The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)

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

Today, we observe the Church’s great feast of Corpus Christi. Among Lutherans, the feast of Corpus Christi often has a negative connotation, mostly because of the abominable papist practice of the Corpus Christi procession wherein the consecrated host is paraded around the city for all to adore and venerate. This blatant abuse of the Sacrament of the Altar has caused Lutherans to shy away from this feast. But lest we throw out the baby with the bathwater, it’s worth noting this remark from the Roman Catholic commentator Pius Parsch:

After the Mass follows the Corpus Christi procession. This, however, is not the essential thing; it was not included when the feast was instituted nor was it prescribed until the fifteenth century.

In fact, Parsch says this about the meaning of this feast day:

It is, the Church’s official act of homage and gratitude to Christ, who by instituting the Holy Eucharist gave to her her greatest treasure. Holy Thursday, assuredly, marks the anniversary of the institution, but the commemoration of the Lord’s Passion that very night suppresses the rejoicing proper to the occasion. Today’s observance, therefore accents the joyous aspect of Holy Thursday. The first Thursday after the close of the Easter season was chosen for the feast.

As Parsch notes, technically, Corpus Christi falls on the Thursday after Holy Trinity Sunday, as an echo of Holy Thursday but with a more joyful overtone. Therefore, since the Sacrament of our Lord’s Holy Body and Blood is such a central part of our life together, it is fitting that we set aside time on this day to observe the feast of Corpus Christi. As we do so, we will consider how our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel teach us that: The Lord’s Supper is our medicine of immortality.

Now, this phrase describing the Lord’s Supper as “The Medicine of Immortality” is an ancient phrase which pre-dates this feast day by quite some time. It is a phrase which is traced back to St. Ignatius of Antioch, who wrote a letter to the church in Ephesus somewhere around the year A.D. 107. Toward the end of that letter, he said this:

“Continue to gather together, each and every one of you, collectively and individually by name, in grace, in one faith and one Jesus Christ…in order that you may…[break] one bread, which is the medicine of immortality, the antidote we take in order not to die but to live forever in Jesus Christ.”

Here, the first and second century bishop describes the Sacrament of the Altar as an antidote which frees us from death—the medicine of immortality. These words echo beautifully the teaching of our Lord. And they are also reinforced in our own Small Catechism.

At the end of today’s Gospel, our Lord says:

“This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:58).

Yes, indeed! The bread which our Lord gives to us is the medicine of immortality. The one who eats of it will live forever. There is a beautiful ironic reversal described here. Just as man fell into sin by eating the fruit of a tree in Eden, so now is man offered salvation and eternal life by eating the fruit of the tree of the cross. For our Lord says:

“Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:54).

This is why, dear friends in Christ, we should be eager to receive the Lord’s Supper as often as we can. For it is an antidote for sin. It is a literal receiving of Christ into our very bodies. And as the secular saying goes: “You are what you eat.” Thus, our Lord says in today’s Gospel:

“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56).

This teaching, then, is echoed by Luther in his Small Catechism when he says:

What is the benefit of this eating and drinking? Answer: These words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

Luther is primarily basing his understanding of the benefit of the Sacrament of the Altar on our Lord’s words of institution. There, our Lord emphasizes the forgiveness of sins which is offered through the sacramental eating. And Luther rightly concludes: “Where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.” For sin is our chief malady. It is what prohibits us from eternal life and communion with God. And where sin is removed, there communion with God and eternal life is restored. This is exactly what is offered in the Lord’s Supper.

But some may say, “Why do I need forgiveness through these carnal means when I can receive the Lord’s forgiveness directly through His word?” The simple answer to this objection is: That’s the way Christ ordained it. He said:

“Do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24, 25).

And so, we delight to receive His grace, no matter the form it is offered to us. For this medicine penetrates us in a unique way—namely, it transforms us from the inside out. It is a medicine which is not dependent upon you. When you eat and drink this sacrament, Christ comes to you in His Body and in His Blood regardless of how you feel about it, regardless of how pious you are feeling in the moment. It’s not on you to get your act together through fasting and bodily preparation in order to receive the Sacrament worthily. It’s all dependent upon faith. To be sure, the Body and Blood of Christ can be received unworthily. So, St. Paul warns:

Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup (1 Corinthians 11:28).

And so, we should take the Lord’s Supper seriously. We should respect that the Lord’s Table, sadly, cannot be open to all people because of the divisions among Christ’s Church on earth. We should also consider our own sinfulness and the grace which Christ offers here. We should come forward reverently. And yet, we should come in joy, knowing that the reception of Christ’s grace at His table is not dependent upon us. He has done all things needful for our salvation. He died upon the accursed tree so that His sacred Body and Blood might become for you the blessed fruit of the new Tree of Life—so that eating of this fruit again and again, this medicine of immortality would shape you more and more into the image of Christ and grant you a confidence and a joy that nothing can take away from you—not even death. For:

“He who eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:58b).

Thanks be to God that Christ offers us this medicine of immortality so that we might live eternally with Him.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.