Our Joy in the Lord’s Sacraments

A few weeks ago, we had a rare occurrence in our church: a Baptism and the observance of the Lord’s Supper on the same Sunday. That rarity isn’t because we celebrate the Lord’s Supper that infrequently at Good Shepherd, but because at our aging congregation, baptisms are rare—fewer than five in the past ten years.
On that Sunday, it struck me how those two Sacraments appeared so externally different. With the Baptism, a single child was brought forward and presented for the Sacrament. The extended families of both the father and the mother had gathered to witness and celebrate the blessed occasion. The obvious joy surrounding the Sacrament of Holy Baptism contrasted with the somber visages of the nine-at-a-time communicants who knelt at the rail to receive the Sacrament of the Altar. Receiving the Lord’s Supper is serious business, but where is the joy at the announcement of God’s gracious forgiveness?
Yet, in truth, these two Sacraments have much in common. In both the great treasure of spiritual goodness they convey is tied to the earthly elements. Baptism’s water washes away sin. As Doctor Luther wrote and confirmands memorize: “Baptism effects forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, just as the words and promises of God declare” (ELH, p. 34). The Lord’s Supper, likewise, under the bread and wine, conveys to the recipient the true body and blood of our Lord, and with them the same forgiveness of sins as Baptism. Jesus makes that abundantly clear when He tells His disciples: “Drink from it all of you. This is My blood of the Covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:27–28).
Both Sacraments were given to the Christian Church by the Lord Jesus Himself. He commanded His disciples, “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). He commanded them to baptize. He commanded them to instruct. When our Lord Jesus gathered His disciples together for the Passover meal, He instituted His Supper. He gave them the bread and wine. He also gave them His body and blood. And then, Jesus gave them this command: “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19).
Both Sacraments present a visible Gospel—a forgiveness we can feel, touch, or taste. Our Lord Jesus provides this great blessing to His Church because He knows the human condition. From the time of the Fall, our Lord, the eternal Son, witnessed the depth of depravity sin brought upon the world. He experienced true human weakness when He took upon Himself human flesh. He personally understands temptation and the wiles the devil employs to lead the faithful astray. To address the need of fallen man and to strengthen the believer in his weakness, Jesus gave to His church His Gospel message of forgiveness, redemption, and salvation in concrete means.
The greatest similarity, however, is that both Sacraments draw their power from the clear Word of God. Luther wrote: “Baptism is not just water but it is the water used according to God’s command and connected with His Word. …It is not the water that does these things, but the Word of God which is in and with the water, and faith which trusts this Word of God in the water. For without the Word of God the water is simply water and no baptism; but with this Word of God it is a baptism” (ELH, p. 34). And in his instruction and explanation of the Sacrament of the Altar, Luther answered the question “How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?” with these words: “It is not the eating and drinking that does this, but the words here written, ‘Given and shed for you for the remission of sins.’ These words, along with the eating and drinking, are the main thing in the Sacrament” (ELH, p. 36).
And how do we properly understand that Word in connection with the Sacraments? To be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is not just a formula to be spoken over the infant or the person being baptized. Baptism asks the baptized, as well as those who witness the Baptism and will later share with the child the truth that he or she has indeed been baptized, to remember the entire message of the Word of the Lord—the creation of the world and man, the promise of a Savior, the fulfillment as God carries out His work of salvation.
Baptism in the name of the Father connects the baptized to the creating and preserving activity of the Father. Baptism in the name of the Son connects the baptized to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and His full payment for the sins of all. Baptism in the name of the Holy Spirit connects the baptized to the Holy Spirit who uses Word and Sacrament to call the sinner from unbelief to faith and to provide spiritual gifts in abundance to keep the baptized in the faith. This is why instruction must precede and/or follow the Sacrament so that those who are baptized know and understand the true significance of the water connected with the Word of God.
The same holds true for the Sacrament of the Altar. In the Lord’s Supper, the communicant receives in, with, and under the bread and wine the very body and blood of the Lord Jesus. Those earthly elements and the real presence of our Savior are, just as in Baptism, tied to the Word. Again, this is not the Word in a ceremonial ritual, but the Word communicating to the recipient the whole work of God. The remembering, therefore, is more than remembering who Jesus was. It is being tied to the heavenly Father who sent His Son. It is being tied to the Son, Jesus—tied to His incarnation; to His coming to earth as Savior; to His perfect life before His Father; to His sacrifice on the cross; to His death in payment for sin; to His glorious resurrection; and to His triumphant ascension. It is being tied to the Holy Spirit who creates, nurtures, and maintains faith in the heart and life of the believer and empowers him or her through the Sacrament to lay hold of Jesus.
So, in Baptism and in the Lord’s Supper, in both Sacraments, their power and efficacy lie in the all-powerful Word of God. That Word is not a spoken formula or spiritual incantation. It isn’t just a few holy and rightly uttered words. In the Sacraments the believer is being inexplicably connected to the saving work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This union between recipient and the Triune God makes these Sacraments, which have the all-powerful Word of God in common, a means whereby faith is truly created and rightly strengthened. And this, my friends, is the most common and most blessed thing of all.
Robert Otto is pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Bloomer, Wisconsin.