Holy Thursday: The Elements

This past Holy Week I attended a Passover Seder put on by a Messianic congregation. It was amazing! I learned soooo much. These are just some of the random things I've been thinking about....

Above is a Passover Seder plate. Note the egg (beitzah) in the 10 o'clock position.

From Ask Moses.org:We place an egg on the Seder Plate to commemorate the Chagiga sacrifice (holiday offering,) which was offered in the Holy Temple on the 14th of Nissan, and eaten during the Seder, along with the Paschal Offering...In addition to its role on the Seder plate the egg serves another purpose at the Seder. Before the beginning of Shluchan Oreich, the meal part of the Seder, we eat the egg...because an egg also represents our mourning of the destruction of the Holy Temple...The egg is eaten as an appetizer before the meal...and is traditionally dipped into salt water before being eaten.

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

Matzah - Unleavened bread. The Passover Seder is part of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Matzah looks a lot like a cracker. It has holes & stripes. Three matzah are set apart on the seder table. The middle matzah, which symbolizes the Paschal Lamb (or Isaac), is called the afrikomen (that which is coming). It is broken and hidden until the end of the meal. After the meal, the afrikomen is found and passed around the table and all participants break off a piece. After saying the blessing over the bread, it is consumed.

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

The blessing over the cup is recited and the third cup wine in the seder is consumed. This third cup of wine is known as the "cup of blessing" or "cup of redemption".

And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."

This Is Intense

Children are baptized during a mass baptism ceremony in the town of Mtskheta outside Tbilisi, July 13, 2010. About 700 children were baptized by the Georgian Orthodox church during the 12th mass baptism ceremony led by Patriarch Ilia II. -- REUTERS

Warms My Lutheran Heart

Hat Tip to Teresa!

He Meant What He Said and He Said What He Meant

Enjoyable discussion on Holy Communion & the early church fathers at Visits to Candyland. I look forward to reading Wednesday's revelations after work, sorry I won't be around to participate... :-(

One last parting thought:
And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:17-20

Is Water Baptism Necessary for Salvation?

The answer is Yes. Yes it is.

Jesus commands: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, - Matthew 28:19

And He promises: Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. - Mark 16:16

Some of Luther's thoughts on the subject:

"Therefore they are presumptuous, clumsy minds that draw such inferences and conclusions as these: Where there is not the true faith, there also can be no true Baptism. Just as if I would infer: If I do not believe, then Christ is nothing; or thus: If I am not obedient, then father, mother, and government are nothing. Is that a correct conclusion, that whenever any one does not do what he ought, the thing in itself shall be nothing and of no value? My dear, just invert the argument and rather draw this inference: For this very reason Baptism is something and is right, because it has been wrongly received. For if it were not right and true in itself, it could not be misused nor sinned against. The saying is: Abusus non tollit, sed confirmat substantiam, Abuse does not destroy the essence, but confirms it. For gold is not the less gold though a harlot wear it in sin and shame.
Therefore let it be decided that Baptism always remains true, retains its full essence, even though a single person should be baptized, and he, in addition, should not believe truly. For God's ordinance and Word cannot be made variable or be altered by men. But these people, the fanatics, are so blinded that they do not see the Word and command of God, and regard Baptism and the magistrates only as they regard water in the brook or in pots, or as any other man; and because they do not see faith nor obedience, they conclude that they are to be regarded as invalid. Here lurks a concealed seditious devil, who would like to tear the crown from the head of authority and then trample it under foot, and, in addition, pervert and bring to naught all the works and ordinances of God. Therefore we must be watchful and well armed, and not allow ourselves to be directed nor turned away from the Word, in order that we may not regard Baptism as a mere empty sign, as the fanatics dream." - Martin Luther, Large Catechism

Means of Grace

A nice post on communion at Pr. McCracken's website Kyrie Eleison: "What we take for granted - what is granted without merit"

The Methodist church I grew up in was "old school" liturgical. When I left the nest I discovered it was probably one of the last such Methodist churches on earth. Too bad.

And now a word from the Lutherans...

There were Lutheran commentors on Candy's Keeping the Home blog!! On April 7th Candy posted an entry titled "The Whore of Babylon." Among the comments she received were messages from Caroline - former ELCA member, Deb - ELCA member, and Rebecca - WELS member. By the way, I am a LCMS Lutheran.

The comment from Rebecca is the one I find most distressing. This is what she wrote:

It is funny how this post came up, and people are talking about different denominations.I was baptised as a baby, and starting at age 12 I was brought up Lutheran. Lately I have been wondering whether the teachings of this church are correct in regards to infant baptism and communion. I go to a Wisconsin synod church, which is very conservative. If any are willing to comment on why these teachings are true or false I would be grateful. Oh, and please reference bible passages with your answers. I believe that the bible is the ONLY standard for a christian to make decisions on! Thank you,
Rebecca

I find this troubling because 1) The WELS members I know are so well catechized I am genuinely surprised to find one questioning either of these issues. 2) Candy being Candy there is no way a response in favor of infant baptism or communion would ever be published. And 3) There is no link to Rebecca's homepage or I would gladly write to her and explain why the teachings of WELS regarding infant baptism and communion are TRUE and BIBLICAL. There are so many links that I could share with her.

Hmmmm...what to do?....what to do?....