One citation and one point this week - a reminder of the Donatist heresy.

Matthew 25:1-13

[Jesus said,] “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.”
— Matthew 25:1

The one and only citation this week is a quote in passing from Melanchthon in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article 7 & 8: The Church (AP 7/8.19) where this parable and the parable of the next from Matthew 13 are used to show that the true Church is hidden under the visible church.

This addresses the Donatist heresy directly as Melanchthon makes it clear that the institution of the church-bishops, priests, deacons, cardinals, and even popes—might not be part of the true Church. Since the sacraments belong to Jesus, not the institution of the church, this does not keep the sacraments from being efficacious, even if the person presiding at the sacrament is not part of the true Church.

TheoThru

The challenge here is not to get caught up in trying to figure out who’s in the true Church and who isn’t. Good luck with that, especially since that authority belongs to Jesus and not us. The idea here is to bring solace to those who are worried about leaders in the church being bad people and what that means for the individual’s participation in the sacraments.

What if, after decades of service, a beloved pastor retires and then all the secret sins come out and we all learn that the pastor was in fact a terrible person. Since the sacraments belong to Jesus, the sacraments are always efficacious. There will probably still be a needed time of grief and repentance and coming to grips with what the pastor has done, but the baptisms and communions that pastor presided over are still valid because they depend on Jesus’ faithfulness, not the pastor’s faithfulness.

On the other hand, if your pastor or priest or deacon or bishop or cardinal or pope is an unrepentant sinner and the sin is generally known, the question is probably why that person is being allowed to stay in that office. This is not about the efficacy of the sacraments. Instead, it’s about the institution of the church being held accountable—which is a necessary aspect of being church in the world.