The Sacrament Of The Altar
I Corinthians 11:23-32
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
I Corinthians 11:23-25 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said,]“Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… This night in the Church Year, Holy Thursday, gives us a wonderful opportunity to reflect on just what it is we are doing and what we are supposed to remember when our Lord first commanded us on that Thursday of Holy Week, “This do in remembrance of Me.” What is this meal that we celebrate here at Divine Savior every Lord’s Day, on certain other festivals, and again on this Holy Thursday night?
We answer that question by answering the critical question from Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. And that question is, What is the Sacrament of the Altar? We answer that question with these words: It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself, for us Christians to eat and to drink.
Rightly so, Luther makes no bones about what our Lord instituted. He makes no excuses, and neither do we. He states what is true from Holy Scripture, whether or not we can understand it or explain it. We take and eat bread. But at the same time – and this is true whether we believe it or not – we are really and truly also taking and eating the very body of Jesus. It is the same body once broken on the cross, the same body that was laid in a tomb, the same body that rose from the dead, the same body that ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. It is not simply a “spiritual” presence as come confessions of faith falsely proclaim. It is the true, real, physical body of our Lord Jesus Christ that graces our altar and enters our mouths.
We take and drink wine. But at the same time – and this is true whether we believe it or not – we are really and truly also taking and drinking the very blood of Jesus. It is the blood of the new testament Passover Lamb, the same blood once shed when Jesus was flogged and beaten, the same blood that came from Christ’s bloody head when the crown of thorns was driven into His skull, the same blood that oozed out of Christ’s hands and feet and side when the nails and spear pierced His flesh. It is not simply a “spiritual” presence as some confessions of faith falsely proclaim. It is the real true, physical blood of Christ that graces our altars and enters our mouths.
The bread isn’t merely a symbol of Jesus’ body that is located in heaven, nor is the wine merely a symbol of Jesus’ blood that poured out of His wounds long ago. The bread and wine do not simply represent or stand for Jesus’ body and blood. The bread IS His body; the wine IS His blood. His body and blood are truly present, even though they are hidden from our senses under the bread and wine. Make no mistake: Jesus is really and truly present because He said so. His words, “This IS My Body; this IS My blood,” mean what they say. His Word always does what it says.
Next question: why did Jesus give us His body with the bread and His blood with the wine? Or, as Luther asks in the Catechism, What is the benefit of this eating and drinking? What good does this Sacrament do? Again, Luther answers this way: These words, “Given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of sins,” show us that, in the Sacrament, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there are also life and salvation. The main blessing and benefit of the Lord’s Supper is the forgiveness of sins. And where sins are forgiven, faith is also strengthened. Notice again that the emphasis is on the WORDS of our Lord. His Word always does what it says.
It is true that Holy Communion serves other purposes, too. There are many other blessings and benefits of the Supper. It is a multi-faceted gem of a Sacrament. As St. Paul says in I Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” By our very action of coming forward to this altar rail to receive Jesus’ body and blood, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. We are making a confession of faith – that we believe Jesus died and rose for us, and that He is coming again to take us all Home with Him to heaven.
The Lord’s Supper is a Sacrament wherein we share a blessed communion with one another. We are bound together by a common Baptism, by a common confession of faith, and by a bond of love that seeks to mimic the love of Christ for us. The Lord’s Supper allows us to celebrate that unity.
Indeed, we also share a blessed communion with the saints and angels in heaven, and with all true Christians around the world who likewise partake of the Sacrament of the Altar. And this is so even if we cannot commune together with them because of time or distance or because of the false doctrines that are taught in other churches, particularly about this Sacrament.
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Further, Holy Communion is our Eucharist. The Greek word, “eucharisto” means “thanksgiving.” We give thanks to our good and gracious God for His grace and mercy in inviting us to His Holy Supper, and it is our sacrifice of thanksgiving to God as we celebrate the sacrifice of atonement made for us by Jesus.
But the chief benefit of the Sacrament of the Altar has always been the forgiveness of sins, because it is from the continual offer of the forgiveness of sins that faith in Christ is strengthened and the bond of love for one another is increased. It is from the forgiveness of sins that thanksgiving flows to God. It is the forgiveness of sins, won for us by Christ through the giving of His body and the shedding of His blood that is the heart of our proclamation until Christ comes again.
Now, if someone has a public confession of faith differing from what God’s Word teaches – in other words, if someone is a member of a confession of faith that in any way denies or changes or wrongly teaches the truth of Scripture regarding this Sacrament – and if that person wants to join us at this altar, that person first needs to leave that confession of faith and be catechized rightly into the true understanding of this Sacrament. If you have no sins that need forgiving, then by all means, stay away from the Supper; you have no need for it. If you have no fear, no doubt, no weaknesses common to man, then by all means, stay away from the Supper; you have no need for it. If you have a faith that can never be moved or shaken or disturbed, if your “love for one another” is already perfect, if you are “fed up” with Jesus, as it were, and feel no need for this communion with Him, then by all means stay away from the Supper; it isn’t for you.
This Supper is only for sinners. This Supper is for sinners who yearn to be close to Christ. This Supper is for sinners who long to be touched again by Christ’s sacrifice. This Supper is for sinners who desire to receive from Christ’s hand the forgiveness of sins. This Supper is for sinners who need Christ’s help in order to fulfill His command to love one another.
Now, one might ask, were we not already offered and given forgiveness of sins, life and salvation in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism? Yes, we were. So, do we somehow lose that forgiveness and die again so that we need to be re-forgiven at every Communion, re-saved, re-resurrected to life again every week? Of course not; and we ought not think of the Sacrament in that way.
The forgiveness of sins – a right standing before God, an open door to heaven – is what Jesus won for us by His death on the cross as the Substitute for all men. Where Christ is found, there is complete forgiveness: there and only there. What joins us to Christ is God-given faith in Him for the forgiveness of sins, a faith which comes from hearing of His suffering, death, and resurrection, and a God-given faith that believes His work for us. We were brought into Him by Holy Baptism through faith in His blood, and in Him our sins were counted – are counted – as forgiven, not once, not piecemeal, but always and completely. As God’s children, called to faith and salvation in Him, we ARE forgiven, and we get MORE forgiveness in this sacred meal. You can never have too much Jesus!
But our faith-connection to Christ is like a slender thread, and we are literally surrounded by enemies who have targeted that thread. We have enemies who seek to cut that thread and sever our connection to Jesus, to pull us away from Him, and so to pull us away from God’s forgiveness and life. We know who those enemies are: the devil, the world and our own sinful flesh. As long as we live on this earth, we live in enemy territory; and our faith-connection to Jesus is vulnerable.
That is why Jesus was not content to give us only a once-in-a-lifetime Baptism. That is why Jesus was not satisfied to give us only a spoken word of absolution or the general preaching of the Gospel. Those things tie us to Jesus, too, and to the forgiveness that is ours in Him. No, Jesus knew that the slender thread of our faith would need to be nourished by something tangible; it would need to be fed and fortified on an ongoing basis by a powerful food in the face of so many ruthless enemies.
And so, God has given us a remedy against them, a medicine to save us from them. He has given us something to protect and to strengthen the precious faith that He once created in us. That remedy – that medicine of immortality, that divine food for the soul – is the Sacrament of the Altar.
Luther’s final question in the section on the Sacrament of the Altar is this: Who receives this Sacrament worthily? Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly a fine outward training, but that person is truly worthy and well-prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of sins.” But whoever does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy and unprepared. For the words “for you” require all hearts to believe.
If you know your need for Christ; if you are catechized and of the same public confession of faith as we are, if you know your need to receive Him and, with Him, all His forgiveness and all His strength in the Sacrament; if you believe in your Savior’s invitation, then come, take and eat – now, and whenever you feel your sin pressing hard; whenever you feel the world pulling you away and the devil shooting his flaming arrows at the slender thread of your faith. This sacramental gift is most definitely for you. It is Christ’s true body and blood given into death to pay for all your sins. It is the same body and blood of Christ broken and shed on the cross. Come and receive this Divine Medicine which guards you against sin, death and condemnation.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
