One of the many joys and blessings involved in having my son Zachary at the Seminary is that I am able to learn and grow vicariously through his classes and studies, as he routinely shares with me the things that he is reading, the classroom lectures that he is receiving, and the papers and sermons he is writing. Our conversations and discussions of theology, pastoral practice, and the life of the Church are truly one of my greatest delights at this point in my life. Such things are not really “new,” as he was already asking me theological questions thirty years ago, but his questions now are certainly deeper and more mature, and his own insights, observations, and contributions are often quite profound and salutary.
Most recently Zachary shared with me his work on a paper for his class on the Lutheran Confessions, in which he is investigating the meaning and significance of Luther’s reference to “the mutual conversation and consolation of brothers” (Smalcald Articles III.4). He talked about the various things he was finding in different articles and essays, and we spent the better part of a couple hours discussing the phrase.
In consideration of what Luther meant when he included “the mutual conversation and consolation of brothers” among the ways that God gives the Gospel to His Church, along with preaching, Holy Baptism, the Holy Communion, and the Office of the Keys, the question is whether he was describing the pastoral care that is given and received in Confession & Holy Absolution, or whether he had in mind the mutual sharing of the Gospel that occurs among Christians within the communal life of the Church. It seems to me that, as the latter flows out of the former, there is no need to pit the one option against the other; and I have a sense that Zachary is reaching a similar conclusion in his own investigation of the question.
Regardless of Dr. Luther’s specific intentions when he used the phrase in the Smalcald Articles, the fact is that both the pastoral care of Confession & Holy Absolution and the mutual conversation and care of brother pastors and fellow Christians are fundamental and essential to the evangelical life and health of the Church on earth. And as I’ve already noted, the forgiveness received “from the pastor as from God Himself” in Confession & Holy Absolution animates the way that Christians relate to one another in love.
The Lord has so arranged His Church for the giving and receiving of forgiveness, and He accomplishes that divine intention and purpose in a variety of ways. And the forgiveness that Christians receive in the preaching of the Gospel, in Holy Baptism, in Holy Absolution, and in the Holy Communion teaches them and trains them to love and serve each other through mutual repentance and forgiveness of trespasses. Along the same lines, these multiple Means of Grace provide Christians with a vocabulary and grammar of consolation, encouragement, and refreshment in the Word and promises of God.
Think of what it means and what it looks like and sounds like when a congregation of God’s people lives and loves in that way. That same kind of “mutual conversation and consolation” ought to permeate our homes and families, as well, as husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters speak the Word of Christ to one another in the peace and joy and confidence of the Gospel.
So, too, “the mutual conversation and consolation of brothers” should be the lively and regular practice of pastors with each other, especially within our respective Circuits, not only in our monthly Winkels but regularly and routinely throughout the year. That kind of camaraderie and fraternal fellowship, shaped and filled by the very Gospel that we pastors are privileged to preach and administer from within the Office of the Holy Ministry, is perhaps the best and most persistent remedy against the temptations to rely upon ourselves, to go it alone, and to become mired in despair and/or puffed up with pride. The fact is that we pastors, as much or more than anyone else, need to have the Word spoken to us from outside of ourselves (extra nos), for the sake of accountability and correction, for the strength and consistency of our fellowship in the confession of Christ Jesus, and for the comfort and consolation of the Gospel. For what do any of us have – and what shall we give – that we have not received from the Lord?