1.
Grace, mercy, and
peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Amen. The message from God’s Word today comes to us
from Matthew 26:26-28 and is entitled, “We
Eat a Holy Supper-The Sacrament of the Altar,” dear brothers and sisters in
Christ.
2.
The sun danced
through the window and fell on her shoulders. It gave a sparkle to Ruth’s hair
that matched her personality. But, today, she’d come with a serious concern to
discuss. Ruth’s first husband had died.
Some years later, she’d married a member of a Lutheran congregation and
attended adult instruction to learn about the Lutheran Church, but this
faithful woman, an eager Bible student, had not been able to bring herself to
join. Her grandfather had been a pastor in another denomination. As a small
girl, Ruth had been close to her grandfather. Loyal to his memory, she couldn’t
leave his denomination. But, she’d grown
to love the Lutheran Church and its teachings. In her heart she knew it was
time to join the congregation where she’d been worshiping for more than a few
years. The sun gave a glow to her face as she asked again about the differences
between the Lutheran church and her grandfather’s denomination. The
conversation turned to the Sacraments and to the Lord’s Supper in particular. The Lutheran pastor explained that Jesus
said, “This is my body. This is my blood,”
and that Lutherans believe he meant what he said. We believe that his body and
blood are truly present in, with, and under the bread and the wine. Ruth looked at the pastor and exclaimed, “This is what I’ve always believed!”
3.
Ruth simply
believed the Word of God that she had read in the Bible. Like Luther, she knew
that the Sacrament of the Altar “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.” Unfortunately, there are many who hear Jesus’
words and refuse to believe them. Their human reason asks, “How can bread and wine be Christ’s body and blood?” (LC V 12). Ruth
and Luther knew what these people cannot bring themselves to believe. The bread
and wine in the Sacrament aren’t mere bread and wine, such as are served at our
dinner table, “but this is bread and wine
included in, and connected with, God’s Word” (LC V 9). With Luther, Ruth
understood that all human reason is “not
as wise as is the Divine Majesty in His little finger” (LC V 12). Jesus
says, “This is my body. This is my blood.”
And we know that he can never lie or deceive (Titus 1:2). In the Large Catechism, Luther
says, “Everyone who desires to be a
Christian and go to this Sacrament should know” these three points: “What is
it? What are its benefits? and Who is to receive it?” (LC V 1, 2).
4.
Understanding and
believing Jesus’ words enables us to answer the second question concerning the
benefits of the Sacrament. When Jesus
says, “This is my body. This is my blood,” he also says, “for the forgiveness
of sins” (Mt 26:26–28). Luther
explains it this way: “For this reason we
go to the Sacrament: there we receive such a treasure by and in which we gain
forgiveness of sins. . . . Christ asks me to eat and drink, so that this
treasure may be my own and may benefit me” (LC V 22). Because there’s forgiveness of sins in
the Sacrament, it can be called food for the soul. In it we receive nourishment
to refresh and strengthen our faith.
5.
I’m sure your
Christian life is a struggle. I know
that mine can be too! The Bible tells us that the devil prowls around like a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8). He uses every trick he
can think of to pull you away from the Savior. When the road is long and the
way is difficult, Jesus gives you his Holy Supper to strengthen you for the
struggle, to give you courage in the face of discouragement, and to support you
for battle. Jesus defeated sin, death,
and the devil by the sacrifice of his body and blood on the cross. His work is
done. Forgiveness of sins is secured. He gives you this treasure through his
Word. You receive it by faith. He makes it personal by connecting his forgiving
Word to the bread and the wine, his body and blood, that you eat and you drink.
This is the benefit of the Sacrament.
6.
With Luther, we
then ask, “Who is the person that
receives this treasure and benefit in the Sacrament?” Does this question
sound silly? It does to many people who believe there’s no benefit in the
Sacrament, only an opportunity to think about Jesus. It means that not everyone
who comes to the Supper receives a benefit.
And, in fact, this is the case. In the Large Catechism we’re reminded, “Whoever now accepts these words and
believes that what they declare is true has forgiveness. But whoever does not
believe it has nothing” (LC V 35). Some may come to the Holy Supper but
refuse to see what God has offered there. Jesus has placed a treasure on the
Table, but some ignore it and walk away without any benefit from the Supper at
all. In fact, St. Paul tells us that anyone coming to the Holy Supper without
faith “eats and drinks judgment on
himself” (1 Cor 11:29). This is why
Lutherans practice close communion to prevent their neighbor from bringing
judgment on themselves.
7.
On the
other hand, whoever believes the words has what they declare. Jesus says, “This is my body. This is my blood given and
shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Here Jesus offers and promises
forgiveness of sins. It is received by faith. The benefits and blessings of
Baptism can’t be seized with a fist, but this treasure is received and made
yours with the heart (LC V 36).
8.
Many years ago, a
Lutheran pastor spoke this way about the Sacrament of the Altar. He explained
that at the beginning of each service he would pronounce the forgiveness of sins
and from the pulpit he would proclaim Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for
the salvation of souls. But, at times people may feel that their sins are so
great or that their faith is so weak that this forgiveness must be only for the
other people around them. Like those people, you, too, may believe that the
salvation won by Jesus on the cross is for everyone else, but the pastor really
never meant it for you. But, when you
come to the Sacrament and kneel before the altar, when you take and eat the true
body of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ given for you for the forgiveness of
sins, and when you take and drink the true blood of your Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ shed for you for the forgiveness of sins, then there can be no doubt
that this treasure is yours. It is meant for you. At that very moment there is
no uncertainty that you are the one eating and drinking and that the blessings
and benefits of the Holy Supper are meant directly and absolutely for you. Jesus
Intends You to Have the Riches of the Treasure: Forgiveness of Sins, Life, and
Salvation.
9.
So what have
we learned? What is the Sacrament? 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. What are its
benefits? 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 is
also life and salvation. Who is to
receive it? Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly 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.”
10.
We’ve come to
the conclusion of our midweek Lenten journey through Luther’s Catechisms. I
pray that this Lenten walk with Luther has helped to strengthen your faith. We
rejoice with the authors of the Formula of Concord that Luther’s Small and
Large Catechisms are “ ‘the layman’s
Bible’ because everything necessary for a Christian to know for salvation is
included in them, which is handled more extensively in the Holy Scriptures”
(FC Ep Summary 5). We’ve learned that the message of God’s Word as contained in
the Six Chief Parts of Christian Doctrine are meant personally for each of us. Each
of us has fallen short of God’s Law, but God in his mercy has sent Jesus to be
the Savior. He came into our sinful world to bear our sins on the cross and
arise triumphant from the grave. Through his Word and Sacraments, he gives each
of us the treasures won on the cross: forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Join
us next week for Holy Week as we allow Martin Luther again to be our guide in
discovering the treasure of Christ’s Passion and triumph over the grave. Amen.
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