Baptism, the Virgin Mary, Marriage, and Jesus in a Snowstorm
by Pastor Walter Snyder

Q: I have two questions for you: 1) does the Lutheran Church recognize Catholic Baptism?
I am changing churches and need to know if I need to be re-baptized. 2) What is the
Lutheran Church's position on the Blessed Mother?

A: The Lutheran Church recognizes a ~Christian~ baptism, regardless of which church does the
baptizing. We don't accept "baptisms" which aren't done "in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit" since Christ plainly commands this in Scripture (Mt 28:19). We also
don't accept as genuine any washings done by those bodies which deny either the Trinity or the
divine and human natures of Christ. Remember that we share the Nicene Creed's universal
confession faith: "I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins." In fact, you cannot really
be "re-baptized"---your baptism endures whether you believe or deny Christ's promises delivered
therein.

As for Mary, Lutherans do not venerate her or pray to her as an intermediary. However, true
Lutherans do honor her for to not do so would be against Scripture and thus against Christ. The
angel called her "favored one (Lk 1:18)" and her cousin Elizabeth said, "Blessed are you among
women. (Lk 1:42)" Mary herself, in the song the Church calls The ~Magnificat~, sang, "From
now on all generations will call me blessed....(Lk 1:48)" This isn't because Mary was, of herself,
blessed but because God blessed her---and us through her, since God did "great things" through
her by making her the mother of His Only Begotten. We, with all of Christendom, continue to call
her blessed.

Q: I am getting married next February and I am not planning to get married in a church. I
was wondering if a Lutheran pastor was allowed to marry someone in a building that is not
a church?

A: While under "normal" circumstances we prefer to perform the ceremony in church, we have no
hard and fast rule. In general, any place which doesn't detract from the Christian center of the
marriage can be used. I wouldn't perform one if the purpose of staying out of the church building
was to avoid keeping the focus on Christ.

Because of different circumstances, I've married couples in church, at home, and in the nursing
home. This last was not because of the age of the couple but because the bride's parents were
there and it was the only way they could both attend.

Q: Hello, and may many blessing fall upon you. I work in a busy labor and delivery unit.
Many nights we have biblical conversations. However, one of the other nurses mentioned
that Jesus walked 40 or 50 miles in the snow. Os there any truth to this at all? Maybe I am
looking in the wrong place---she states that this is in the Bible.

A: I hate to break it to your coworker, but she's not reading the same Bible I am. We're certain
that Christ logged many hundreds, even thousands, of miles during His ministry. However, not
one passage remotely indicates that He ever trudged through the snow. I can name generals,
poets, and presidents of the United States whose lives included such travels, but cannot include
Jesus in their number.

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from ~The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version~<TM>, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

Ask the Pastor © 2005 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this
disclaimer, by anyone, provided that no profit is generated by said republication and redistribution.
Translations into other languages should similarly note the United States and any appropriate
international copyrights, as well as God's Scriptural injunctions concerning the property of others.

Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the
book ~What Do Lutherans Believe.~

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