Holy Communion: What do you think about it?

The Sacrament of the Altar aka Holy Communion aka The Lord's Supper aka The Eucharist aka The Great Thanksgiving

(This is a portion of my DMin project that I am working on at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.)

In his Small Catechism, Martin Luther is concerned with the holding of “the sacrament in high esteem.”

He particularly exhorts the clergy to be responsible about teaching the benefits, blessings, as well as needs and dangers of the Eucharist.  He urges pastors not to make partaking of the sacrament a “law” or “poison” that repels believers from the table of grace, but rather to urge participation because Jesus “wants it to be done and not completely omitted or despised.”

Intentional teaching by pastors or other catechists in the parish can help to re-wire our human brains toward the holy so that people will do as Luther imagines believers will do which is to come “rushing and running” to the sacrament, and insisting that the sacrament be given to them. He makes sure to charge the clergy with this teaching task reminding them, “How can they (believers) help but neglect it (Holy Communion) if you sleep and remain silent (about the benefits of salvation in the sacrament)?”

There is a great onus of responsibility placed upon parish pastors to teach and encourage participation in the Sacrament of the Altar so that believers will not fail to hold the Eucharist in high esteem.  Luther describes what it looks like when a person has a low view of the sacrament: 

(They) indicate that they have no sin, no flesh, no devil, no world, no death, no dangers, no hell.        That is, they believe they have none of these things, although they are up to their neck in them and belong to the devil twice over.  On the other hand, they indicate that they need no grace, no life, no paradise, no heaven, no Christ, no God, nor any other good thing.

Luther had some concerns about those who absent themselves from the Lord’s Supper.  There the Reformer identifies those who are staying away as “simple people and the weak,” those who are “cold and indifferent” toward the sacrament, those who feel they are just plain unworthy, and those who have no feeling for the sacrament at all. To each group he urges that they come to Lord’s table to receive the benefits therein provided by Christ.  He calls the Eucharist a great treasure that is given to believers by Christ so that we might eat and drink for the sake of new life, forgiveness of sin and salvation.  All of this is received in faith but it is the Word coupled with God’s ordinance that make the bread and wine effective and the true body and blood of Christ.

  

The more believers come to the sacrament the more they experience hunger for the sacrament.  The Lutheran church is still overcoming years and years of pietism that kept believers away from the table so that they would “not take it for granted.”  Instead of taking the Eucharist for granted, what happened was that hearts turned cold toward it.

  

Just as in baptism, the Sacrament of the Altar is “not mere bread and wine” but “it is bread and wine set within God’s Word and bound to it.” My professor, Dr. Timothy J. Wengert, taught that this word that is translated as “set” is the same word used to describe how a jeweler would put a gemstone in a ring.

With such care and precision as a jeweler mounting a precious stone in a piece of jewelry, so the bread and wine are placed together with God’s holy Word and attached to that Word for the sake of the beloved.

  

Luther asserts that with the word of God attached, “The elements are truly the body and blood of Christ.”  Thus we have the real presence of Christ in Holy Communion offered to us for the sake of forgiveness of sin.  Dr. Wengert passionately described this in his own words reminding folks that each time we come to the table “Jesus is here offering himself to each of us, saying, ‘Here I am. . . for YOU!”

  

How do you feel as you come to sacrament and partake of the living giving bread and wine/body and blood of Jesus Christ?  Does his forgiveness and grace wash over, refresh you for the journey ahead?  Do you recognize the strength that has been provided for you over the years of coming to the table?  

What do you think about this holy sacrament?

Image credit: He Qi Gallery "The Risen Lord"