There are many reasons why ordained pastors cannot consecrate the body and blood of Christ over the Internet for families assembled at home.

Here’s one reason::

The pastor is the “steward of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor 4:1). This is expressed clearly in Apology 24:80:

[O]ne minister who consecrates tenders the body and blood of the Lord to the rest of the people, just as one minister who preaches tenders the Gospel to the people, as Paul says, 1 Cor. 4:1: Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God, i.e., of the Gospel and the Sacraments. And 2 Cor. 5:20: We are ambassadors for Christ…

But the pastor can’t exercise stewardship when the elements are outside of his control. For example, when I consecrate at my parish altar, I only consecrate the hosts on the paten (which I have counted out) - not everything in the ciborium. I have control over that at the altar. But if people all over the place are using my broadcast voice to ‘consecrate,’ in various locations, perhaps even miles away - I can’t set apart what is being consecrated and what isn’t. I have no idea what is even going on. The stewardship to which God holds me, and all pastors, accountable becomes impossible.

This is irresponsible, and leads to a plethora of questions

Assuming for the sake of argument that this is a real consecration, is Bobby’s sandwich on the side table now Christ’s body? Is the half-glass of Aunt Thelma’s wine left over on the counter now the blood of Christ? Anything that is beyond the pastor’s immediate location is outside of his ability to consecrate. It simply cannot be done as a “steward of the mysteries.”

Sixty-two times, our confessions denounce sacramental and ceremonial actions done “ex opere operato” or “by the working of the work” almost like a magical incantation - which is what this kind of thing really requires: a disembodied voice contacting unseen elements who knows where.

Furthermore, the steward is responsible for whom is being served. If the pastor is not there, he cannot exercise this pastoral oversight by communing those who should be communed, and not communing those who should not be communed.

How can he possibly carry out his responsibility of stewardship in absentia?

This theological fissure in our church body - which I believe often correlates with diverse approaches to worship - has been exposed by the current crisis of the Coronavirus pandemic. It truly reflects different extant theologies of the Church, of the Office of the Holy Ministry, and of the Holy Sacraments - theologies that are incompatible and irreconcilable.

When this crisis is over, we are going to have to deal with this issue in a way that is unambiguous and reflects a unified confession grounded in the Bible and the Book of Concord. It may require a division within our church body, or it may simply require a few outliers to act in an honest way and leave the synod.

We are clearly not walking together.