St. Bartholomew
Do Lutherans Believe in Saints?
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This Sunday, the Church observes the festival of Saint Bartholomew, one of our Lord’s first disciples and martyrs for the faith.
Over the years, the observance of these festivals regrettably fell out of practice and as we know, when something is not observed, can lead us to believe it’s not important, it doesn’t teach, or worse, that these types of observances actually belong to another church.
In the case of observing the saints, a common response is, “That’s Roman Catholic.”
But it’s not. The first document of our Lutheran Confessions, the Augsburg Confession, clearly states, “Our churches teach that the remembrance of the saints is to be commended in order that we may imitate their faith and good works according to our calling.” (Augsburg Confession 21)
Don’t think of a saint the way the Roman Catholic Church does — as someone who has completed a list of requirements. Think of a saint as someone made holy by the blood of Jesus. Someone who lives in Jesus' forgiveness. Someone who returns to their Baptism each day. Think of a saint biblically.
As the Apostle Paul begins his letter to the Romans, “To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 1:7)
Or as Paul writes to the Ephesians, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-12)
Or as the Psalmist writes, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15)
My friend, you are these saints that the Scripture speaks of. So, why do we remember saints such as Bartholomew?
1. To thank God for providing such faithful servants to His Church.
2. Through remembrance, our faith may be strengthened.
3. To see their examples of faith and strive to imitate their lives.
I encourage you to open to page xii in the front of your hymnal this Sunday and learn more. You can even find a list of all the festivals and commemorations the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod observes.
And as always, if you have questions about this topic or any other, come and ask me! I’d love to share time with you.
In Christ,
Pastor
