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« on: February 06, 2013, 10:19:56 AM »
To be honest, I think a part of the problem is that we've never really come to grips with the "American" context regarding communion practice. Of course the Confessions are not going to dictate the finer points of faithful practice on this matter for our context because the Confessions emerged in a time prior to denominationalism, and Lutheran theology grew up after the Reformation in a time governed by the peace of Augsburg where the faith of the prince was the faith of the people. They never envisioned a time when congregations with different confessions of faith would, in some cases, be across the street from one another, or just a few blocks away. They never envisioned a time when our congregants would go to work and engage on a daily basis with members of Methodist, Baptist, Assembly of God, etc., etc., etc., and find them to be very agreeable people who are "allies" with them in some respects against the rising tide of secularism around them.
I'm not convinced we've really come up with a good "formula" for practice that prevents us from giving the Body and Blood of our Lord to people who would take it to their judgment, while also refraining from drawing such lines on an institutional, sectarian, basis. We've offered up the "pastoral discretion" clause to prevent us from being sectarian with our practice. While we've tried to say that demoninational membership is a "confession" of faith, is that really true in an age where attitudes are post-denominational and membership doesn't necessarily reflect one's views -- this being true even for those who are confirmed and receive the supper in our own LCMS congregations. When a layman in an ELCA congregation, just as one in an LCMS congregation, affirms their faith as taught according to Luther's Small Catechism but they never sign a church constitution nor do they make any formal subscription to the rest of the Book of Concord... do rules govern how we exercise pastoral discretion amongst laity differently than how we would practice communion policy with clergy who have a more specific vow? Further... have we really made the case that the divisions Paul is speaking of in 1 Corinthians, and the relevant texts, really are about "doctrinal" differences? Our exegesis on these texts sometimes pushes in the direction of eisegesis and the arguments that suggest that Paul was primarily dealing with a "doctrinal" division seem, frankly, to be a stretch.
I practice according to the LCMS policy -- I believe it is my duty to do so because of my membership in Synod. I haven't come up with a "better" alternative -- and even if I had, practicing like a "rogue" without the consensus of my fellow pastors would only exacerbate division and would prevent constructive conversation, study, and struggle through this matter that clearly needs to happen. I think we have a lot more work to do on this topic to consider how faithful practice actually engages our diverse American context in ways that remain faithful (so people do not receive the Sacrament to their detriment), but avoids sectarianism.