MidWeek Wednesday in Lent (3-2023)

What Is This Bread? What Is This Wine?

For us who grew up in the Lutheran church, Martin Luther’s Small Catechism conjures up recollections of confirmation instruction. As though wearing a badge of honor, we probably recall the pastor who expected us to recite major parts of the catechism—and we did it—but not without some consternation and even complaint. By contrasts these days some pastors lament that confirmands have so much else going on in their schedules they have little time left for catechism classes or that they haven’t learned the same discipline of memorization or that they have a shorter attention span or even that they don’t have the same regard and respect for the church as past generations did.

To further illustrate, we have come to realize here in our Lutheran Church School is that many of our students who go through all our grades, making it to 6th, 7th, and even 8th grade, still do not know the basic of the Christian faith like the Ten Commandments, Apostles’ Creed, The Lord’s Prayer, etc. The point is, we have a lot of work to do in our own house.

We began this MidWeek Lenten series exploring the Marks of the Church, or as Luther called them: The Holy Possessions. These Holy Possessions — Marks of the Church — are those items used to identify where the true believers exist. It is important to note that the true Church or believers have nothing to do with buildings, or fancy robes, or ritual. Rather, what do they believe about God’s Holy Word? What do they believe about Holy Baptism? What do they believe about Office of the Keys and Forgiveness? And what do they believe about the Office of Holy Ministry? This evening, we will deal with the question of What do true believers in Christ believe about the Sacrament of the Altar, or Holy Communion? The point is, Jesus taught something very specific on these subjects; and He didn’t make room for us to have various interpretations.

So, this evening we ask: What Is This Bread? What Is This Wine?

Sacraments: Mystery and Miracle

In the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion we behold nothing less than a mystery and miracle, awe-inspiring and demanding of faith. In Baptism, God connects simple water with the power of his Word and declares us cleansed from our sin: We are God’s children and heirs of eternal life. We are baptized—not were baptized—and thus are called to “walk in newness of life” (KJV), reflecting our status as God’s children throughout each day of life on this earth.

In Holy Communion, we celebrate the mystery and miracle of Christ’s real presence among us—the presence of bread and also the body of Christ: of wine and also the blood of Christ. The hymn writer poses a question, “What is this bread?”— the hymn we just sang. The unleavened, pressed wafer that we eat is, indeed, still bread. And yet, in the Upper Room on Passover eve, Jesus broke a loaf of bread, gave it to his disciples to eat, and declared, “This is my body!” Yes, that same body beaten and broken on Calvary’s hill, as sacrifice for you and for your sins.

The hymn writer poses another question, “What is this wine?” If it looks like wine and tastes like wine and smells like wine, it must be wine, and so it is. And yet in the same Upper Room Jesus declared, “This is my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Indeed, that same blood that flowed freely from his head as a crown of thorns was placed thereon and, hours later, from his hands and feet as nails were thrust in them on Calvary’s hill as sacrifice for our sins. “Yet is God here? Oh, yes! By Word and promise clear. In mouth and soul He makes us whole—Christ, truly present in this meal. Oh, taste and see—the Lord is real.”

The Body of Christ

Christ’s real presence. Mystery? Yes! Miracle? Yes! Yet the Word of God cannot be denied. Paul writes: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a fellowship of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a fellowship of the body of Christ?” (1 Cor 10:16).

But bread and Christ’s body, and wine and Christ’s blood, are not all that come together in this holy meal. The apostle Paul adds: “Because there is one bread, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:17). We are the body of Christ gathered in this place, brought together and bound together by God’s redeeming and forgiving grace, at the foot of the cross and the open tomb, a communion of saints. And we celebrate that unity of faith each time we gather together around the altar of sacrifice and Sacrament.

Luther phrased it in this way:

“Wherever you see this sacrament properly administered, there you may be assured of the presence of God’s people. For, as was said above of the word, wherever God’s word is, there the church must be; likewise, wherever baptism and the sacrament are, God’s people must be, and vice versa. No others have, give, practice, use, and confess these holy possessions save God’s people alone...” LW, vol 41, 152.

Personal Preparation

As a teenager in Confirmation, I was taught to prepare and receive this Sacrament with fear and awe, having memorized the words of Scripture: “For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment [‘damnation,’ KJV] on himself” (1 Cor 11:29). Perhaps that was too severe, too threatening. On the other hand, as one who is responsible for administering the Sacrament, I pray that none of us receives it lightly or casually.

This meal is sacred—it is Sacrament. Our very Lord serves as host, and we are the Lord’s invited guests—invited to receive the assurance of total and absolute forgiveness of sins. We need to prepare our minds and our hearts, our lives and our faith, therefore, to meet our God. Thus, Paul admonishes us to “examine ourselves”—each one of us, personally, privately, one-to-one with our Lord, before we dare to share in the intimacy of the Sacrament.

As a child, I remember the tradition of many in our congregation—most of them elderly, some of them feeble—who would kneel on the hardwood floor of the sanctuary, place their heads and hands on the pews upon which they had sat, and bow in prayers of confession and preparation. Awed by their genuine reverence and piety, I joined them and, after all these years, I am still awed as I prepare to receive Holy Communion.

Prepare yourself, by the power of the Holy Spirit working within you. Prepare yourself, your mind, your heart, your will. Begin by asking and answering in fervent faithful prayer, “Am I heartily sorry for my sins and do I sincerely repent of them? Known and unknown?” Yes, I confess those sins. Then, “Do I believe that my sins are forgiven solely and singularly through the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ on the cross of Calvary?” Yes, I believe in Christ’s forgiveness of sins through the cross and the open tomb. Finally, “Do I in faith acknowledge the real presence of bread and the body and wine and the blood of Christ in this Sacrament?” Yes, in faith I do so acknowledge the real presence.

Alas, those who do not confess as we do think nothing of coming to the Sacrament, when they know they are in violation of God’s commands. Again, Luther has said the following:

No others have, give, practice, use, and confess these holy possessions save God’s people alone, even though some false and unbelieving Christians are secretly among them. They, however, do not profane the people of God because they are not known; the church, or God’s people, does not tolerate known sinners in its midst, but reproves them and also makes them holy. Or, if they refuse, it casts them out from the sanctuary by means of the ban and regards them as heathen, Matthew 18 [:17].

Proclaim the Lord’s Death

St. Paul also writes, “Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (11:26), which takes us again back to the cross. As you approach this altar, each of you is preaching a powerful sermon. You are saying to all who see you: “I believe that Jesus Christ, Son of Man and Son of God, died for me and for a world of sinners. I believe that I am worthy to receive this bread and wine, this body and blood of Christ, only because of Calvary. I believe that Christ’s love for me is nothing short of a miracle—even a mystery.”

As the hymn-writer penned: “Is this for me? I am forgiven and set free! I do believe That I receive His very body and His blood. Oh, taste and see—the Lord is good.”

Everyone who wishes to be a believer in Christ and go to this sacrament should be familiar with these words. For we do not intend to grant admission to the Sacrament and distribute it to those who do not know what they are looking for or why they are coming. The words are these:

“Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to His disciples and said Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you Do this in remembrance of Me.’” . . .

“In the same way also He took the cup, after supper, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’” . . .

It was Christ who instituted it without following anyone else’s thinking or advice. As a result, this blessed sacrament retains its complete wholeness and integrity despite our misuse or mishandling of it. . . . Do you imagine that God is so dependent on our conduct and faith that He will let them cause Him to make shifts and changes in His ordinance? This is how we recognize the true Church of Christ when we cling to the confession of this Holy Possession.

Briefly stated . . . the recipients of the Sacrament’s effect and blessing are those who believe what the words say and what they offer. For the words are not spoken to a stone or a block of wood but to the hearers to whom Christ says, “Take and eat,” etc. And since what He offers and promises is the forgiveness of sins, this gift can be taken in no other way than by faith in the Word.

He Himself calls for such faith in the Word when He says, “given FOR YOU” and “shed FOR YOU” as if to say, “I give this to you and tell you to eat and drink in order that you may take it as your own and enjoy it.” Whoever takes these words of this Holy Possession as addressed to him and believes that they are true, he has what the words declare. But whoever does not believe has nothing because he lets this healing grace and blessing be offered to him in vain and refuses to enjoy it. The treasure is opened wide and placed at everyone’s door, yes, on everyone’s table. But it remains for you to take it, confidently believing that everything is exactly as the words say. Since the treasure is presented entirely in words, it can be seized and appropriated only by the heart that trusts the words.

This, then, is the complete preparation Christians need in order to receive this sacrament worthily. This is the Holy Possession, how we recognize where true Christian Believers exist. Wherever this Sacrament is given and received as Christ Jesus declared, there you will find Christ true Church.

In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.