The Presence: An Approach to the Holy Communion

by Berthold Von Schenk

Berthold von Schenk (1895 - 1974) was a gifted parish pastor of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. The Presence, originally published in 1945, brought to a wider audience what he had been meditating on and teaching his congregation for years about the meaning of Holy Communion for them and for all Christians.What von Schenk believed about Holy Communion was thoroughly grounded in the Bible and in the historical Confessions of the Lutheran Church. But it led him toward, not away from, other Christians. Holy Communion was the way that Jesus kept his promise to be with his Church always, even unto the end of the world. "Do this," he had said, "in remembrance of me." Holy Communion therefore ought to be celebrated not just occasionally but on every Sunday and feast day of the year.God did not just become incarnate long ago at Christmas; Holy Communion brings God incarnate to us today. Jesus did not give himself for us only long ago on Calvary; in Holy Communion Christ gives himself to us today. Pastor von Schenk shows how all the events of Christ's life confessed in the Apostles' Creed-his birth, his death, his resurrection, his ascension and the gift of the Holy Spirit-are all present for us in the Holy Sacrament he gave us.Paul Robert Sauer is the editor of this new edition. He is today the pastor of the same church that von Schenk served in the Bronx from 1940 - 1961. He found a copy of The Presence at the church. "Some books change your mind," he told a group in a talk about von Schenk. "This one changed my life." He has provided an Introduction and many helpful footnotes for modern readers.

174 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1945

Reviews

[Ryan Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really moving book on the power and importance of Holy Communion. So often I can be told something powerful and profound, but it doesn’t really hit until someone really explains the impact of that important truth. This book delivered that for the truth of the importance of Communion for me. The section on Bethlehem and the incarnation was wonderful, as was the description of the outpouring of holy love. I underlined so much, I’ll definitely look through this one again. Really a special book.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

There might be some better books on the transcendent nature of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, but not many. In 'The Presence', Rev. Berthold von Schenk (1895–1974) implores the Church to return to the Eucharist as the unequivocal focus on her Divine Service, and that it be received frequently -- as in every Lord's Day and Feast Day. For Schenk, this is the only revival worth embarking: for it is transcendent truth found in the mystical union of believer through local parish with Christ and His Body, the Church Militant (i.e. on earth) and Church Triumphant (i.e. in heaven, waiting for the Last Day) that spirits are craving. I wholly agree with him.

Schenk had a sobering thought in his conclusion: "Is it not possible that Jesus may also have in mind the neglect of the Holy Communion on the last day when He will say: “I was hungry and ye did not feed me?”" That is heavy stuff, and a question I would commend to us all to consider solemnly whenever confronted with the value of the Eucharist, the Holy Communion, and how frequently we ought to receive its divine benefits: Christ Himself (cf. John 15:1-8)

[NOTE: There are intermittent sections where it feels like Schenk is getting a bit too close to 'free will-decision theology' or unionism, but within the context of the whole book this is likely either poor word choices or a presumption on the part of Schenk that the reader knows well his Lutheran Confessions.]

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best book I’ve read in a while, and definately this year. One star dinged off for a self-important introduction and the logically inconsistent chapter titled “The Holy Catholic Church.”

[Jeremiah Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, straightforward thoughts on Holy Communion and how it should pervade everything the Church does.

[Benjamin Huckel · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read just one Lutheran work (other than Luther's Large Catechism), read this one.
Berthold von Schenck's theology of Holy Communion is taken from the wisdom he accumulated over decades of ministry, and his presentation of the topic demonstrates how his time in ministry boiled out the usual polemics one encounters in these issues. He is clear about his position, and clear on the ways in which other traditions (including members of his own) are in error on the question of the Supper. The Eucharist is for him the centre of the Christian life, the holy of holies into which we process in the liturgy.
He connects the mystery of the Eucharist to the major events of Christ's life, demonstrating how the Eucharist means a real remembrance of Christ, not merely a memory, where the life of Christ is made real to us as we become partakers in His body and blood.
Those interested in theology from an academic perspective will find at times that his approach is perhaps insufficiently rigorous and unsystematic, or perhaps too forgiving of other traditions' perspectives. Von Schenk quotes from a vast array of material, from the Roman Mass to Charles Spurgeon. As you adjust to his perspective on Catholicity, new ways of thinking about the Body of Christ and our internal divisions begin to present themselves, which is challenging.
Ultimately, von Schenck's concern is not "are you right, and do you condemn all who are wrong", but "how are you loving people?" The approach to the Holy Communion must be one of reverence, but ultimately of love. And the love that is cultivated by faithful reception of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament spills out to others. The Eucharist is von Schenk's answer to the question of declining church membership, and a decrepit Christian culture. The idea of von Schenck's book is perfectly summed up in this remark of Tolkien's:

'Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament. There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth.'

[Jonathen Loxley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no words for the beautiful way this book expounds on the Sacrament of the Altar. Nothing except to say that here is a book that understands why liturgical renewal is necessary - not for any mere aestheticism, not for winning back the trad Christian faith of the saints. No, not for anything so simple-minded. Liturgical renewal is necessary because a love of Christ is necessary. What is holy comes to us at the altar - He comes to us at the altar. Liturgical renewal is window-dressing for the redemptive work of Christ worked out in His faithful every day and which culminates every Sunday in the Service of the Sacrament.

Anyway, here’s Adoro te Devote to sum up.

“I devoutly adore you, hidden deity,
Who are truly hidden beneath these appearances.
My whole heart submits to You,
because in contemplating You, it is fully deficient.

Sight, touch, taste all fail in their judgment of you,
But hearing suffices firmly to believe.
I believe all that the Son of God has spoken;
There is nothing truer than this word of Truth.

On the cross only the divinity was hidden,
But here the humanity is also hidden.
Yet believing and confessing both,
I ask for what the penitent thief asked.

I do not see wounds as Thomas did,
But I confess that You are my God.
Make me believe much more in You,
Hope in you, and love You.

O memorial of our Lord's death,
Living Bread that gives life to man,
Grant my soul to live on You,
And always to savor your sweetness.

Lord Jesus, Good Pelican,
clean me, the unclean, with Your Blood,
One drop of which can heal
the entire world of all its sins.

Jesus, whom now I see hidden,
I ask You to fulfill what I so desire:
That the sight of Your Face being unveiled
I may have the happiness of seeing Your glory.
Amen.”

[Rick Stuckwisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a flawless book, but it is quite good and well worth reading. While I could not agree with von Schenk on every point (and in a few rare instances, I rather cringed at his assertions, as well as his manner of expression), overall I was not only impressed and pleased but deeply moved by his insights and observations. The heart of the book is the conviction, with which I fully agree, that the animating center of the Church's life is found in the Sacrament of the Altar. Particularly helpful is the way that von Schenk makes this point by moving through the contours of the Creed and Church Year, as it were, demonstrating that Bethlehem, Calvary, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, and the Communion of Saints all reside for us in the Body and Blood of Christ, given and poured out for us in the Supper. I also very much appreciated his comments and convictions concerning the remembrance of the saints. This book is worthwhile reading for any Christian, and in particular for any Luther pastor.

[Andrew Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

When my circuit visitor saw that I was reading this book, he commented that there are two kinds of Missouri synod Lutherans, those who are essentially pro von Schenk and those opposed. I'm surprise by how controversial this book seemed to be in Lutheran circles and how much of the book I had already heard and been shaped by in my education and formation for ministry. The return to a weekly communion has certainly been a good thing for the our beloved synod and for the people in it. It was illuminating to see how we got back to here.

[Edward Durand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Berthold Von Schenk, certainly has give his book a lot of thought and thoroughly worked through his thoughts and did his theological research. I will keep this one on the shelf, it will defiantly be a reread.