submitted by Dr. Ralph and Jan Quere
Our time at Christ the King has not focused on the Reformation which has been the primary focus of my seminary teaching. One theme from Melanchthon intersects with worship and evangelism which have been central to our time with you. That theme is in the title of my book, Melanchthon’s Christum Cognoscere, meaning “to know Christ” or knowing Christ. The full theme is: Knowing Christ means knowing his benefits. It’s the same “benefit package” Luther talks about in his Small Catechism: forgiveness, life, and salvation. This theme comes from the very first Protestant systematic theology, written by Melanchthon at age 24. It is a restatement of Luther’s doctrine of justification which Melanchthon summarized in five Latin words in the Augsburg Confession of 1530: we are made right with God “by grace, through faith, on account of Christ.” (Latin is pretty terse!) For Melanchthon, as for St. Paul, St. Augustine, and John Calvin knowing is one of the chief synonyms of believing. Luther did not disagree, but he usually defines faith as trust.
Melanchthon extends this central theme to the Eucharist in the Augsburg Confession and its Apology: “to remember Christ is to remember his benefits.” Like St. Augustine, Melanchthon also understands remembering as believing. This reinforces the Small Catechism’s words about being prepared and ready for Communion through “faith in these words, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” I see this link between faith and the benefits of forgiveness, life, and salvation in Melanchthon’s view of the beneficial presence of Christ in the Sacrament: that we can be sure that Christ is personally present where he gives us his benefits.
It has been a great benefit to Jan and me to be involved in the life and worship
of Christ the King Church. It’s been like a “sabbatical” which
is a working vacation. That’s also how I like to regard my semi-retirement.
We cannot thank you enough for your generosity, hospitality and friendship.
I have appreciated the opportunity to present my ongoing work on youth outreach
(I wish Lutherans would reclaim the word evangelism from the other “evangelicals”!)
both here and in Baton Rouge. We pray for God’s continued blessings on
this congregation, on its life and ministries, in the Bach Society, the Melanchthon
Institute, and in its outreach to youth and to the young at heart!