Lenten
Midweek 2013—Williamsburg Circuit, IDE
Pr
Nicholas Huelsman, St John's, Victor
Preaching
the Sixth Chief Part
Part
Five: Beneficial Eating and Drinking!
[Read
1 Corinthians 11]
Parishoner: “I’m
coming to communion today, Pastor.”
Pastor:
Wonderful. Now tell me. What do you expect to receive with your
mouth at the Sacrament?
Parishoner: “What
do you mean, Pastor?”
Pastor:
What is it that I will put in your mouth to eat and drink?
Parishoner: “Oh,
I get it. Bread and wine.”
Pastor: Is
that all?
Parishoner: “Of
course. It’s just bread and wine.”
Pastor: But
don’t you believe that you also receive Christ’s Body and
Blood for the forgiveness of your sins?
Parishoner: “Are
you kidding me. No way! It’s only bread and wine. There’s no
body. And certainly no blood! I’m no cannibal, Pastor! And I
don’t go for forgiveness! It’s just a memorial meal where I
show I’m obedient to the Lord.”
To
put it plainly, if a pastor would let someone like that
go to the Sacrament, / this most holy gift would be like glass in his
belly.
Tonight's
sermon, in this Series on the 6th
Chief Part of the Catechism: The Sacrament of Holy Communion,
tonight's theme
is the Blessing of Beneficial Eating and Drinking. And this is
precisely why Christ gave us His Holy Meal, so that we would benefit
from it. I know that's kind of obvious, perhaps not even worth
mentioning, but the fact of the matter is: there is also an
un-beneficial
(a harmful) eating and drinking of Christ's Supper. And it is
important to know what this also means.
For
example, for the man described in that conversation, the Lord’s
Body and Blood would not be beneficial for him. Instead, it would
harm
him. / As another example, the Corinthian congregation (which you
heard about in sermon text), they had members who were being harmed
by the Sacrament. St Paul documents that some of them were weak,
sick, and even dying.
But
this really shouldn't have been a surprise to them. After all, what
did they expect to when they were profaning the Lord’s most holy
Body and Blood like that? Paul says they were “guilty of the
Lord’s Body and Blood.” And the reason? (And this is also
important for us, for this still stands as a warning to all who would
approach the Lord's Table.) The only reason that Christ's Supper was
harmful to the Corinthians, was because they didn’t recognize the
Sacrament for what it really is: the Lord’s Body and Blood / for
the forgiveness of sins. They’d partake of the Sacrament / but
believed it was only bread and wine. This is an unworthy
eating and drinking. The Lord only meant His holy and blessed Meal /
for those who believe His Words.
So,
what does
the Lord say? “This
is my body which is for you. The cup is the new testament in my
blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”
The
person who believes the Lord’s words is truly worthy and well
prepared to receive the Sacrament; and to benefit from it. When
Jesus says that His Body and Blood are “for
you,”
He wants you to believe what He says. His words are certain and sure.
Jesus doesn’t lie to you. And His promise gives exactly what it
says.
The
Sacrament is for you and for your benefit. “For
in this sacrament (Luther
said in the Large Catechism) [Christ]
offers us all the treasures he brought from heaven for us. [His Body
and Blood are] the soothing medicine that aids you and gives life in
both soul and body,”
Another theologian explains it like this: “[It
is] the medicine of immortality, the antidote that we should not die,
but live forever in Jesus Christ.”
//
“I
believe Jesus' words,” you might say, “but I feel so totally
unworthy. I try to get better but I get nowhere. Two steps forward.
Three steps back. Maybe I should just stay away.”
Nonsense!
The Lord’s Supper is precisely for sinners like this! I would
provide the same counsel to those who feel unworthy as I did to those
who desregard or don't know Jesus' Words. I would say, “stop
focusing on yourself. Keep all your attention on Christ’s words
that come from Christ’s mouth. You are included in the words
“given
and shed for you
for the forgiveness of your
sins.”
Eat
and Drink and receive the love of God. For this is how God loved the
world, that He sent this same Jesus to die for all of your sins. /
God still loves the world by sending His Son, Jesus. It's just that
He sends Him hidden under the forms of bread and wine. But the
effect is still the same. Jesus comes as Savior. Receiving the
Lord's Supper also teaches us this most important truth of the
Gospel. After, as St Paul also said, when you eat the bread and
drink the Cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes back
again. He died, remember, to save you. He hides Himself under bread
and wine, to save you still.
And
yes, you still need saving. Again, something that might go without
saying, (but I'll say it anyways...again). And I'll say it like
this: because we go to receive the forgiveness of our sins in the
Lord’s Body and Blood, we also learn from this holy Meal to be
horrified
by our sins and to regard them as very serious. “This
is my body...this is my blood, shed for you.”
He gives you the very Body and Blood sacrificed on the Cross.
Salvation is not cheap. It was very costly. It cost God’s Son His
life. It is this very costly and precious Body and Blood that we
receive in the Lord's Supper.
But
as we eat and drink “in
remembrance”
of Him; it's no time for self-justifying guilt trips. Again, that
would be to focus on yourself. Stop that. And you can learn how to
stop thinking so much of yourself / only by shifting attention to
Christ alone. The result? We find joy and comfort beyond measure, /
for in finding Christ our Savior, we find what we need the most: we
find our salvation / again.
Now
don't get me wrong, we are saved by Christ alone and through faith
alone, not by any of our efforts or “finding”. Christ found you
first in Holy Baptism. And in finding
you and giving you faith in Him,
you now know where to look, for you know what He
looks like. So when He holds up a piece of bread and speaks the
truth, saying, “this is my body,” / well, then you go to Him,
your Savior. For what? For the forgiveness of sins. And where
there is forgiveness of sins, there is also / life / and salvation.
To
seek out and find that
Bread and that
Cup, which is truly Jesus' Body and Jesus' Blood / is to seek out and
find your salvation, again, and again, and again; until finally He
calls you home and declares / your seeking and finding is over; come,
see me face to face; hidden no longer. Let sin trouble you no
longer.
Come,
Lord Jesus. Come quickly.
In
the Name of +Jesus.
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