June 25, 2006 - Presentation of the Augsburg Confession
“As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (St. John 15:4-5)
In the Name of Christ. Amen. On this day in 1530 the Lutheran confessors stood before the Holy Roman Emperor to present their confession of faith and to hear their fate. These men weren’t out to change the world. They weren’t even out to change the Church. Well, not much of it, anyway. They simply wanted the Church to clearly present the Christian faith according to Holy Scripture.
If you asked them, they probably didn’t see themselves as heroes – they were simply doing what Holy Scripture and their consciences convinced them was the right thing to do.
In our day this almost seems to be, by and large, a lost art. The push in most of society to tolerate all beliefs at all costs removes any form of uniqueness or exclusivity that the Christian Church may have had in the past.
But that is exactly what the Christian Church is – exclusive, in the best possible way. As another preacher once said, Christianity is exclusively inclusive. All who believe are saved. And all means all – everyone who has faith in our Crucified and Risen Lord will spend eternity with him.
The confessors wanted the Church to remain faithful to her Lord so that the branches wouldn’t shrivel from the vine because the life-giving Word it carried was obscured. That is their fruit – the Church we see today where the Word of Christ still remains, and where that Word still has the power to grow branches without number. Amen.
“O Lord God, heavenly father, pour our your Holy Spirit on your faithful people, keep them steadfast in your grace and truth, protect and comfort them in all temptation, defend them against all enemies of your Word, and bestow on Christ’s Church Militant your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.” (Collect for the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession)
Daily readings
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 Acts 8:26-40 Luke 11:1-13