The Lord’s Supper in the Life of the Lutheran Congregation

LCMS Pastors Seminar 
Marshaltown, Cedar Falls, Iowa
10 February, 1998 

A.	The Embodied Gospel

1.	The Connection between the Lord’s Supper and the Gospel

a.	Luther 
•	Now, the whole Gospel and the article of the Creed, ‘I believe in the holy Christian church, the forgiveness of sins’, are embodied in this sacrament and offered to us through the Word (LC 32).
•	The presence of Christ is as near to us physically as he was to them (LW 37, 94).
•	Reception here in the Lord’s Supper from Christ’s lips of the forgiveness of sins which contains and conveys God’s grace and Spirit with all his gifts (LC, 70)
•	This Sacrament is the gospel (LW 36, 389).
•	The words of institution is the sum total of the gospel (LW 36, 277).
•	The sermon teaches and explains Christ’s words of institution (LW 35, 106).

b.	Sasse in The Lord’s Supper in the Life of the Church (1939): the Lord’s Supper ... stands at the center of the divine service; in fact, it is the divine service.
•	Inseparable connection between the gospel and the sacrament
•	Continuation by Christ of his mighty works through the sacraments
•	God’s use of earthly elements to present redemption to our whole person, body and soul
•	The Lord’s Supper as our heaven on earth until we enter heaven
•	Transformation of gospel into a rational religious ideology if divorced from the Lord’s Supper

2.	The Sacramental Enactment and Proclamation of the Gospel in the Year of the Church

a.	Physical contact of Jesus with us: Christmas and Epiphany
See John 1:14
•	Christ’s flesh as the temple of God’s glory where the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily with us (cf. Col 2:9)
•	Revelation of God’s glory by coming down to the very depths, into human flesh, into the bread, into our mouth, our heart, our bosom (LW 37, 72)
•	Christ’s assumption of human flesh and blood for the establishment of physical contact with us and the bestowal of his body and blood to us in the sacrament
•	Reason for the emphasis on Christ’s physical touch in the gospels 
•	Christ’s flesh as spiritual food which transforms the person who eats it into what it is itself, and makes him like itself, spiritual, alive and eternal (LW 37, 100)
•	The indwelling of Christ in us through the sacrament (John 6:56)
•	Celebration of the incarnation at Christmas and Epiphany by the eating of Christ’s body and drinking of his blood.

b.	Proclaiming Christ’s death: Lent
See 1 Cor 11:25-26
•	Presence of Jesus as our Passover Lamb who has been sacrificed for us (1 Cor 5:7)
•	Remembrance of Christ and his sacrificial death for our sins by the performance of the sacrament
•	Proclamation of Christ’s death to the world by our eating and drinking
•	Proclamation of Christ’s presence in the sacrament with his sacrificed body and blood
•	Proclamation of free forgiveness as our benefit from his death

c.	The Breaking of the Bread: Easter
See Luke 24:13-35
•	The breaking of bread as Luke’s name for the Lord’s Supper (cf. Acts 2:42, 46; 20:6)
•	Unrecognised presence of the risen Lord with his disciples on Easter Sunday
•	Self-disclosure of Jesus by the proclamation of himself from the Old Testament and by the breaking of bread
•	Revelation of risen Lord through the word and the meal in the early church
•	Celebration of every Sunday as a resurrection appearance of the risen Lord: we have Easter as often as we celebrate the Mass, preach, and administer the holy Sacrament (Luther in LW 13, 355)
•	Participation in Christ’s eternal life (John 6:6:53-58)

d.	Entry into the heavenly Sanctuary through Christ’s flesh: Ascension
See Heb 10:19-20
•	Christ’s ascension as the basis for our entry into God’s heavenly presence
•	Christ’s flesh as our new and living way into the heavenly sanctuary
•	Our right of access into the Father’s presence through Christ’s blood
•	The Lord’s Supper as the present bridge between heaven and earth

e.	Spiritual food and drink: Pentecost
See 1 Cor 10:1-4 and 12:13
•	‘Spiritual’ as ‘Spirit-filled’ and “Spirit-giving’ rather than immaterial or mental
•	Operation of the Holy Spirit through physical means with physical people as recognized by Luther: The Spirit cannot be with us except in material and physical things, such as the Word, water and Christ’s body, and in his saints on earth (LW 37, 95).
•	Christ’s body as the food of the Holy Spirit and Christ’s blood as the drink of the Holy Spirit
•	Indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our bodies by eating Christ’s body
•	Infilling of the Holy Spirit in our spirits by drinking Christ’s blood
•	The Lord’s Supper as our weekly celebration of Pentecost and our weekly reception of the Holy Spirit.

f.	The ongoing ministry of Jesus: Sundays after Pentecost
See Luke 22:24-27
•	Ongoing ministry of Jesus as our servant in the sacrament
•	Continuation of his incarnate ministry in word and deed through the means of grace after his ascension according to Acts 1:1-2
•	Reading and proclamation of the gospels as the revelation of Christ’s ongoing ministry in the church: see standing for the reading of the Gospel and acclamations before and after it
•	Access to Christ through faith in prayer.

g.	The Marriage Supper of the Lamb: the End of the World
See 1 Cor 11:26
•	The coming of Christ in glory and our physical redemption as the goal of the Lord’s Supper
•	Reason for ancient sacramental prayer and acclamation: Maranatha  = Our Lord, come! Our Lord is coming (1 Cor 16:22; Rev 22:20; Did 10:6)
•	Our present participation by faith in heavenly worship with the angels and the whole communion of saints (Heb 12:22-24)
•	Our adoration of the all-holy Triune God together with the angels in the Gloria and Sanctus
•	The Lord’s Supper as the anticipation of the marriage supper of Christ and the church and the foretaste of the eternal heavenly feast (cf. Rev 19:6-9)

3.	
Conclusion
•	Pride rather than embarrassment at teaching of the real presence
•	Call for renewal of sacramental piety
•	Challenge to Evangelical and Pentecostal teaching and practice of worship

B.	Treasure from Heaven

1.	The Lord’s Supper as our hidden treasure
See Luther in LC, 66: In this sacrament he (Christ) offers us all the treasure he brought from heaven for us.

a.	Christ’s body and blood as our treasure and gift (LC, 29)

b.	The offering of this treasure to us through the word, otherwise we could never know of it or seek it (LC,30)
•	Reception and appropriation by the faith of the heart which discerns and desires this treasure (LC, 37)
•	Call and invitation for our enjoyment of it and its benefits (LC, 34)

2.	The benefits from the faithful reception of the sacrament

a.	Forgiveness of sins
See Matt 26:26
•	Sin as the obstacle to fellowship with the holy God
•	Ransom from death and removal of guilt by the blood of Christ
in the sacrament
•	Forgiveness as the key which opens the door to God’s
presence
•	Confidence in God’s approval and acceptance in worship from 
a clear conscience
•	Need for self-examination with the ten commandments as
preparation for the Lord’s Supper
•	The congregation as a fellowship of forgiven, forgiving sinners

b.	Cleansing blood
            	See Heb 9:13-14 and 1 John 1:7
•	Blood as a cleansing agent for the removal of impurities from the body
•	Unclean conscience as a result of sin and abuse
•	Resultant sense of unworthiness and condemnation
•	Cleansing by drinking Christ’s blood in the sacrament
•	Christ’s removal of our impurity and the gift of his own purity through his blood
•	Purification of the heart/conscience as the qualification for our service of the living God in the heavenly sanctuary

c.	Life-giving flesh and blood
See John 6:53-58
•	The description of the sacrament by Ignatius as the medicine of immortality, the antidote against death, to make us live forever in Christ Jesus (Ig. Eph. 20:2)
•	 Luther’s mention of life and salvation as the benefits of eating and drinking (SC 6, 6)
•	 Christ’s flesh as life-giving food and his blood as a quickening beverage (FC SD 8, 76)
•	 Christ’s flesh as divine flesh which devoured death and gives life to all who eat it, both to their bodies and to their souls (LW 37, 125f).
•	 Nourishment of the body with the body and blood of the Lord in order that it may live eternally and not go to corruption (LW 37, 119)
•	 Present bodily participation in the divine life of Christ as the preparation of our bodies for the resurrection
•	 Presentation of the sacrament to the dying as food for the wayfarer

d.	A wholesome medicine
See Mark 2:15-17
•	 The healing power of human blood with its nutrients and antibodies
•	 The effect of sin on spiritual, mental and physical health
•	  Luther’s description of the sacrament as a pure, wholesome, soothing medicine which aids and quickens us in both body and soul, for where the soul is healed, the body has benefited also, and as a precious antidote against the poison in their systems (LC, 68, 70)
•	  Desecration of the sacrament as a cause of sickness (1 Cor 11:30)
•	  Prayer of thanksgiving in the liturgy for the sacrament as God’s ‘salutary gift’ to us
•	 Formula of Dismissal with its mention of body and soul
•	 Reception of the sacrament by sick people for healing by God in anticipation of the final healing of body and soul at the resurrection (cf. Rev 22:2)
•	 Ministry to the sick with the Lord’s Supper
•	 The Lord’s Supper as the service for healing in the church

e.	Union in one body
See 1 Cor 10:15-17
•	 Our bodily union with Christ through his body in the sacrament
•	 Our bodily union with our fellow-communicants through our common participation in Christ’s body
•	 The corporate nature of the congregation as a sacramental community of people united by Christ’s body and blood
•	  Acceptance of each other as holy brothers and sisters in Christ
•	  Need for reconciliation and agreement so that we do not hinder or undo the work of Christ.

f.	Sanctifying blood
See Heb 13:12
•	 Consecration of priests in the OT by the blood which had been splashed on the altar (Ex 29:21; Lev 8:30)
•	 Christ’s sanctification of his blood by bringing it into the heavenly sanctuary (Heb 9:12)
•	 Our consecration by sprinkling with Christ’s blood (Heb 10:22, 29; 13:24; cf. 1 Pet 1:2)
•	 Our status as holy priests who share in Christ’s holiness and serve with him in the heavenly sanctuary
•	 Our priestly vocation as members of the angelic choir and as intercessors together with Christ
•	 Our protection by Christ’s holy blood from the devil and all the powers of darkness
•	 Need to avoid desecration by involvement in impurity (1 Pet 1:14-16)

g.	Summary by Luther in LC 70: For here in the sacrament you are to receive from Christ’s lips the forgiveness of sins, which contains and brings with it God’s grace and Spirit with all his gifts, protection defense, and power against death, the devil, and every trouble.

3.	Conclusion from H. Sasse: Without the Gospel there is no Lord’s Supper. Even if the church forgets or adulterates the Gospel, as has happened to a great extent in Catholicism, still a remnant of the Gospel remains in the Words of Institution... And without the Lord’s Supper there is no Gospel. And when a church, as has happened so much in Protestantism, lets the Lord’s Supper decline, preaching pales into a proclamation of human theories, and the Gospel about the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world dies... One dare ask what Luther would think of an Evangelical (ie. Lutheran) Church which is about to lose the Lord’s Supper. He probably would give a more stern judgment over it than he gave over the church that fostered the sacrifice of the mass. A church without the sacrament must die.