Catechism in Context: The Sacrament of the Altar

I love buffalo chicken wings. After a busy week or when celebrating a special occasion, my go-to food when we’re out is buffalo chicken wings. Those times we go out to eat feel special, and I look forward to eating some wings. But if we went out for supper every day, I would probably get sick of buffalo wings (although it may take a while). Going out to eat would become less special.
OUT OF CONTEXT
The final part of the Catechism is the Sacrament of the Altar, the Lord’s Supper. What do buffalo wings have to do with the Lord’s Supper? Well, nothing. Or at least, they shouldn’t. But, taking the Lord’s Supper out of context, many believe receiving the Lord’s Supper is just like eating buffalo wings. They think that, just like going out to eat buffalo wings every day would make them less special, receiving the Lord’s Supper too often would likewise make it less special. So, in order to retain the specialness of the Sacrament, many would rather celebrate it less. This belief comes from taking both Jesus’ instructions to “Do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24) and Paul’s command about being worthy, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28) out of context.
When Jesus tells us to “Do this in remembrance” of Him, He’s not telling us to conjure up a memory of Him, as we would by looking at a photograph of our baby sister and remembering how much cuter she was when she was younger. This would make the Lord’s Supper merely a symbolical meal of remembrance, rather than a meal where He personally gives us His body and blood. Jesus is calling us to eat and drink and remember what purpose His body and blood serve: namely, that they are “Given and shed for you for the remission of sins.”
Similarly, both the Bible and our Catechism do teach us to receive the Sacrament worthily, but being worthy has nothing to do with how we feel, as if we could somehow emotionally prepare our bodies and minds for the Sacrament by taking it less. Being worthy, rather, has to do with what we believe, as our Catechism states, “Bodily preparation [is] indeed a fine outward training; but he is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words, ‘Given and shed for you for the remission of sins’” (SC V).
Luther identified the reason for our difficulty in feeling prepared to come: “We look more upon ourselves than upon Christ’s Word and lips” (LC V, 63).
The instruction to receive the Sacrament worthily, after all, isn’t the first explanation of the Sacrament in our Catechism. It’s actually the last. So before we focus on ourselves and our worthiness in the Sacrament, we need to understand what the Sacrament actually is. So what is it?
IN CONTEXT
“The Sacrament of the Altar is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ himself, for us Christians to eat and drink” (SC V). The Lord’s Supper isn’t a normal meal. It’s a heavenly meal where Christians actually receive Christ’s true body and blood for the forgiveness of sins, and along with that forgiveness, life and salvation.
It can’t be any less special, because the power isn’t in our emotion or our memory or even in our eating or drinking. Rather, the power is in the words: “Given and shed for you for the remission of sins.” The power is that the body and blood of Christ have been given by Jesus’ word and command to take our sins away. No matter how you feel about it, it’s significance never changes. “As often” as you eat the bread and drink the wine, you are receiving Christ’s body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins.
Knowing that we would stay away from the Sacrament because of our feeling of unworthiness, Christ commands us to “receive it often.” But the command isn’t the only reason we receive it. More importantly, we have His promise to forgive our sins and to exchange our unworthiness with His worthiness. Luther again comments, “Here He offers to us the entire treasure that He has brought for us from heaven” (LC V, 66).
Celebrating the Lord’s Supper on a special occasion like Maundy Thursday, Christmas, or Easter is good. Celebrating the Lord’s Supper when you’ve had a difficult week and especially feel the weight of your sin and guilt is also good. In fact, that’s exactly why God gives it to us. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” He says in Matthew 11:28.
We sin every day. We need forgiveness every day. We need forgiveness whether we feel it or not. In fact, if we doubt our forgiveness, and feel that we don’t deserve it, perhaps that’s when we actually need it the most.
Finally, of course, we do need to be prepared. So how can you be prepared? A final section of the Catechism that we won’t have time to cover in this series is titled “Christian Questions & Answers.” It really comes down to three questions: 1. Do you know you’re a sinner? 2. Do you trust that Jesus paid for your sin by His death? 3. Do you trust that His body and His blood are in the bread and wine to give that forgiveness to you personally? If you answer, “Yes,” to all the above, then you are worthy, and Christ Himself encourages you to receive His Supper often.
In fulfilling the Lord’s command to “Do this in remembrance of Him,” unlike a photo reminding us of a past event, the Lord’s Supper “reminds” us of our future, a future we already possess while not yet fully enjoying its benefits: That day when we will join all the saints in heaven and partake fully in the feast of heaven.
The Lord’s Supper is the culmination and high point of the Catechism. In being baptized for the remission of sins, hearing God’s Word, and growing to believe what the Lord has taught us, we prepare ourselves for the Sacrament. In receiving the gifts of Christ in the Sacrament, we will more easily receive “with pleasure and seriousness, and so use” (LC V, 85) the rest of the Catechism all our lives.
Reverend Jeff Hendrix
Contributing Writer
Faith Lutheran Church
Oregon, WI