“We’re having a potluck next week. Please plan accordingly!” What’s your reaction when you see such an announcement in the church bulletin? Are you among those who loves potlucks because you enjoy jamming your plate with two different kinds of salads, perogies nestled against cabbage rolls, meatballs nudging a slice of lasagna on which is balanced a dinner roll and a deviled egg—and then in your other hand is your dessert plate piled high with goodies because you know that Mom won’t say anything since she’s not paying attention? Or do you let out a little sigh when you hear there’s going to be a potluck because now you have to prepare a dish late Saturday night or early Sunday morning and you had just wanted to relax on the weekend? Sure, potlucks are fun, but they do take a little work. That’s why we don’t have them every Sunday.
We do however gather for another meal here at church much more frequently. And I hope that you have no reservations about it. It’s not a fancy meal or even particularly filling, but it is so much more satisfying than the best church potluck. This Sunday we’re starting a four-part series on the sacrament of Holy Communion and we’ll discover today how Holy Communion is way better than a potluck.
As an outline for this series we’re going to follow Martin Luther’s four-part explanation of Holy Communion. In answer to the question: “What is Holy Communion?” Luther, wrote: “It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ for us Christians to eat and to drink.” Luther’s explanation is not highly regarded by non-Lutheran Protestants who say that Jesus’ body and blood are not really on the menu—just bread and wine. Nor would Roman Catholics agree that the bread and wine are only to be consumed, not worshipped or venerated because the priest has permanently turned it into Jesus’ body and blood.
So how did Luther come up with this explanation, and why do we agree with it? Because Luther took seriously what the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians. “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
Paul had to share the basics about Holy Communion with the Christians in Corinth because they had forgotten that it was the Lord’s Supper and not their own. What was happening in that congregation is that Holy Communion seemed to be celebrated during the fellowship meal after the service. It might seem strange to us to have Holy Communion during a potluck after the service, but it’s the way they did it. There was nothing wrong with that except there didn’t seem to be a holy reverence for the sacrament. In fact, by the time some got around to receiving Communion, they were already drunk from the wine they had brought to the fellowship meal (1 Corinthians 11:21)! To make matters worse, the fellowship meal wasn’t really a potluck. People didn’t share their food. So some feasted while others had nothing to eat.
Therefore Paul thought it was necessary to first of all remind the Corinthians how Jesus had instituted the Lord’s Supper on the night of his betrayal. The very next day Jesus would be hanging on the cross. So the party atmosphere of the Corinthians’ fellowship meal was not in line with how the sacrament would have been received the first time. It was a solemn occasion on which Jesus was making out his last will and testament.
But what did Jesus, the lowly carpenter from Nazareth, have to leave his disciples in a will? He didn’t own any land or property. The only thing Jesus had to give was himself. That truth struck me as I studied the text—how Jesus said “This is my body, which is for you” (1 Corinthians 11:24). Jesus did not withhold anything from us, not even himself. This isn’t an exact parallel but I remember how, when we had potlucks at the church in Tokyo where I grew up, members jostled for a good spot in line to ensure they would get at least a spoonful of any dish that Linda brought. Linda was from Indonesia where she had owned a restaurant. Her potluck dishes where never just thrown together at the last minute. No, she always went all out, serving dishes with juicy prawns and other delicacies. When Linda realized how much my siblings and I liked her cooking, she would sidle over to us and hand us dish all our own to take back to the house and enjoy later. Linda wasn’t just giving us a meal, she was giving us her heart.
Doesn’t Jesus do something similar in Holy Communion? He gives us the very best thing he has to offer: himself. Yes, you really receive Jesus’ body and his blood in Holy Communion, for there is no other way to understand those simple words: “This is my body; this is my blood.” We want to be like Abraham in this matter of taking God at his Word even when it puzzles. When God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering, Abraham took God’s word at face value and would have followed through with the sacrifice had the Angel of the Lord not stopped him. Sure, the command must have puzzled Abraham, but he didn’t think for a minute that God was speaking in code and really meant for Abraham to do anything other than slay his son and burn the body.
The truth is it wasn’t until 800 years after Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper that Christians started to doubt whether Jesus’ body and blood were really present in Holy Communion (as did the monk Ratramnus from Corbie, France). But would it surprise you to learn that one of the proponents of this view, Berengar of Tours, had as his motto: “Fly to reason!”? (from Lockwood’s Concordia commentary on 1 Corinthians) In other words, Berengar was only willing to accept what made sense. Since Jesus’ body and blood being present in Holy Communion didn’t make sense to him, he explained it in a way that it did—that the bread and wine only represented the body and blood. As Bible-believing Christians, however, we want fly to Scripture, not to our puny little minds when deciding what we will and will not believe. No, I can’t make sense of how Jesus’ body and blood are present in Holy Communion but it’s enough for me to know that my Savior says that they are. And then consider how in the verses after out text Paul warned the Corinthians that if they didn’t acknowledge the presence of Jesus’ body and blood in Holy Communion, they would be sinning against it (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). How can you sin against the body and blood if it isn’t really present in, with, and under the bread and wine?
But now let me get back to marveling at what a gift this is that Jesus offers. It’s become kind of a fad among billionaires to promise to give away their wealth by the time they die. I applaud them for that, but this doesn’t mean that they’re really going to give everything away. No, they’re certain to keep enough of their wealth so that they can enjoy a privileged life until they die. But not Jesus. He didn’t just give you some of his riches, he gave you everything and in the process he himself became poor and wretched, and despised by God so that you could have the riches of heaven. This is what makes Holy Communion better than a potluck. I mean I’ve never seen anyone give their all at a potluck—not even my Indonesian friend Linda. Sure, she may have served meals with expensive prawns and other delicacies, but I doubt this meant she herself had to eat mac ‘n cheese for the rest of the month. But when Jesus gave up his life on the cross he had to eat ridicule, shame, and worst of all God’s anger because of our sins. And in exchange we have received the promise of forgiveness and heaven.
See, this is another way that Holy Communion is better than a potluck. Potlucks work because everybody is supposed to bring something to share. We wouldn’t of course turn anyone away who doesn’t have anything to share, but people are generally happy to contribute—even proud to show off their cooking skills at a potluck. But what do you contribute to Holy Communion? What do you bring to that meal? Nothing but your sins. Jesus does all the giving—offering with his body and blood the forgiveness of sins and salvation.
How then can we be nonchalant about receiving this meal? How can we treat it like a potluck that we may or may not stick around for depending what’s on the menu, or whether or not we really want to take the time to sit down and chat with others while we eat? Through the Lord’s Supper Jesus wants to connect to you. He wants to commune with you. Does Holy Communion stretch out the worship service? Sure. But do you despise the lingering hug a child or a parent gives to you to assure you that you are really loved? Of course not. You savor that kind of contact. Now come and savor the flavor of forgiveness and salvation Jesus offers you here in the sacrament—this miraculous meal that is way better than any potluck. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
Fill in the blanks. “Holy Communion is __________________________ and __________________ of our ____________________ under the bread and wine, instituted ____________________________ for us Christians to ______________________.”
How were the Corinthian Christians abusing the Lord’s Supper?
Why do we say that Holy Communion is Jesus’ last will and testament?
How does Abraham’s example teach us to take seriously what Jesus said about Holy Communion?
Give at least two ways Holy Communion is better than a potluck.
