Looking Forward

By Dcs. Rachel Mumme

Katrin is an eleven-year-old girl from a sketchy part of Berlin, Germany. This summer, one of her friends invited her to a week-long camp at St. Mary’s Lutheran Church, which is something like Vacation Bible School meets confirmation meets summer camp. Katrin had never really been to any church before, and in fact, her mom wasn’t thrilled that she was spending a whole week there. Katrin came nonetheless and had a great time with about forty other kids.

After the week was over, Katrin kept coming on Sunday mornings! Her mom still wouldn’t bring her to church, so she hopped on a bus and traveled clear to the other side of Berlin every week. From the beginning, it was pretty clear that the Divine Service was foreign to her. She was always sitting in the front row (a sure sign that she didn’t grow up Lutheran!), she didn’t know when to sit or stand or kneel, she talked with her friends throughout the whole service, and she could never find the right page in the hymnal. But she kept coming, week after week, and the pastor, Rev. Martens, started to talk with her about instruction toward Holy Baptism.

Why do you go to the Divine Service? Or why don’t you? Why does anyone? Is it to be entertained or to get something out of it? Is it to bring our praise and worship to the Lord? For Katrin, the Divine Service at St. Mary’s was something new, a place where she simply received what the Lord had to give without any requirement or expectation on her end. She found a place where she was loved, where people cared about her, and where she could learn of Jesus’ love and forgiveness. She would see that each week as well when Pastor Martens would absolve each baptized congregation member of their sins. She would hear God’s Word preached faithfully each week with a message that was for her. And in another year or two, after more confirmation classes, she’ll also be able to join with all the saints when she receives Jesus’ body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, getting what Christ has promised: forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

If we step back a few centuries to the year 304, we see another perspective, this time from Christians in Abitene (present-day Tunisia).There was a law that said the Eucharist (or the Lord’s Supper) could not be celebrated. When this group of Christians was caught receiving Communion, they were before a judge who then asked them why they were doing so, knowing that it was an offense punishable with death. One of their leaders, Emeritus, answered simply, “Sine dominico non possumus” or “We cannot live without the Lord’s day.” Of course, the Lord’s Day wasn’t celebrated without the Lord’s Supper, and so the confession of these martyrs was more than just about going to church. It was a refusal to live without those gifts that the Lord would give each week, namely the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation through Christ’s body and blood. Life without those gifts was simply another form of death.

What about us? What does our life look like without the Divine Service? Do we roll our eyes at waking up early on Sunday morning, or do we look forward to being filled up with Christ’s mercy and forgiveness? Is life without Sunday morning simply another form of death for us as it was for the Abitene martyrs, or is it something to check off of our list for the week?

Katrin continues to come to St. Mary’s, and in October, she became a member of God’s family through Holy Baptism! And every week, as before, Katrin comes and sits in the front row, but it’s different now, because after a few short months, she knows exactly when to sit, stand, and kneel; she points her friends to the right page in the hymnal; and she shushes them if they’re making too much noise. She knows most of the liturgy by heart and practically bounces into the sanctuary with excitement each Sunday. The Divine Service and the congregation have become an integral part of Katrin’s life, and her Sunday morning joy gets passed on to the rest of us!

Deaconess Rachel Mumme works for LCMS World Relief and Human Care and attends St. Mary’s Lutheran Church in Berlin, Germany.