1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who feeds us with the true body and blood of our crucified Lord in, with, and under the bread and wine of his Supper. The message from God’s Word, as we continue with our summer sermon series on the Catechism, is taken from 1 Cor. 11:17-34 and its entitled, “Cross Fire-Holy Communion,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. A platoon caught in a crossfire is in danger. You might take cover against enemy fire coming from one direction, but that leaves you exposed to gun fire from the other angle. But, if you’re the force firing from those two directions, if you’ve got the other army in a crossfire, you can bring to bear on the enemy twice the firepower. The Sixth Chief Part of the catechism, the Lord’s Supper, can be a bit unsettling because of what it is and what it delivers. It’s not simply a memorial or symbolic. So much more, The sacrament is a crossfire, bringing together bread and wine with the body and blood of the crucified Christ to deliver to us the cross’s full firepower.
3. By delivering the cross of Jesus, the Sacrament grants forgiveness and gives power to be the people of God. The Sacrament of the Altar is bread and wine. That makes it simple, tangible, and not something “way out there,” that we can only imagine about. That’s the Sacrament from one angle, from one direction. But it’s more. It’s also coming from the other direction: It’s what Jesus said, his body broken and his blood shed for his people for the forgiveness of their sins. This eating and drinking is the evidence that Jesus died on the cross for us and that the crucified and risen Christ is truly present with us.
4. In order to understand this crossfire—bread and wine, body and blood, delivering to us the power of Jesus’ cross—it’s essential to remember that Jesus isn’t engaging in some new innovation. It’s as he testified in Matthew 5 when he said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mt 5:17). The Upper Room eating and drinking is the fulfillment of the Passover in which the children of Israel killed the spotless lamb at twilight and covered their doorposts with its blood so the angel of death would pass over their households while it was on its way to slay the firstborn of all in Egypt. In his suffering, death, and resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ is our spotless lamb, and we are recipients of his body and his blood for the forgiveness of sin and deliverance from death.
5. It’s no wonder then that the Sixth Chief Part is one of the most debated teachings of the church. If the devil can get us to doubt, be confused by the power that comes from our Father through this meal, he has taken away one of our most powerful weapons, a means of grace and crossfire against him. There are many ways that this meal is misinterpreted, rather than simply allowing the word of Christ to stand on its own very simple merit.
6. Martin Luther makes this point in the Large Catechism, writing, “The chief point is God’s Word and ordinance or command. For the Sacrament has not been invented nor introduced by any man. Without anyone’s counsel and deliberation it has been instituted by Christ” (LC V 4). It is not the bread and wine alone that works this mystery of forgiven sin. It is the bread and wine combined with the Word that declares, makes it, the body and blood of our crucified Savior.
7. Our Lord Jesus says this very clearly on the night of the institution of the Supper in the Upper Room. Jesus clearly said, “Take, eat; this is my body” and “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Mt 26:26–28). The words require no further enhancement from theologians or doctors. “Is” means “is,” and this bread and wine, body and blood are given with cleansing power for the forgiveness of sins. I don’t know how this could be any clearer.
8. Even if we consider the passage from the gospel of Luke, the impact is the same. “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. . . . This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Lk 22:19–20). Luke points to a memorial in the meal, and we do remember the sacrifice of Christ as we receive it. But the power of the Sacrament is that it delivers the cross, Christ’s crucified body and blood. “Is” means “is.”
9. Such power means that it’s deadly to be caught in the crossfire of the Sacrament. I’m sure you remember these examples of fire set up in physical things. Before the burning bush in Exodus 3, the voice of God commanded Moses to take off his sandals, for that was holy ground. The pillar of fire in Exodus 13 led the Israelites in the wilderness but also struck terror in the Egyptians when they tried to cross the Red Sea. For those without faith, our God is a consuming fire, as in Deuteronomy 9 and Hebrews 12.
10. That’s why Paul warns the people of God in 1 Corinthians 11:27, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.” No mere memorial has the power either to condemn or to set ablaze in a cross fire. We abuse and disregard this grace gift at our own peril. That is one of the reasons why the Lutheran Church is so diligent in teaching Luther’s Small Catechism.
11. It’s insulting to God to declare that this meal is anything less than a miracle and mystery of faith. It would be a great amount of work for Jesus to come down from heaven, land in the manger, suffer, bleed, and die after scourging, rejection, and denial, to rise again from the dead and ascend into heaven simply to give us a meal that is powerless of only remembrance and celebration. This meal has power, and Paul clearly understood it.
12. Paul writes, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died” (1 Cor 11:27–30). This is serious. There is no painting or memorial in all created glory that has that kind of power. It is more than a symbol. It is more than a memorial. It is a holy sacrament, precious to the Lord, and we are wise to regard the Supper in this way.
13. But to us who believe, this meal delivers the Holy Spirit’s full firepower of the cross. Our sins are forgiven and our relationship with the Father is restored. The Father views us covered by the blood of his Son as our robe of righteousness. There is for us power to be the ambassadors of Christ. We go into battle in this world with cross fire until he comes again in glory. We share this fire, this word of hope and salvation, with all who need the testimony that this dark world with all its problems and challenges isn’t the end. We have hope not only for ourselves but also for our families, coworkers, classmates, even the strangers we meet as we’re going along the way. By this cross fire, we set them ablaze too, as we go proclaiming the name of the Lord Jesus to dwell in the midst of his people and to bless and prosper them.
14. The Sacrament of the crucified and living Christ empowers us to speak as cross fire against the enemy and to save those he holds. As with the prophet Jeremiah, “If I say, ‘I will not mention [the Lord], or speak any more in his name,’ there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot” (Jer 20:9). This grace of God is like fire shut up inside us, and we find no comfort until we unleash its firepower for the nations.
15. That is why when we discuss the Lord’s Supper, we leave it all intact and leave our intellect at the door. We don’t try to figure out how this can be. It’s an article of faith. Our God is omnipotent and can do all things. This thing he does is make this bread the body of his Son and make this wine the blood of his Son—even as they remain bread and wine—and gives this meal to us with the power to forgive our sins. That is the confession of Jesus, and that remains our confession as well.
16. Let us pray: Lord, thank you for the cross fire of your Holy Spirit that fills us as we receive the body and blood of your Son, Jesus, in, with, and under the elements of bread and wine. Make us ever faithful to commune with your Son through this meal, to receive the cross fire to burn in us, and to share the fire of your Gospel with the world so desperately in need. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. May the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.
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