AboutBrad Varvil Expertise I am happy to field questions regarding Lutheran theology and practice, and it's context
within the western catholic tradition. General questions on the Christian faith are also
welcome.
Experience I have served in lay ministry for over ten years, and am currently a pastor in a small, confessional Lutheran communion in the Evangelical Catholic tradition. I have worked with several Lutheran and non-Lutheran communions over the years, and have a particular fondness for catholic ecumenism.
Education/Credentials I have a BA in Religion and Philosophy from a small midwestern Lutheran college, and am completing an M.Div. at a small, independent, Lutheran seminary in the Pacific Northwest.
Question We are facing a very uncomfortable situation. We are Lutherans and out Daughter married a Catholic. Now our grandson (8) has his first communion at his Catholic Church. We were told by our daughter (who is still Lutheran) that the priest announced that any non-catholics in attendance will not be permitted to take communion. This applies to my grandson's mother, his Grandparents on the Lutheran side Me & my wife), and my other Daughter & granddaughter. All of the other side of the family are Catholics. I know what we believe, but do not understand why the catholics believe that if you are not catholic that you will not go to heaven as spoken by the pope. We will not embarrass my grandson at this event and we will sit like knots on a log. How do I explain this to him that we were not permitted to take communion by his church?
Answer Grace and peace to you, brother Ken.
This must be terribly painful-- as I cast my mind forward to when my own children might be in a similar situation, I don't know precisely how I would react myself. However, I'll offer you some observations that might help you navigate these waters.
Christ's Church was always meant to be united, but the sinfulness of man continues to cause suffering, even in the Body of Christ. While the Spirit of God makes all Christians one in Christ by grace received in faith, and by virtue of His work in our Baptism, people continue to bite and devour each other... and we carry a lot of baggage, from a lot of centuries of doing the same. Christ calls us to a simple unity in faith and love, and we constantly find reasons to complicate our relationships and divide. Such seems to be the curse of a Church that is populated by people who are, as Luther used to say, simultaneously sinners and saints.
However, on the positive side, we must remember that both Lutheran Christians and Roman Catholic Christians, are still Christians. We have differences in our confessions, but both of our formal confessional documents declare that any who are born from above by water and the Spirit are united to Christ and to each other-- that we are saved by grace through faith. (Cf. Augsburg Confession/Book of Concord, Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.) While there was a time not too long past that Roman and Lutheran Christians would yell anathemas at each other and declare each other damned, cooler and more civil heads have been prevailing over the last century. In fact, there have been many peaceful overtures between Lutherans and Romans through the 20th century, and while our doctrinal disputes are not all settled, we have been able to see each other as "separated brethren." Separated in our polity and our internal disciplines, but still united by the One Christ we confess.
So, if I may offer, we must remember that we as Lutherans are catholics of a particular confession-- a confession which differs somewhat from the confession of Rome. We are no less Christians than our Roman brethren, but we are still separated by sin... both historic and present. We can (and should!) pray that the Spirit of God heals our division and forgives our sins which have resulted in schism, but the pain of our separation continues in our day. A Roman Christian who knows their theology and confession will be no quicker to condemn other Christians to hell than a Lutheran who understands their own-- we are all, whether Lutheran or Roman or otherwise, saved by grace through faith in Christ. While that may not help ease the pain of the divisions we live in today, it can help us to be patient in our suffering, and know that Christ will eventually heal all division between His people... and most fully, as we all move from the Church Militant in this age, to the Church Triumphant above. Your grandchildren may certainly see that Lutherans and Romans are not united... but they will see that family from both Lutheran and Roman communions can live together in love and faith. Perhaps it will be in their generation that the sins of our generation and those previous to us, are healed.
May God bless and keep you, strengthen you and preserve you in His grace. All we who call upon the name of the Lord shall be united to Him, and to each other, by the Spirit that He gives to us. If our human sinfulness prevents us from fully experiencing that in our flesh, we may rest assured that such divisions and sin shall not survive the glorious resurrection, and the triumphant return of our Lord and Savior, in His Kingdom which has no end.
