2025 Advent midweek 3
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God, our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
There was once a man who was greatly blessed. He had a good job, a nice house, a beautiful wife, and adoring children. Yet that man felt the heaven burdens and cares of the world pressing down on his shoulders. At times, life seemed like nothing but struggle, even when things were going well, and certainly when they were not.
One day, when the anxieties of life felt particularly heavy, this man went to church. During Holy Communion, he knelt at the altar rail to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. After eating and drinking at the Lord’s invitation, he closed his eyes to pray, in thanksgiving and in fervent desire to receive the forgiveness that Jesus Christ promised. Standing beside him, his young child spoke one simple word, “rest.”
Tears welled up in that man’s eyes, not in sadness or worry, but in joy at the pure truth spoken from the mouth of this babe, and at the blessed gift of rest found in the promise of forgiveness granted by our Lord and Savior. All the struggles, all the worries, all the sins that cause turmoil in the hearts of man, they are covered by the blood of the Paschal Lamb, who takes away the sin of the world. They are forgiven, not because of any merit or worthiness on our part, but because Jesus bore them to the cross.
And He does not leave you only with His words of promise, blessed as they are, but He also gives you something real and tangible to remind you of the objectiveness of His grace. His Word of promise is attached to something visible, something you can touch and taste. He gives you the very bread of life to eat, to bring you comfort and peace. In the full knowledge of that incredible promise of salvation, received through faith in this Sacrament of the Altar, you can find rest.
What a contrast to the bustle and burdens of the world. What a contrast, indeed, to the way our sinful nature thinks we should search for the forgiveness of sins. The devil whispers in our ears that God couldn’t possibly forgive our sins; that before you can expect forgiveness from God you must first show that you are worthy of it, so that God’s forgiveness won’t be wasted because you’ll just ruin it a few hours or even moments after receiving it.
Or perhaps you struggle in a different way, not finding it easy to accept that the simple bread and wine that is eaten and drunk in the Lord’s Supper could be the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ? “Irrational!” cries your sinful nature. “Foolishness!” cries the devil in your ear. “How could simple bread and wine be the blessed Body and Blood of your God and Lord? How can such simple things grant the forgiveness of sins?”
If that happens, remind yourself that all the “wise” spirits and scholars who would contradict the Word of God have not the wisdom that the Divine Creator has in His little finger. The real foolishness would be to dismiss and contradict the Word of God.
However, there is a kernel of truth, as always, in the words of those lying spirits. Certainly, simple bread and wine cannot grant the forgiveness of sins, but this is no simple bread and wine. The elements of the Lord’s Supper are attached and connected with the Word of God, with the command and promise of Jesus Christ that in receiving them, you receive the forgiveness of sins.
“Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:24). “This [cup] is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28).
Here is another mystery. A μυστεριον (mysterion). A Sacrament.
God created the world through His Word (John 1:3). He simply spoke and all things came into being (Gen. 1:3). If my God and Lord says that the bread of the Sacrament is His Body and the wine is His Blood, who am I to say it is impossible? “THIS IS MY BODY.” Seems pretty clear.
I think some of the doubt people encounter comes from the fact that Jesus employed metaphors when He was teaching. But a thorough study of the Bible shows that this meal instituted by Jesus is something radically different than anything else He did.
Every other time Jesus used a metaphor for Himself, He explained what He meant. After declaring “I am the vine” (John 15:5), Jesus explained that, if we abide in him as branches abide in a vine, good works will be flow from Jesus through us as fruit grows on the branches connected to the vine. When He said “I am the door” (John 10:9), Jesus taught that the only path to salvation, the only way into the Kingdom of God, is by Him. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11), because a good shepherd gives His life for His sheep, and that is exactly what He did.
Now consider what happened in that upper room on the night that He was betrayed. Luke records that Jesus told His disciples, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:15-16). This is no simple meal. This is something particularly special, something Jesus was looking forward to instituting for His disciples, “with fervent desire” and with a promise that it will be shared again in the kingdom of God!
Consider the prophecy in these words, “I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Until what is fulfilled? Not the meal, that will be done in an hour or two. No, Jesus is talking about the Passover!
In the Old Testament, the Passover was the beginning of the great deliverance event, when God saved His people from slavery in Egypt and delivered them into the promised land. Jesus connected that greatest salvation event of the Old Testament to what He was about to do. That Passover was just a type, a shadow or pale imitation, pointing to the true Passover that Jesus was instituting on that night in the upper room. The great Exodus of the Old Testament was a type pointing toward the greater Exodus that Jesus was about to accomplish (Luke 9:31).
As in the Passover, when God’s people sacrificed and ate a lamb, so in this greater Passover meal, the people of God eat the Body of the true Lamb of God (John 1:36) so that death would pass over, not because we have earned God’s forgiveness, but because He granted it to us out of His mercy and grace. Like the children of Israel, we still have some wandering to do before we enter the promised land, but we know that is the destination, and we know He is leading us.
You have passed through the waters; you are a baptized child of God. And He sustains you on your way with the very bread from heaven (John 6).
In baptism, you are born anew in a mysterious work by God, but you still have to struggle with the old vicious nature of the flesh and blood of man. You are still hindered and tempted by the devil and the world, so you may occasionally become faint and weary and stumble on the way. But Jesus did not leave you to struggle on your own. He gives you another mystery, His Body and Blood to strengthen and preserve you in body and soul.
Those who trust His word receive this Sacrament as a sure token and pledge, that sin, death, and every calamity cannot separate you from the love of God, that your sins are forgiven.
The world would have you doubt this precious gift. The devil constantly prowls about, looking for someone to devour through disbelief and despair (1 Peter 5:8). He uses the same tactics he ever has; “Did God really say?” (Gen. 3:1). Doubt is his weapon to draw you away from faith, away from trust in God’s Word, away from the sure promises of Jesus.
Not in vain does Paul caution against eating and drinking the Lord’s Supper unworthily, for by doing so one eats and drinks judgment to himself (1 Cor. 11:29). Those who doubt the Word of God cannot find the forgiveness He promised, because they are unwilling to perceive it. Those who do not desire forgiveness, either because they do not recognize their sins or because they do not want to turn away from them, will be confirmed in their sin.
Faith takes hold of and receives the blessed forgiveness promised in the Sacrament, but a lack of faith does not negate the Word of God. God’s Word does not become false because of the disbelief of the one who hears it. All who partake of the Sacrament receive the true Body and Blood of Christ, some to forgiveness, but some to judgement.
This is why our church follows the ancient tradition of closed communion, only allowing those who have made a public profession of their trust in the Word of God to partake at the Lord’s Table. We do not exclude anyone out of malice or prejudice, but out of love, to prevent anyone from partaking unworthily, as the Bible teaches. Remember, this is no simple meal. This is a communion with and a participation in, the Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior (1 Cor. 10:16).
Those who put their faith in Him alone, those who trust His words, need not fear to partake of this Sacrament, for in it they will find exactly what He promised, the forgiveness of sins. There is no more worthy participant in this Divine Supper than he who puts all his trust in the Word, who brings every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).
I don’t understand how simple bread and wine becomes the Body and Blood of Christ, but I trust my God and my Lord when He says it does. I don’t understand how the eating and drinking of His Body and Blood grant me the forgiveness of sins, but I believe Him when He says that it does. He commanded that I receive this gift in faith. He desires it and it is pleasing to Him to grant me this forgiveness. That’s good enough for me. Amen! It is true! Thanks be to God!
Let the Word and command of God compel you to come to the table. Let your faith drive you closer to Him and to His sure promises. Do not wait until you feel prepared enough to receive the Sacrament, because no one can ever be truly prepared. Your faith is enough.
It is the highest art to understand that this Sacrament does not depend on your worthiness, to declare “I come, Lord, not upon any worthiness of my own, but upon Your Word, because You commanded it, and I would gladly be Your disciple, no matter my worthiness or lack thereof.”
You can come to the Lord’s Table, not because you are without sin, but because He invites you there so that your sins may be taken away. Do not wait to feel prepared to take the Sacrament, because no one can ever be truly prepared. You are unworthy, but that is exactly why you partake of this Sacrament, so that your sins may be forgiven. The healthy and whole do not need a physician, but the sick (Luke 5:31). The person who recognizes his infirmity and gladly takes the medicine his doctor provides receives it worthily.
It is precisely those who feel heavy-laden, burdened, and weak that flee for refuge to the Lord, that go joyfully to this Sacrament to obtain refreshment, consolation, and strength. It is they who feel the cares of the world and of sin pressing down on their shoulders that go to the Table of the Lord to find rest for their souls (Matt. 11:29).
The work for the forgiveness of sins that was accomplished and completed on the cross comes to you by the Word of God in the Gospel (Rom. 10:17) and in the Sacraments, the simple elements attached with the command and promise of Jesus.
When you feel the darts and arrows of the world, the devil, and your sinful nature, flee to God for refuge. When you recognize your weakness and insufficiency, lean wholly on His grace. When you feel heavy-laden and burdened, go joyfully to the Table of the Lord to receive the peace that comes when He gives you the forgiveness of sins. Come, all you who are weary and heavy laden, to this Table Fellowship with your Lord and Savior, and He will give you rest.
And resting in His grace, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7). Amen!