Lessons in the Small Catechism of Dr. Martin Luther For the Senior Department of Lutheran Sunday-Schools and for General Use · George Mezger
LESSON 50.
The Lord's Supper. What Is The Sacrament Of The Altar? _It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself._ What is the benefit of such eating and drinking? _That is shown us by these words, "Given and shed for you for the remission of sins"; namely, that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins there is also life and salvation._ 1. You have often seen how on certain Sundays confirmed members of our church went up to the altar to receive bread and wine to eat and drink, while the minister said to them: "Take and eat; this is the true body of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Take and drink; this is the true blood of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." We call this sacred act the _Lord's Supper,_ or the _Sacrament of the Altar. What does this sacred act mean?_
2. The holy evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and St. Paul the Apostle write about the Lord's Supper thus: _"Our Lord Jesus Christ," etc. The Lords Supper was not instituted by men, by the Church, _but by Christ Himself._ Therefore it is _a sacred act._ The Lord instituted His Supper _"the same night in which He was betrayed,"_ in the night before His sufferings and death. After He had given His disciples the bread and the cup, He added: _"This do in remembrance of Me." The Lord _commanded_ His disciples that after His ascension _they should do as He had done,_ that they should take bread and wine, give thanks over them, and eat and drink in remembrance of Him. _He commanded His Church to celebrate His Supper to the end of days._ "As often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death _till He come."_ 1 Cor. 11,26. 3. In the night in which Jesus was betrayed by His disciple Judas, our Lord _took bread, and when He had given thanks, He brake it into small pieces, and gave it to His disciples, and said, Take and eat. After the same manner also He took the cup, filled it with wine, gave thanks, and gave it to His disciples, saying, Take, drink ye all of it._ The Lord took _bread and wine_ and gave them to His disciples to eat and drink. We should do likewise in celebrating the Lord's Supper. We should take bread and wine, eat and drink both in remembrance of the Lord. As in Baptism the water, so in the Lord's Supper bread and wine are the external, visible means. The Lord's Supper is the bread and wine _comprehended in God's command._
4. In the Lord's Supper bread and wine are also _connected with God's word._ While the disciples ate the bread and drank the wine, the Lord said to them, _"This is my body, which is given for you. This cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins."_ These words of Christ we must also have in His Supper, together with the bread and wine.--In His Supper, under the bread and wine, our Lord gives us, according to His promise, _His body, which was given for us,_ which was crucified, _and His true blood, which was shed for us on the cross for the remission of our sins._ Under and with the bread and wine we eat and drink the body and the blood of our Lord. We cannot understand how this is possible, but we _believe_ it because our Lord has promised it. _"The Word of the Lord is right, and all His works are done in truth."_ Ps. 33,4. Our Lord is the _almighty God,_ who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think and can understand. Eph. 3,20. The Lord's Supper, or the Sacrament of the Altar, _"is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself."_
5. _What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?_ Our Catechism answers: _"That is shown us by these words, 'Given and shed for you for the remission of sins.'"_ In the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. Our Lord, it is true, speaks only of remission, or forgiveness, of sins; but _"where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation."_--In His Supper my Lord gives me, and I eat, His body, given for me, and He gives me, and I drink, His blood, shed for the remission of my sins. He gives me His body and blood, by the giving and shedding of which upon the cross He purchased and earned and procured for me the forgiveness of my sins. So the Lord's Supper _strengthens our faith in Christ,_ our Redeemer. When we believe these words in the Sacrament, we have in it _forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation._ How we ought to thank our Lord for making us so certain of our salvation in His Supper! 1. _We have two Sacraments, two sacred acts, wherein our Lord, through visible, external means, connected with the word of God, offers and gives us His grace which Christ has merited._ 2. _Very many of those who call themselves Christians, and who are Christians, deny that in the Sacrament there is really Christ's true body and blood, because they cannot understand how this is possible. We firmly believe the plain and clear words of our true and almighty Savior._ 3. _Let us give thanks to the Lord, who has prepared for us such a wonderful means of grace to strengthen our faith in the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation._ _The Word of the Lord is right, and all His works are done in truth._ Ps. 33,4. _As often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come._ 1 Cor. 11,26.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.