Lent Midweek 6
The Lord's Supper
"Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Savior" (LSB 627)
The final Chief Part of the Catechism, and also of our Lenten Midweek Series, is the Lord’s Supper. It’s fitting that Luther orders the Supper as the final section of the Catechism, as it is the climax of the Divine Service – when Christians gather regularly, the high point and crescendo of our meeting is the receiving of this precious gift of Christ’s body and blood. It is a gift we prepare to receive, as unlike Holy Baptism, it requires some instruction and examination. So it is our tradition to mark the first reception of this Sacrament with a solemn rite – confirmation – and also typically with great celebration and joy.
Luther’s catechism sets forth for us, in a simple yet
comprehensive way, what Scripture itself teaches us concerning this gift. What is it?
What are its benefits? Where does
its power come from? And who receives it
worthily? At one time or another, we all
learn these questions and their answers and explanations from Scripture. But just that much still doesn’t exhaust the
mystery that is the Lord’s Supper, nor does it teach us all we can know of it
or fully express what can be said about it.
In many ways, the Lord’s Supper is like a masterpiece
painting. We can know a great deal about
it, and yet still our appreciation for it can grow – even over a lifetime. We can find new meaning and depth in it, new
and precious appreciation for the application of this gift in our lives. What it is doesn’t change. What it offers stays the same. But as we grow in our faith, and ever more
rooted in the Word of God, we draw ever more strength from it for the living of
these days.
And so in addition to the Catechism, Luther also uses
hymnody to teach us about the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood. Tonight we consider his hymn, which we sung a
few moments ago, “Jesus Christ, our Blessed Savior”.
This hymn actually did not originate with Luther. It was first written about a hundred years
before, by Luther’s predecessor and early reformer John Huss. Huss taught many of the same teachings as
Luther, and objected to much of what Luther found at fault in the Roman
Catholic church. But Huss was burned at
the stake as a heretic. Had some things
been different for Luther, he might have faced the same.
But even the words of John Huss, which extolled and adored
the sacrament, were not quite up to snuff for Luther. He revised and improved it, to reflect the
fullness of Reformation teaching about the Supper. For instance, In Huss’s Latin hymn, he speaks
only of the bread. But Luther restores
to the hymn the recognition that Jesus gave both bread and wine, body and
blood. Luther also include the language about faith as a proper preparation for
the Sacrament, and that its effect on the Christian life is sanctified living.
He touches on every major aspect of the Catechism on this
topic:
In verse one, we summarize the work of Christ, our blessed
Savior. He turns away God’s wrath and by
his bitter grief and woe, that is, the cross, saves us from the evil foe. The blessings of the Lord’s Supper flow from
this, the cross. Christ’s body and blood
that we receive are his body and blood given and shed – at the cross. They are the fruits of the cross, the new
tree of life for our salvation. You
can’t have Holy Communion without the cross.
Verse two simply states what Christ supplies us in this meal
– as a pledge of love undying. His body
with the bread, and with the wine the blood he shed.
Verse three reminds us that the most important preparation
for the sacrament is faith itself. Just
as we learn in the Catechism, “who receives this sacrament worthily?” “He is truly worthy and well prepared who has
faith in these words: given and shed for
you for the forgiveness of sins”. It’s
not fasting or some other outward, bodily training. It’s not any sort of spiritual discipline
that makes for proper preparation. It’s
faith, and faith alone.
Someone once remarked to me that they weren’t taking
communion today, because they had sinned too much during the week. Oh, but that’s not the standard. The real question is this. Do you believe what Jesus says here: 1, that this is his body and blood, 2, that
it’s for you, and 3, that it’s for the forgiveness of your sins? The do also what he says – take and eat, take
and drink.
Verse 4 recognizes the Father’s role in this – chiefly that
he sent his Son. Just as an earthly
father provides food for his family, so the Heavenly Father feeds his children
with food from heaven – his own dear Son.
Verse 5 reminds us that the Sacrament is for the sick, not
the healthy. It is a balm and medicine
for sin, not a reward for the good and holy.
It brings peace and comfort to hearts that long for rest.
Verse 6 is a warning to stay away if you think you don’t
need Jesus – who paid the high cost of this food by his “agony and bitter
labor”. But verse 7 invites those who
themselves labor and are sick to come to Jesus – paraphrasing the words of
Christ’s own invitation that he came for the sick, not the healthy.
Verse 8 continues in the voice of Jesus, asking
rhetorically, “what purpose was my dying, if not for your justifying? And what use this precious food if you
yourself were pure and good?” An
interesting way to challenge the potentially prideful by challenging the common
assumption that man can save himself.
Verse 9 reiterates the general promise of blessing for all
sinners who come to this banquet.
And verse 10 reminds us that this sacrament has one more
added blessing- the strengthening of our faith for Christian living. That our faith may grow and live in love for
neighbor. That we may carry that love we
have received from God into our lives.
And now permit me a few words about the Sacrament for us, in
our current situation.
I think we all long for the end of this pestilence and time
of isolation for many reasons. For one,
we are concerned about the health and well being of ourselves, our families,
our neighbors, and really all people.
Christians recognize disease and suffering are part of this sinful
world, and we long for the day when all of it, including death itself, never
worry us again. But that day won’t come
until Christ returns to judge the living and the dead.
We look forward to the ending of our time of separation from
work, school, from stores and usual activities.
We want a return to normal routines.
We want our economy to recover.
We want everything to be ok. And
so we pray fervently.
And we also want our church back. We miss our church family, and the blessing
of gathering together to receive the gifts of God. And we miss the Sacrament. For we can receive the word in an alternate
way, read it on our own, tune in to a live stream service, or sing and pray
with the family around the dinner table.
But gathering around the Lord’s table, in his house, with our congregation
of saints at Messiah – we must forgo this for a time.
During this time of imposed fasting from the Sacrament, we
pray God would draw us nearer to him.
May we grow in our appreciation of the means of grace we do have – our
Baptism, and his Word.
One pastor put it this way, "We are learning that we do
not live by bread, or even The Bread, alone, but by every Word that proceeds
from the mouth of God. God is prodigal with His Word, and He speaks to us in
many ways – Baptism, Scripture, preaching, Absolution, Supper, and the
conversation of believers. Though we may be without one form, we are never
without the Word."
“The Lord sustained Daniel and the Israellites in their
seventy years of Babylonian exile, and He will sustain us in the same way – by
His Word and the gift of prayer. Even if we never again gather in this life
around Word and Supper, we know that our scattering ends in a final great
gathering of the marriage supper of the Lamb in His kingdom which has no end.”1
And yes, we will return to the feast. Pray that it may come soon. For it is a good thing to desire the gifts
that God gives. And perhaps this time
away will make us treasure even more deeply the precious body and blood of
Christ, our Blessed Savior when we gather to receive him again.
1 http://htlcms.org/2020/04/exiled-in-babylon/?fbclid=IwAR1iQ5l3-ORFFslr7s0ZKrNGtn2ZtQthKkwWAc-aVR1l0NbTOv-ZrdoAhBQ
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