In Jesus Holy Name October 28, 2018 Series: Luther’s Small Catechism Redeemer
Text Matthew 26:26b-28
“Thinking the Things of God”
Holy Communion: Come as you Are
On this Sunday of the Reformation we have come to our final topic in our series of messages through Martin Luther’s Small Catechism . Holy Communion. Few events in the history of the Christian Church have dramatically impacted the course of western culture and civilization more than the Theological Reformation in the 16th century.
Let me take you back in time for a moment. It’s October 1528. The air is cool. The leaves have turned. Final crops are being harvest with horse and wagon. There is often rain blowing in from the North Sea across the German landscape. The Reformation, which began 11 years before is spreading throughout Europe. Martin Luther has already translated the bible into the German language. He has written liturgies and hymns for the congregations. Now it was time for him to visit congregations in Saxony to assess their spiritual health.
Luther was horrified. He wrote: “Mercy! Dear God, what great misery I beheld!” In his Preface to The Small Catechism he wrote: “The common person, especially in the villages, has no knowledge whatever of Christian doctrine. And unfortunately, many pastors are completely unable and unqualified to teach… Yet, everyone says they are Christians, have been baptized, and receive the holy Sacraments, even though they cannot even recite the Lord’s Prayer or the Creed or the Ten Commandments.” Something has to be done.
In the late fall of 1528 he writes the Small Catechism. In April 1529 he writes the Large Catechism for Pastors. By October 1529 he has been asked to discuss with Ulrich Zwingli of the Swiss Reformation, various theological positions of the Reformation. Philip of Hesse wanted bring together if possible the theological positions of the Lutheran Reformation and the Swiss Reformation.
Luther along with others travel to the Marburg Castle. For days the Protestant leaders, Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli and others discussed various Protestant doctrines. They agreed on most theological doctrines but failed to negotiate their respective differences concerning the Lord’s Supper. It was
called The Marburg Colloquy of 1529.
Lutheran and Reformed branches of Christian faith can still trace one of our key differences back to this meeting. For Luther, the Supper was to be understood as the real presence of Christ’s body and blood “in, with, and under” the visible elements of bread and wine. It is a mystery of faith. For Luther it was an issue of faith. If Jesus said it: “It was true.”
For Luther it was not any different than the Creation of the world. When God “spoke” the seas were filled with fish. When God “spoke” the skies were will filled with birds. The “Word” of God made it so. Therefore if Jesus said He is present in, with and under the bread and wine… for the forgiveness of sins. Then it was true.
Though it is beyond human reasoning it remains possible for God to be both omnipresent and local in the bread and wine in every congregation at the same time. If you cannot wrap your mind around that theological truth then you must find way to change the words of Jesus.
For Zwingli, on the other hand, the resurrected body of Jesus simply could not be one place (in heaven at the right hand of God) and every place at the same time. Instead, Christ’s body, because it belongs to the human portion of Christ, must remain in one location—at the right hand of God. Zwingli felt that Luther’s interpretation of “This is my body” was far too literalistic and wooden. He preferred instead to read Christ’s words as allegorical and figurative.
In effect, for Zwingli the Holy Communion was symbolic of the Last Supper. And so they left Marburg in disagreement over the understanding of Holy Communion.
Kris Camealy, a Roman Catholic author and photographer wrote: “I believe in the power and mystery of the Eucharist.. I believe in the reality of my own experiences and the weight I have felt soul deep as I have bent and kneeled at the rail with my hands outstretched and open, like a beggar that I am.”
Jesus said: “Come as you are. Sometimes I think I need a basin near the altar to
wash my hands first, like Lady Macbeth rubbing furiously to erase the stains of her sin. But Jesus calls us to come stained, so He can wash us. I can do nothing else. I come …. As I am. Desperate in need of grace. Rather than a basin, it’s a chalice that I find at the altar.”
I agree “In those moments bent at the rail, I am reminded of God’s covenant of forgiveness, acceptance and mercy. His promises are renewed in the bread and wine. I come away satisfied with the mystery. I don’t need to know how it happens, only to remember that it does. In the classic Latin phrase of the Reformation….sola gratia. Grace alone. We are saved. We are forgiven. Not by our intentions, good wishes, exemplary deeds, right thinking. We are saved and forgiven by God’s grace… offered in Jesus Christ purchased on the cross.”
By Kris Camealy. Published by The High Calling, August 2, 2015.
Are you acquainted with the acronym DIY? DIY stands for “Do It Yourself.” Now since I am an individual who has incredible difficulty telling the differences between a screwdriver, hammer and saw…. I stand in awe of those do- it -yourselfers who dismantle their car engines to find an unwanted ping.
Since changing a light bulb can be a major challenge for me. I am amazed and astounded and thankful for all those who post “YouTube” videos on how to fix a broken dishwasher or sharpen knives, and refinish cabinets.
Well, My son encouraged me to do just that when our dishwasher stopped cleaning the dishes on the top shelf. After searching a number of the DIY video’s
I was able to dismantle and put back together our dishwasher, saving a $100 repair call. OK, I admit it wasn’t a 20 minute job like the Video explained but I did accomplish the task.
Part of the problem in America is people also want to be ‘spiritual do-it-yourselfers.’ Spiritual do-it-yourselfers believe in God’s existence but they are pretty positive that they can put together a better plan of salvation, than placing all their hope in a man named Jesus. There are still a lot of do-it-yourselfers when it comes to eternal life and how one’s broken commandments might be forgiven.
DI Y people have to create a way to wipe out their broken commandments. I had a young gal years ago who came to our church. She attended the “Basic Christianity Class” or “Inquirer’s Class” for people who were thinking about church membership. After a few sessions she decided to quit. When I asked her why, she said, “This is not what I believe. I believe that when I die God will play a video of my life. Point out all my mistakes and then tell me to go back to earth and do a better job of living my life.” Wow! That is a true DIY theology on forgiveness.
Jesus offered a simple solution. Jesus said: This Bread and Wine is my body and blood shed on the cross for the forgiveness of your broken commandments. Come as you are. In faith your sins are erased.
Some wise counselor said: “You’re only as sick as your secrets.” Then he added a second truth to that: “If you’ve got a lot of secrets, you’re really sick.” Secrets have a way of festering on the inside until we are soul-sick and don’t know why or what to do about it. If you’ve been hiding some dark part of your past because you can’t bear to deal with it, you are sicker than you think. At some point, you’ve got to come clean if you want to get better.
Jesus told a story about a young man who demanded that his father give him his inheritance. Off he went to the far country. He spent his fortune on wine, women and song. As many since have discovered, he had friends as long as he had money, but when the money ran out, so did the friends.
In Luke 15:17 we are told that “he came to his senses.” We aren’t told exactly how long it took, only that his suffering slowly brought him around. The famine turned out to be a “severe mercy” because it showed him the folly of his ways.
We are sinners and when our sins upset our consciences, it lets us know. It accuses. That is what a conscience does. If we ignore its voice for a long time, then it will shut down and say nothing. Of course a silent conscience does not solve the problem of unforgiven sin. On Judgment day we may be surprised to find that even though we silenced our conscience, we have not stopped Satan from pointing an accusing pitchfork at us. Reminding us, accusing us is part of his
job description.
Although we wish the devil would go away, he doesn’t. He sticks around because he loves telling the Lord how bad we’ve been. We know that the wages of sin is death. Broken commandments may mean the death of a relationship when there is no forgiveness. Ultimately, Paul was correct. “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.” But knowing that truth does not mean you can shrug your shoulder and say: Well, everybody is guilty of something.
The bible says God is gracious. That means He loves to be gracious. God loves to bless people who don’t deserve it. You can not understand the Christian life unless you understand grace. It is the heart of our faith. It is the heart of our relationship with God. When you understand grace you’re going to feel closer to God. The grace of God is what saved Martin Luther and rescued Christianity from the ethic that you can buy your way into heaven, and purchase your forgiveness with money.
Martin Luther had devoted his life to serving God and the church. He entered the monastic life in order to please God. He worked. He studied. He prayed but he had a hard time receiving and understanding the love of God in his own life. Luther knew God’s commandments. Luther knew what was expected of him. And Luther knew that he had failed to live his life as God expected.
Although Luther desperately sought the love and forgiveness of God, his thoughts were focused on the punishment that he deserved. His failure to live according to God’s will for his life was overwhelming. It sent him to confession more than once a day. As a result, he felt unworthy. Thus the love and forgiveness he sought, evaded him because he was a DIY (do–it-yourself) person until the Holy Spirit opened his heart and mind in his study of Romans.
Listen again to the Gospel, as Paul presents it to us: “…Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; [we] are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show forth his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance, he had passed over the sins previously committed.
When Luther understood these words and promise of God he quit being a DIY a (do- it –yourself) person trying to earn God’s love and forgiveness.
There is nothing that we can do to earn God’s unmerited, forgiving love. It is a gift that we do not deserve. It comes from the very heart of God. It is a mystery that comes to us in, with and under the tangible bread and wine. Martin Luther calls the “body and blood” of Jesus a treasure and a gift….through which forgiveness is obtained on the cross…..then given to us in this sacrament of Holy Communion.
Because the resurrected and glorified Jesus is present. Jesus is offering us the forgiveness of sins He purchased on the cross, in this sacrament. We dare not approach this holy moment “willy nilly” without thought, without reverence, without confession. Paul says in I Corinthians that “…. a person should examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” (I Corinthians 11:28) This is why in our Lutheran Liturgy there is a moment of silence for private confession. As you kneel with out stretched hands, you have a moment for prayer.
In the last century, one of the greatest orators and motivational speakers was Winston Churchill. At war with German, on May 13, 1940 he spoke to the House of Commons. He said, “you ask, What is our aim?” I can answer in one word, victory. Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.”
At anytime during His last week on earth, Jesus could have summoned legions of angels to His side. A word from His lips had the power to erase and eliminate all who opposed Him. But for your salvation. A word was never spoken.
So you might be rescued from your broken commandments and the condemnation they bring, Jesus allowed the beatings, the whipping and crown of thorns. He willingly received the nails which held Him to the cross.
God our heavenly father knows our sins. Victory over sin, death and Satan had a high cost. The Death of Jesus. Victory and forgiveness came with His resurrection from the grave, three days later. Victory and forgiveness comes to us in the words of Jesus…. Take, eat. Take and drink this is my body and blood given for the forgiveness of your sins. His victory is given to us. Grace is given.
