our dues, like we passed confirmation class way back when. Or, as the departed Ronnie Van Zandt from Lynyrd Skynyrd would say, “Don’t ask me no questions.”
Other Christians visiting from heterodox congregations—congregations that do not teach that Jesus gives His true human Body and Blood in the Lord’s Supper, but perhaps teach that He is present spiritually only according to His divine nature, which is problematic because the divine nature does not have a body or blood; or that it is merely a memorial meal; or that ordains women as pastors; or teaches that there are other ways available to human beings to be saved other than trusting in the Lord Jesus—when someone from one of those churches comes, it can be off-putting for them when questions are asked.
They don’t understand. Why am I asking these things? Why can’t they just have the Lord’s Supper? They’re a Christian. They go to church. They just don’t go to a church that teaches what is taught here necessarily.
They might even personally believe that the Lord’s Supper really is Jesus’ Body and Blood, but they go to a Baptist church that teaches it is a memorial meal.
One example of an exchange on this topic: when someone could not have the Lord’s Supper that day because they were not members of an orthodox congregation being served by the pastor, believing that it is the Body and Blood of Jesus, they were offended by the practice of what’s called closed Communion.
I said, you can do the same thing that I did. I didn’t grow up Lutheran. I didn’t commune right away when I came to the Lutheran Church. I went to class with a pastor. My wife, Payton, did the same thing in high school. She couldn’t commune right away. She went to classes with the pastor at a Missouri Synod church. You could do the same thing, and then you could have the Body and Blood of Jesus here with us. That’s what we want for you.
And the response was: I already know all that. I don’t need to go to a new member class. I went to Sunday school growing up. Why should I take a class?
Unfortunately, there are plenty of LCMS pastors and laity who do not believe that it is part of the pastor’s God-given responsibility to examine the doctrine, life, and conduct of each of his parishioners.
One former LCMS Synod president regularly speaks this way. This is a quote from him—not a current one, a past one:
“Well, let me just say this about sacramental hospitality. Luther was strong on this, and so was Holy Scripture. ‘Let a man examine himself,’ period, rather than giving the pastor the authority to say, ‘I’m sorry, you can’t go to Communion today.’ There are only rare circumstances where a person is living in open and manifest sin that the pastor should exercise that pastoral authority. Other than that, ‘Let a man examine himself.’ A pastor needs to explain to people what’s going on in the Sacrament during the time that the Sacrament is fixing to be celebrated. But the bottom line is, it’s up to the person to make that decision.”
You just heard from the Bible and from the Book of Concord and from Luther. That is not true. Luther did not say that.
When I heard this former Synod president say this in an interview on a podcast, I reached out to the group, sent them an email citing the same Bible passages and Book of Concord passages I just read to you.
The response I received from a representative included this:
“Our primary desire is to be faithful as well. Even more than being mindful of guests is our desire to faithfully administer this Means of Grace. Our decision on how we conduct Communion is more about following Paul’s words on the Lord’s Supper: ‘Let a person examine himself,’ and that ‘for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the Body eats and drinks judgment on himself.’”
Now it is true in 1 Corinthians 11 that it says, “Let a man examine himself” (1 Corinthians 11:28). But that is a warning to Christians—to all of you.
It means you ought to examine yourself. It is not necessarily the best thing for you to take the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. There may be Sundays where it might be better for you to receive a blessing. It is good to frequently partake of the Lord’s Supper, and it is imperative that you are attending regularly at Divine Service. But just because you are here and you are a communicant member does not mean you definitely should take the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. You ought to examine yourself and pay attention to yourself. That is what those words mean.
But does it also mean that the pastor does not need to check up on those members and make sure that they understand what it means to examine themselves? Does it mean that we just assume, if someone comes up and puts their hands out, that they know what it means to discern the Body? Shouldn’t a pastor—if he is going to have to give an account to the Lord of how he cared for souls—have some idea whether the people approaching the altar believe they are sinners, know what the Lord’s Supper is and what it is for, and understand other important questions?
If I am going to have to give an account, don’t you think I should know that?
Or is it faithful for the pastor to think that if he makes some sort of announcement explaining the Lord’s Supper and who may come up, then he can assume that whoever happens to come up here with their hands out knows what that meant and was paying attention when he said it?
Or should he actually talk to them?
Imagine Nadab and Abihu—Aaron’s sons—who were struck dead in the presence of God for offering profane fire before the Lord (Leviticus 10:1–2). Do you think after that it would have been enough simply to read out loud, “Here’s the right kind of incense to use,” and then say, “All right, go ahead in there. Good luck”?
That is not how we behave with the things of God.
Many had gotten sick and died by misusing the Lord’s Supper in Paul’s time (1 Corinthians 11:30). Nadab and Abihu really were struck dead in God’s presence for coming in a way they should not have done.
So the pastor has to pay attention. He has to examine the sheep.
It is not rude or unwelcoming for me to test you before you receive the Sacrament and throughout your life as a Christian.
If it were rude, I would be relieved. Because in the qualifications for a pastor, you are not supposed to be rude. You are supposed to be hospitable (1 Timothy 3:2). If it were really true that examination were rude, I would be relieved. It makes me uncomfortable to ask people questions about what they believe and about their life.
I would be relieved if I did not have to do it.
But it is not rude. It is not unwelcoming. It is not unloving for a pastor to instruct and examine. It is the pastor’s job.
It is a parent’s job toward his children. It is a beginning catechesis teacher’s job toward the children who show up.
And our Lord gives a wonderful example of such examination and testing in the Gospel reading today with the woman of Canaan (Matthew 15:21–28).
Jesus did not forget that He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). He did not forget that He came for all nations.
He wants to teach His disciples and the Canaanite woman—whose daughter was severely demon-possessed—by asking a set of very important questions.
This is the woman of Canaan’s confirmation examination in front of Jesus’ congregation.
He is asking her: Do you know that you are a Gentile? Do you know that you come from pagans who indulged in sexual immorality and sacrificed their own children to demons? Do you know that God commanded in the Old Covenant—which I have come to fulfill—that His people Israel were not even allowed to marry people like you? Do you know that all of that unbelief and idolatry is the work of demons and opens you up to demonic possession?
He might be asking in a way the world would call rude or dismissive. But it is no different than when I ask children before their first Communion to recite the Words of Institution and then say, “What do you believe about the Lord’s Supper based on these words?”
They will say something like, “I believe it is Jesus’ Body and Blood.”
And then I will say, “Why do you believe that? When I eat it, it just tastes like bread and wine. It doesn’t taste like Body and Blood.”
They look at me surprised for a split second—and then they say something like, “Because Jesus told me in His Word.”
That is what Jesus is doing in the Gospel. He is testing her. Examining her. Exploring her faith and life. Teaching her. Curing her timid conscience. Teaching all who witnessed that yes, He even came for the Canaanites—for the child sacrificers. He came for all who would call upon Him.
Testing can be confusing, uncomfortable, humiliating, or humbling. But for the Christian who is tested by the Lord according to His Word, testing is always a benefit.
Whether it is me asking you questions, or an intense affliction that has fallen upon you, or someone has been ripped away from you, or you have been hurt by other Christians—whatever the testing might be—if it is from the Lord and according to His Word, it is always a benefit.
So let none of us despise the testing of our Lord for fear, arrogance, presumption, laziness, or any other reason.
When through trial and testing our Lord shows us our lack, our sin, our need, let us answer Him in prayer and by making use of the Means of Grace, along with the Canaanite woman who fell down before Him to worship Him and begged His help.
Let us say:
“Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” (Matthew 15:27)
“I am a sinner. But I know You did not hesitate from laying down Your life and taking it up again to save Your enemies. So I am certain You will not withhold Your mercy from me.”
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” (James 1:2-3)
“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6-7)
“‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.’ If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:5-11)
Let us pray. Lord Jesus, the Canaanite woman endured utterly onerous testing and plagues—especially when You did not answer her a word to her supplications and petitions, when You allowed Yourself to be approached and did not go to comfort her, and when, according to her unworthiness, You compared her to a dog. We beseech You that You would strengthen our weak faith in the midst of all our testings, so that by the comfort of Your Word and the Holy Spirit we may overcome Your silence, Your delay in answering, and all the feelings and fears of our unworthiness, and never doubt Your grace. For You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.
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