The Lord's Supper.
What Is The Sacrament Of The Altar?
_It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread
and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ
Himself._
What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?
_That is shown us by these words, "Given and shed for you for the
remission of sins"; namely, 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._
1. You have often seen how on certain Sundays confirmed members of our
church went up to the altar to receive bread and wine to eat and drink,
while the minister said to them: "Take and eat; this is the true body of
your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Take and drink; this is the true
blood of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." We call this sacred act the
_Lord's Supper,_ or the _Sacrament of the Altar. What does this sacred
act mean?_
2. The holy evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and St. Paul the
Apostle write about the Lord's Supper thus: _"Our Lord Jesus Christ,"
etc. The Lords Supper was not instituted by men, by the Church, _but by
Christ Himself._ Therefore it is _a sacred act._ The Lord instituted His
Supper _"the same night in which He was betrayed,"_ in the night before
His sufferings and death. After He had given His disciples the bread and
the cup, He added: _"This do in remembrance of Me." The Lord _commanded_
His disciples that after His ascension _they should do as He had done,_
that they should take bread and wine, give thanks over them, and eat
and drink in remembrance of Him. _He commanded His Church to celebrate
His Supper to the end of days._ "As often as ye eat this bread and drink
this cup, ye do show the Lord's death _till He come."_ 1 Cor. 11,26.
3. In the night in which Jesus was betrayed by His disciple Judas, our
Lord _took bread, and when He had given thanks, He brake it into small
pieces, and gave it to His disciples, and said, Take and eat. After the
same manner also He took the cup, filled it with wine, gave thanks, and
gave it to His disciples, saying, Take, drink ye all of it._ The Lord
took _bread and wine_ and gave them to His disciples to eat and drink.
We should do likewise in celebrating the Lord's Supper. We should take
bread and wine, eat and drink both in remembrance of the Lord. As in
Baptism the water, so in the Lord's Supper bread and wine are the
external, visible means. The Lord's Supper is the bread and wine
_comprehended in God's command._
4. In the Lord's Supper bread and wine are also _connected with God's
word._ While the disciples ate the bread and drank the wine, the Lord
said to them, _"This is my body, which is given for you. This cup is the
New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of
sins."_ These words of Christ we must also have in His Supper, together
with the bread and wine.--In His Supper, under the bread and wine, our
Lord gives us, according to His promise, _His body, which was given for
us,_ which was crucified, _and His true blood, which was shed for us on
the cross for the remission of our sins._ Under and with the bread and
wine we eat and drink the body and the blood of our Lord. We cannot
understand how this is possible, but we _believe_ it because our Lord
has promised it. _"The Word of the Lord is right, and all His works are
done in truth."_ Ps. 33,4. Our Lord is the _almighty God,_ who is able
to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think and can
understand. Eph. 3,20. The Lord's Supper, or the Sacrament of the Altar,
_"is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread
and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ
Himself."_
5. _What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?_ Our Catechism
answers: _"That is shown us by these words, 'Given and shed for you for
the remission of sins.'"_ In the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life,
and salvation are given us through these words. Our Lord, it is true,
speaks only of remission, or forgiveness, of sins; but _"where there is
forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation."_--In His
Supper my Lord gives me, and I eat, His body, given for me, and He gives
me, and I drink, His blood, shed for the remission of my sins. He gives
me His body and blood, by the giving and shedding of which upon the
cross He purchased and earned and procured for me the forgiveness of my
sins. So the Lord's Supper _strengthens our faith in Christ,_ our
Redeemer. When we believe these words in the Sacrament, we have in it
_forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation._ How we ought to thank our
Lord for making us so certain of our salvation in His Supper!