Pope Leo X, in a bull titled Decet Romanum Pontificem on January 3, 1521, excommunicated Martin Luther from the Catholic Church, as well as any who follow his teachings, whom this bull labeled Lutheran. The last part of the missive cites the authority which Leo uses to perform such excommunications. There, he wrote,

It’s possible that this bull, as well as Leo’s earlier bull, Exsurge Domine, in which he commanded Luther to recant his teaching, served as part of the influence in writing Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word. There were later events that certainly gave cause to the hymn, not the least of which was an alliance that gave the impression that the Pope and Turk—to be understood as Muslim—were allied against the Church! Catherine Winkworth, prolific in translating many hymns into English, altered the first stanza to the way it is most often now sung, but what Luther wrote was a little closer to this:

Still, the Catholic Church, which would come to be called Roman Catholic nearly a century later, claims the authority of Peter and Paul as the founding of their church, so to speak. More specifically, the Bishop of Rome, who would call himself pope, claimed to be carrying with him and his office the authority they claim was given to Peter to be the head of the Church on earth. Peter is the foremost of all of Jesus’ apostles. Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles. These two men have been and still are seen as the two greatest men in the Church since the Ascension of Jesus. Therefore, the papal church appeals to these for their foundation and papal authority.

The sainted Dr. Hermann Sasse, a Lutheran theologian from Germany by way of Australia, posed a question to the LCMS about 60 years ago. He had written a series of letters to Lutheran pastors in the Missouri Synod, and in letter 20 he wrote,

A crowd had gathered around Jesus, and I suppose many a sermon could begin that way. But, once again, a crowd had gathered. Among this crowd were deriders and those who sought to sully Jesus’ reputation—Pharisees and their disciples, scribes and teachers of the law, perhaps some Sadducees. Never letting a situation go without some instruction—these are his people after all, the ones created through Him, the ones He was sent to—Jesus spoke to the crowd assembled. He instructed, and some believed. To them that believed in Him He said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

Yet, there existed in this crowd still others who did not believe—Pharisees and their disciples, scribes and teachers of the law, perhaps some Sadducees—they’ve all been mentioned before. They chimed in, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” (John 8:33) Jesus explained that one who sins is a slave to sin, but if He, the Son, sets them free, they are truly free. He acknowledged that they are descendants of Abraham, yet seek to kill him; they do the work of their father, who is not Abraham. They stood firm, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus responded:

Before the Gospel lesson begins, Thaddeus, one of the twelve, asked Jesus a question: “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Then, as you heard, Jesus gave His response:

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word…Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.” It sounds simple enough. A mark of one who loves Jesus, who follows Him, who is a believer, is keeping His Word. And why not? If you love someone, you tend to pay more attention to what they say or write; you tend to hang on every word they say, soak it in, and cherish it. So it should be with one who loves Jesus, they keep His Word: they pay attention to it with meticulous detail and are keen to observe everything He says by it.

Conversely, the mark of one who does not love Jesus, and you can read that to mean either as one who hates Him or who is otherwise indifferent towards Him, is not keeping His Word. If you do not like someone or are otherwise indifferent towards them, you will most likely ignore what they have to say. How often do you change the TV channel when someone you do not care to hear is about to speak? Or, perhaps you hang on their every word, looking for something to complain or argue about (definitely not to soak it in and cherish it). And, this is how it is with those who do not love Jesus—they either ignore what He has to say, simply don’t care about it, or care enough to hear it in order to contradict it.

Did you hear Him? Jesus Christ mentioned you in today’s gospel. Hear Him again: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word…” He prayed not only for His disciples, His Twelves—“I do not ask for these only,” He said—but also for those who hear His disciples’ words—“but also for those who will believe in me through their word,” He continued. You, dear hearers, are prayed for by Christ. Soak that in for a bit.

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So, by now, you are probably wondering, what is He praying for you to have or to be. “[T]hat they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us…” He prays for one-ness. Be careful, this is not merely unity, as in a bunch of individuals getting together, but union, as in many becoming one. And this, not only a union of people into some mere organization that is called the church, but one-ness in God—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Take a little time to ponder that, too.

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