10-20-24

NO video Today but here is written text

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 11:17-32
See also Isaiah 6:1-7; John 6:51-59
October 20, 2024
       So today we're taking a little detour from our regularly scheduled
readings. We’re actually going to focus on a reading that we do in church every year—on Maundy Thursday. Why? Because if you don’t come to church on Maundy Thursday, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard this lesson!
       And that's a shame, because it deals with the single question that I hear most often as a pastor: "Why do we exclude some people from Holy Communion?" And it's a good question! It's awkward to turn people away from the altar when they'd like to come. I know more than a few who don’t understand what the Bible teaches about Holy Communion have been offended. It feels like we're judging them, like they're not good enough to commune at our altar.
       But that's not the case at all. Communion is designed for bad people—it offers forgiveness of sins. You literally can't be "not good enough" to take Holy Communion. That’s not the reason. There's something else at work here.
       Our Communion theology, like the rest of our theology, is dictated to us by God in his Word. The Bible doesn't have a lot to say about Communion, but what it does say is both very clear and very important. The Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all contain the story of Jesus' institution of Communion, and today’s reading from John spells out in no uncertain terms that those who take the Sacrament are literally eating his flesh and blood. Our main instruction about Holy Communion, however, comes from today’s epistle lesson from 1 Corinthians 11.
       So today we're going to talk about Communion, because this Sacrament is a wonderful gift from God to us, and it shouldn't be surrounded by the controversy it sometimes brings. Instead, I'd like to take this opportunity to examine what God's Word says about this gift. We're going to look at what Communion is, what Communion is not, and why God's Word dictates that we restrict with whom we share in this sacred meal.
       First and foremost, Holy Communion is a sacrament in which Jesus Christ physically comes to us in, with, and under the form of bread and wine. Jesus is physically, actually present in this meal, as surely as he was physically, actually present on earth during his ministry. We call this doctrine the "Real Presence," because we believe Christ is really present in Communion.
       Why do we believe this so strongly? Because Jesus himself says so! "Take, eat; this is my body…take, drink; this is my blood." For an honest Christian, there is no other way to take that except that, well, this bread is his body, and this wine is his blood. You are literally taking Jesus' physical being, in all his power and glory, into yourself in the Sacrament.
       And to what end? God's Word tells us that, too: for the forgiveness of sins. Now, God has many ways of forgiving sins, and Holy Communion is just one of them. This meal is meant for sinners, to forgive & encourage them. So people who are feeling particularly sinful should never shy away from the Lord's altar. Really, that's when you need forgiveness more than ever, right?
       The Apostle Paul warns against taking Communion "unworthily," but when he says that he is not implying that certain sinners are not welcome. Rather, Paul instructs us in today's reading to examine ourselves and reflect on our own sinfulness before coming to Communion. As long as you acknowledge your sin, repent and turn away from it, and cling to Christ as the only one who can save you from it, you are worthy to receive Jesus' body and blood into yourself.
       Communion is also a meal of remembrance. After all, Jesus says, "Do this in remembrance of me." And so Christians have been celebrating this sacrament in remembrance of Jesus for nearly 2,000 years. When you take Communion, then, you do so with Christians all throughout history. In that moment, when the body and blood of Christ enter you, you transcend time and space and join with all the saints and angels to worship in the presence of God himself. It's an incredible thing when you understand it.
       Unfortunately, not all Christians believe this plain teaching of God's Word about Holy Communion. Our brethren in many other Protestant denominations like the Baptists don't believe in the doctrine of the Real Presence. They believe that Christ being physically present in multiple places at once denies his humanity. They teach that if you're human, as Christ is, then you have a human body, and if you have a human body, then that body is bound to only one place and time.
       And that would be a fair argument, except that God's Word never restricts a human body to that definition; only our experience does. Jesus' body being physically present in two places doesn't violate any part of God's Word; it only violates human reason. So their error is in putting human reason above the plain teaching of Holy Scripture.
       On the other side are our Roman Catholic brethren. Believe it or not, our understanding of Holy Communion is nearly identical to theirs. They make a big deal about whether or not bread and wine remain once the Body and Blood of Christ become present in the Sacrament, but we Lutherans just kind of see that as splitting hairs. They do have an unfortunate practice of taking Communion on behalf of the dead, as if the actions of the living could affect those who have already fallen asleep in Christ, but that's a bigger issue than just the Sacrament of the Altar itself. But if you read the Lutheran Confessions, you'll find very little disagreement with Rome on Communion.
       Now, what do all these differences in belief mean to us? Well, in today's reading we see a strong warning to all Christians who would partake of this meal: Verses 29-30: "Anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died."
       So if you take Communion in error, there are serious consequences. You could even die for it. The Real Presence of Almighty God entering into your body affects you, believe it or not. God is holy. We forget that sometimes. When Isaiah the prophet is commissioned by God in today's Old Testament reading from Isaiah 6, the man is terrified. "Woe is me!" he cries, "for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"
       The Real Presence of God in the Most Holy Place of the Old Testament temple was perhaps the greatest blessing possessed by the Israelites, but that same presence was also known to destroy sinners who entered into it unworthily. And so Paul teaches here that the Sacrament of the Altar is a similar blessing, at the same time both unspeakably precious as well as potentially lethal. We the church thus have a responsibility to ensure that nobody takes Communion in error and unknowingly incurs the judgment of God on themselves.
       So how do you take Communion in error? To use Paul's own words, it's when you take it without "discerning the body." So what does "discerning the body" mean? In the context of this sermon, it's plain that he's talking about discerning the Real Presence of Christ.
       So if a Baptist Christian, for example, were to take Communion in our church, where the Body of Christ is present in the Sacrament, he would drink judgment upon himself according to Paul. Furthermore, he would do it in complete ignorance, since he doesn't even believe in the Real Presence. A discerning congregation is the only thing standing between this poor Christian and God's judgment. Not that God would condemn him to hell, necessarily, but it may cause him to fall ill or die, as Paul says.
       But there's another definition of "the body" at play in our reading, as well: the body of Christ, the church. The entire book of Corinthians begins on this note from Paul in chapter 1 verse 10: "I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment."
       A proper celebration of Holy Communion exists only when those who commune together are united. This unity exists when believers love and forgive one another, and when they agree on matters of doctrine. If you remove either of these elements, then you are also taking Communion without "discerning the body," where "the body" is the unity of the church. And doing so incurs the same judgment as those who fail to recognize the Real Presence in the Sacrament.
       This is an important point: the Sacrament of the Altar is not meant to createunity in the church; it's meant to celebrate the unity of the body of Christ that already exists here. It's a wonderful blessing to those who are already united in this congregation, but to those who are not, either by an unforgiving heart or a different confessional stance, it is judgment.
       This is why we turn people away from the Communion altar sometimes. It's not a matter of worthiness—although a person who refuses to repent of their sins is unworthy and should be banned from Communion, but that's a conversation for another day—but nobody's accusing Christians of other denominations of being unrepentant.
       What we are saying, though, is that Christians of other denominations are not united with us in what we believe. We all love Jesus, it's true, but there's more to God's Word than just loving Jesus. There are major differences in doctrine between different Christian denominations—even different Lutherandenominations!—and those differences unfortunately fracture the body of Christ.
       To pretend that those differences don't exist or aren't important is to minimize their significance and belittle the importance of the Word of God. It matters that you believe that God created the world; it matters that Jesus was born of a virgin, that he physically rose from the dead, that he will return to judge the living and the dead. Not all who profess to be Christian believe these things.
       Furthermore, whether we think our differences matter or not, God knows a fractured body when he sees it, and he's the one casting judgment here. Rather than risk the judgment of God on our Christian brethren, then, we respectfully ask that only those who share in the unique confession of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod commune at our altar. For similar reasons, we ought not to commune with Christians of other confessions, even if they invite us to.
       Christians of other denominations are heartily encouraged to commune regularly with other Christians who share their confession, with whom they are united in doctrine. We welcome all to praise the Lord and hear his Word with us, but for the sake of avoiding God's judgment against anyone, we ask that only those who have been taught our unique beliefs and publicly confess those beliefs commune at our altar.
       The division in the church is already there, and it is tragic, but pretending it doesn't exist is no way to resolve it. Rather, we Christians should be studying the Word of God and seeking to come to a mutual understanding. It's a daunting task with the denominational bureaucracies that exist now, but it's the task to which our Lord calls us. When unity has been established once more, there will be no better way to celebrate it than with the Lord's Supper.
       And when our Lord Jesus Christ returns to bring all of his children home, there will be no more divisions in his body. The truth will be made clear to all, and we will all come together in perfect unity to a wonderful heavenly feast. The Wedding Feast of the Lamb will be a celebration unlike any other. What happens in Communion now in spirit—joining in worship with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven—will happen then in the flesh, as well. We look forward to that beautiful future with certainty. Though we are divided today, we shall one day be united with all our brothers and sisters in Christ, never to be cut off from one another again. In Jesus' name, amen