Sermon for 3/15/23: Midweek Lent 3 (Lord's Supper series)

This continues our sermon series for the season of Lent: our series on the Lord's Supper. It is never a bad thing to return to the Catechism so that we may continue to grow in faith toward God and appreciation for His gifts to us.  

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The Benefits of Holy Communion
1 Corinthians 10:14–22

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

When we think of the benefits of the Sacrament of the Altar, of course good Lutherans will think of Luther’s words in the Small Catechism: “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.” These have been pounded into our heads—I know I speak of them constantly when I preach and teach regarding the Lord’s Supper. And that’s appropriate, because those are rich blessings of eternal significance. But tonight we concentrate on another blessing.

The Lord’s Supper is a communion or participation with Christ and with one another. St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” The word Paul uses here is koinonia, which is usually translated as “fellowship” or “participation” or, as we see it in our reading, “communion.” St. Paul is teaching the Christians in Corinth that, in the Lord’s Supper, they have union and fellowship with the body and blood of Christ. The same word is used in the book of Acts, where the early Christians “…continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” This tells us quite plainly what it was the early Christians were doing: they were celebrating the Lord’s Supper.

What a blessed gift! Through the means of bread and wine combined with the Word, Christians come into contact with the very Son of God Himself. You have union with Christ in a way that we do not have anywhere else in this world. For the one who believes the words of Christ, this is a very good thing. Christ, the Holy One of God, shares His holiness with those who commune. This is an especially good thing because, in and of ourselves, we are not holy. With repentant hearts, we confess that we are unholy and unclean sinners. By our fellowship with Adam and his unholy nature, we ourselves are made unholy. Our unclean thoughts, words, and actions make us unacceptable in God’s sight.

Jesus identifies the source of this when He says, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” So it should cause us great joy to hear that we unholy people can share in Christ’s holiness through participation in His holy things—namely, His body and blood in the Sacrament. Here at the altar, He invites us to enjoy a blest Communion with Him.

But there is another dimension to this idea of “communion” or “fellowship,” another union that takes place in the Lord’s Supper. Yes, it is first and foremost a union of the believer with Christ. But this blest Communion results in another union, that of Christian to Christian. The Lord’s Supper is never merely a “me and Jesus” thing. Though we receive the benefits of the Lord’s Supper individually, it is never a private matter. When you come to the altar and receive this salutary gift, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins, you also are bound and united to those with whom you commune. St. Paul says as much in the next part of his letter to the Corinthians: “For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.” We who are many become one body in the Lord’s Supper.

Since you are united with Christ, and through Him with each other, it matters that you be united in your confession of faith and reconciled with one another. Division at the Lord’s Table is not pleasing to the Lord, which is why we practice Closed Communion. So if you claim to be reconciled with Christ, yet continue to hold onto your grudges and anger toward your fellow Christian brothers and sisters, are you not lying to the Lord? It is necessary that those who commune together are also united in faith and doctrine, and that they have no enemies at the Lord’s Table. Christians should be willing to let go of their grievances with their brothers and sisters, or they run the risk of forfeiting their own forgiveness from Christ, as we learn in the parable of the unforgiving servant.

And finally, there is another aspect to the blest Communion with Christ and with one another that our Lord grants in the Lord’s Supper that we have yet to speak about. Have you ever paid close attention to the words of the Communion liturgy? “Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, ever more praising You. . . ” These words remind us that we are “surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses” when we are gathered at the Lord’s altar. Your departed loved ones who have fallen asleep in Jesus are part of the “company of heaven.” They are among those who have joined the Church Triumphant and are with Christ. In the Lord’s Supper, you have fellowship not only with Christ and with one another, but also with these unseen saints, as the hymn confesses: “Oh, blest Communion, fellowship divine! We feebly struggle, they in glory shine; yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.” What comfort there is in knowing that we have union with our Lord Jesus Christ and with the whole company of heaven!

In this “blest Communion” of Christ’s body and blood, our Lord answers a need that all Christians share: the need to have fellowship with God and with one another. Nowhere does this happen in such a way as it does at the Lord’s altar, where Christians are joined to Christ through His body and blood, and where we who are many are made one body with Christ. May we never despise this blest Communion, but rejoice in it! In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

         

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.