Originally posted by lucifershammer
Once again, I do not see why Scribs and yourself seem so surprised by this.
I'm sorry if I sounded surprised. I don't think I was surprised, frankly,
but it's hard to communicate emotion like that in a forum.
I do find it amusing that a well-meaning Lutheran who disagrees with
the Church's teaching about 'closed-table' can be partaking of God-made-
manifest in the Eucharist, the physical representation of
agape and be
sinning simultaneously. But I don't make the rules, so sorry if I sounded
confrontational.
As for the citation you listed from Corinthians, a Lutheran would say that
s/he would be the best judge of the state of his soul and not the
Roman Catholic Church. Consequently, the authority which the Church
asserts it has to determine who can come to its table to receive is erroneous. That is, a Lutheran would not opine that simply receiving in
a Roman Church does not constitute unworthiness.
The note from the NAB on this verse reads: 'It follows that the only proper
way to celebrate the Eucharist is one that corresponds with Jesus' intention,
which firts with the meaning of his command to reproduce his action in the
proper spirit. If the Corinthians eat and drink unworthily, i.e., without
having grasped and internalized the maning of his death for them, they
will have to answer for the body and blood, i.e., will be guilty of a sin
against the Lord himself (cf 1 Cor 8, 12).' (Emphasis preserved from the
original passage)
A Lutheran electing to commune would simply say that they do in fact
grasp the meaning of His death, and that they do approach the Eucharist
in the proper spirit. Naturally, the Church would disagree with this.
Nemesio