Sacrament of the Altar

Why do we need the Lord’s Supper?

As we examine our lives in the bright light of God’s holiness, we realize how much we have sinned and how much we need His forgiveness.Our sinfulness and the troubles,sorrows, difficulties and stresses of our life in this fallen world are all reasons we need the Lord’s Supper.
As great as is our need,even greater is the life-giving meal He has provided! It is a very personal way God works in our life to save us,to strengthen us and to keep us close to Him.Jesus promised to be with us always, to the very close of the age (Matt. 28:20).Through His precious Word and Sacraments, our Lord continues to fulfill His promise.
Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Sacrament of the Altar with these words:“This is My body,given for you.This cup is My blood of the new testament,shed for you for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Cor.11:23-25).The Lord’s Supper “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”(Small Catechism).
   Soul,adorn yourself with gladness,leave the gloomy haunts of sadness, come into the daylight’s splendor, there with joy your praises render.Bless the One whose grace unbounded this amazing banquet founded. He, though heavenly, high, and holy; deigns to dwell with you most lowly.

What is Jesus giving us in the Lord’s Supper?

   In the Sacrament of the Altar our Lord and Savior is continually distributing to us the body and blood of the sacrifice He made for us, the sacrifice by which He paid for the sins of the entire world. Thus, receiving His body and blood, we receive forgiveness, life and salvation. Flowing from these tremendous treasures of God’s mercy are the love,peace and hope that He gives us in His Supper,and the ability and desire to do God’s will,living in love and harmony with others.
It is often observed how there is a foreshadowing of the Lord’s Supper in the Old Testament discussion of how the sacrifices were eaten by those for whom they were offered (1 Cor. 10:18).The Scriptures indicate that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Heb.9:22).The blood of Jesus Christ,God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7; Matt.26:28;Acts 20:28;Rom.5:9;Heb.9:14;Heb.12:24; 1 Peter 1:18-19;Rev.1:5;Rev.7:14).And it is this very blood He gives in His Supper.
   Draw near and take the body of the Lord,and drink the holy blood for you outpoured; Offered was He for greatest and for least,Himself the victim and Himself the priest. 

How is Jesus present in His Supper? 

   We do not try to explain how Jesus is present under the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper,rather we believe,teach, confess and rejoice that He is present.We Lutherans let the words of Jesus stand without arguing about their possibility,or trying to explain how they are true.As Luther put it so clearly,“We maintain that the bread and the wine in the Supper are the true body and blood of Christ”(SA III.6).Everyone who communes receives into their mouths the body and blood of Jesus Christ, whether they believe it or not,be they worthy or unworthy.
Jesus’Word is sure and certain. The Holy Spirit gives us faith to trust in and believe Jesus’words,“Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Faith in Christ’s promise is what makes us worthy to receive His Supper.Christ’s words of institution retain their validity and efficacious power and thus, by virtue of these words,the body and blood of Christ are truly present,distributed and received.
   Your body and your blood, once slain and shed for me, are taken at your table, Lord, in blest reality. Search not how this takes place, this wondrous mystery;God can accomplish vastly more than what we think could be.

Why do we receive the Lord’s Supper often?

We receive the Lord’s Supper often because of how much we need what the Lord gives in His Supper.We dare never make a law about how often an individual “should”or “must” receive the Lord’s Supper.But this is a separate question from how frequently Holy Communion is offered in our congregations. Our Lutheran Confessions make it clear that the Lord’s Supper is offered every Lord’s Day and on other days when there are communicants present (AC XXIV.34 and Ap.XXIV.1).

   In saying this,our Confessions are merely reflecting the truth of the Sacred Scriptures,which place the Lord’s Supper at the center of worship (Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1 Cor.11:20,33),not as an appendage or an occasional extra. It is for this reason that our Synod has repeatedly encouraged our congregations to provide the opportunity for communicants who so desire to receive the Lord’s Supper every Lord’s Day. 
   My Lord,You here have led me within Your holiest place.And here Yourself have fed me with treasures of Your grace; for You have freely given what earth could never buy, the bread of lifefrom heaven,that now I shall not die.