The How and Who of the Lord’s Supper

The “How” and “Who” of the Lord’s Supper

Lenten Midweek 3

INI

So far in our series over the Lord’s Supper, we’ve discussed the “what”, the “why”, and tonight, we’ll discuss the “how”. The “What” question of the Lord’s Supper is “What is the Sacrament?” The answer to that is: it is the true body, and the true blood of Jesus. The “why” question of the Lord’s Supper is “Why should we receive it? What benefit is it to me?” And the answer to that is: it gives the benefits of Christ’s sacrificial death to me – namely, the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, as Christ’s words of institution promise. Tonight, we discuss the “how” and the “who” questions. “How are we to receive this sacrament?” Or as Luther puts it in the Small Catechism and is the subject of our meditation tonight, “How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?” and “Who receives this Sacrament worthily?”

The answer to both the “how” and the “who” questions are centered around the issue of faith. But we must be careful to not let the aspect of faith in this discussion to decide the “what”. The question of “What is the Sacrament of the Altar” can only be determined by the powerful word of Christ Himself. He has the power to make bread be His body, and wine be His blood. In that way, it isn’t OUR faith that makes the Sacrament what it IS. However, our faith receives this sacrament in a way that truly benefits the Christian.

Luther says that it’s not the mere actions of eating and drinking that give us forgiveness in the sacrament, but it’s the Word of God itself. And faith which hears God’s Word and trusts it, receives that forgiveness. So, to answer Luther’s question, “How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?”, it’s the powerful word of God that gives the forgiveness. For whatever HE says, GOES. And faith believes what Christ’s word says it gives, which is “the forgiveness of sins.”

The last question in the small catechism is related to the one prior, but asks it in a different way. “Who receives it worthily?” asks Luther. Historically, the Roman Catholic Church scared people away from coming to the Sacrament. It was the tradition of the church that there be fasting and other practices that would be required before taking the Sacrament. The outward work was to show that the infused grace was actually working on your sanctification to mortify your fleshly desires. The problem came when, regardless of whether or not the inward faith drove such practices, if they didn’t do such outward practices, they couldn’t come to the Sacrament in a “worthy” manner. In essence, they were scared of being unworthy to receive the sacrament; not because of their faith, but because of their outward bodily preparations.

Occasionally in pastoral care, someone will say as much – “I’m not worthy to take the Sacrament.” To which, I typically respond “That’s why you need it!” Because such responses are said IN FAITHFUL REPENTANCE. Such a Christian recognizes their sinfulness, wants to flee from it, and receive the forgiveness of sins. And it’s that repentance and faith – which belong to the inward movements of a contrite heart, not the outward movements of the flesh – that makes us worthy to receive the Sacrament. We aren’t to be made holy BEFORE we come to the Sacrament, repentant sinners are made holy BY the Sacrament! Because we know what we receive in this Sacrament: Christ’s real body and blood for the forgiveness of sins.

So, let’s test our understanding of this. If there happened to be an unbeliever who came to our church on Sunday, and took the Lord’s Supper at our altar (now, this would prayerfully never happen due to the church’s teaching of closed communion. But for the sake of the question, let’s say an unbeliever did) – what is it that they received? Did they receive JUST bread and wine? Or did they receive Christ’s body and blood? [Pause to let think]

They received Christ’s body and blood. Because it’s Christ’s Word combined with the bread and wine that makes it “what” it is. My faith does not make the sacrament “what” it is. However, now the question is, did they receive this for their benefit? The answer to that question is, “no!” Such a person seeks a middle ground of partaking of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons, as St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:21. Such a person fails to examine their sin and need for a Savior, which Paul says counts one “unworthy” to receive the Sacrament (1 Cor. 11:28). Such a person is unworthy because they lacked repentance from their sin, seeing the gift in the Sacrament as a freedom TO sin, and not a freedom FROM sin. Paul also says from the 1 Corinthians text that they ate and drank without discerning the bodily presence of Christ (v.29); thus they eat and drink judgment upon themselves. They’ve partaken of the Sacrament without faith in Christ’s words concerning “what it is”, “why we take it” and “how it’s to be taken”.

So, how is one made worthy? It’s not by the outward movements of the flesh. For example, if I fast from meats on Fridays, that doesn’t mean my holiness attained in this bodily act qualifies me to receive the sacrament. Rather, it’s the one who has faith in Christ’s own instituting words who is worthy to receive the Sacrament. Can outward training of the flesh help our focus on our need for the sacrament? Could it be possible that fasting before receiving the Sacrament or during Lent could be beneficial? Sure! But that isn’t what makes one worthy. Faith in Christ’s words concerning His body, and blood for the forgiveness of sins, is the only answer to the question of “who receives this sacrament worthily?”

In our reading from 1 Corinthians 10, Paul really gives us a way to test and apply the question of faithfulness in our age. He begins by saying that the Corinthian church willingly engaged in evil, which is idolatry, just like the Israelites in the Old Testament. The Israelites tested God in the wilderness CONSTANTLY! They grumbled against God as they were tempted with the memory of Egypt. They were tempted to return back to their former sins and slavery. This is to say, they were tempted with certain idols – whether it be convenience, health, or their own bellies. They were tempted to find comforts and refuge in things outside of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who guides His people away from evil and towards godly living.

We are tempted with the same things. We are tempted to think that true comfort is found in fleshly slavery and complacency with our sins. Paul encourages us with the idea that there’s “no temptation that’s overtaken you that isn’t common to man.” Our sufferings and weaknesses aren’t unique. Yet, when the evil one tempts us in these weaknesses, God provides the way of escape.

It’s imperative that in our Christian living, we seek to participate in the table that has the body and blood of Christ, not the table of demons. For as Paul says, our Lord is jealous for us. He wants our love, our devotion, to be rightly centered on Him. The Corinthian church actively participated in the pagan sacrifices of false religions in their day, and then they would participate in the sacrifice of our Lord given at His table. So Paul begs the important question regarding their allegiance: whose altar do they live their life from? The altar of God, or the altar of demons? “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons” says Paul. Likewise, we cannot willingly participate with the demonic influences of today and participate in the altar of God. It’s a false confession that has one foot in the kingdom of God and one foot in the kingdom of Satan. Such neutrality is an incompatible reconciliation of evil and good. Reconciliation of these things should be left up to God alone who desires our repentance and trust in HIM ALONE. This is an issue of true faith. So, we don’t willingly engage in activities that are unbecoming of a Christian as the Scriptures command – that’s not being faithful to God and the words with which He institutes the Sacrament. Because ultimately, true faith seeks to be in harmony with God and the good behaviors He wants for His people.

When faith is ordered rightly, we participate in the altar of God, and never at the altar of the world, demons, or our sinful pleasures. True faith believes the “what” and the “why” of the table. When we believe that God gives the true body and blood of Christ, we are prepared and worthy. When we examine our sinful state and know our need for the forgiveness of sins given in this meal, we are prepared and worthy. So we come to the table in humility as the Almighty God who is jealous for you gives you gifts which well up to life with Him.

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston