The Sacrament of the Altar occupies a position of great importance in our life and worship at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church .  Twice a month, and on various festivals during the Church Year, we celebrate Holy Communion.  In this Sacrament we receive in the bread and wine exactly what our Lord promises – His true Body and Blood, given and shed for the forgiveness of sins.  What a wonderful gift this is!  Partaking in faith, recognizing the Real Presence of Jesus’ Body and Blood in the elements of the Sacrament, we receive God’s forgiveness for all our transgressions against His commandments.  Our faith in Christ is strengthened. And we are assured of God’s love for us in our Savior Jesus Christ.

But if the Sacrament of the Altar is such a wonderful gift, delivering so many good things, then why can’t everyone who attends services at Mt. Olive commune with us? Why are we so particular about who approaches our Altar?  Are we perhaps guilty of spiritual elitism in not admitting to the Sacrament everyone who desires to commune here?

I’m sure these are questions that some of you have asked.  They’re good, honest questions, if asked with the desire to grow in understanding of the Sacrament.  They deserve an honest answer.

These questions can best be answered in two parts.  The first deals with what the Sacrament gives.  The second deals with the Sacrament as a demonstration of the unity of Faith which our Lord commands be shared by those who commune together around our Altar.

So, what does the Sacrament give?  As Lutherans we believe our Lord Jesus Christ  when He says, “Take, eat.  This is My Body given for you.  Take, drink.  This is My Blood of the New Testament, shed for the remission of sins.”  These are our Lord’s words, His last will and testament to His Church, spoken on the night He instituted the Sacrament.  We don’t explain them away.  Unlike some churches, we don’t say that “is” really means “represents” or “symbolizes.”  As Lutherans who believe the Bible to be God’s Word, without error of any kind, we take what Jesus says at face value.  “Is” means “is.”  As the Small Catechism says, the Sacrament of the Altar “is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, instituted by Christ Himself for us Christians to eat and drink.”

Since the Sacrament is our Lord’s true Body and Blood, all who partake of the Sacrament, therefore, receive into their mouths the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.  However, the Scriptures make it very plain that to commune in an unworthy manner, not recognizing Christ’s Real Presence (His Body and Blood) in the bread and wine, brings harm, not forgiveness.  In fact, 1^st Corinthians 11:27-29 says that those who commune unworthily bring judgment upon themselves.  The Sacrament which Christ intends for blessing, becomes for those who commune unworthily a source of injury and harm. 

The reality of American Christianity is that most Christian denominations don’t believe that Christ is truly present in His Body and Blood under the elements of the Sacrament.  Many Christians in this country believe that the Sacrament is to be understood symbolically.  As a matter of love and pastoral concern, therefore, we at Mt. Olive want to be certain that those who commune at our Altar understand what is given in the  Sacrament, and why.  To ensure this we give instruction to those who wish to come to the Sacrament.  That way they can commune and receive the blessing that Christ intends, and not harm.

That brings us to the second thing we need to consider: How is the Sacrament of the Altar a demonstration of the unity of Faith among those who commune together?  To answer that question, consider the word “Communion.”  If you break that word down, you have the word “union” plus the prefix “com”, which means “with.”  The word “communion,” therefore, literally means “with union.”

This is a reminder that those who commune together are to be united in one confession of faith.  Such unity, the Scriptures tell us, is commanded by God.  It is to be a unity in the truth that the Holy Spirit reveals in the Bible, as we who commune together confess the same things about sin, grace, salvation, God, the person and work of Jesus Christ, and the nature and purpose of the Sacraments. 

Consider these questions:  Is the Bible the Word of God in its entirety, fully authoritative today?  Do God’s Commandments stand, or have they been set aside by sociological studies, prevailing cultural norms, or mere human opinion?  Are we saved by grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ alone, or do we have to do something to earn salvation?  Is Jesus really God in the flesh, or just a gifted teacher with a special relationship with God?  Did He really die for the sins of the world, and was He really, bodily raised from the dead?  Is Baptism really a washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, intended not just for adults but for children too?  In the Sacrament, does our Lord really give us His Body and Blood to eat and drink for the forgiveness of our sins? 

Sadly, in our day, many churches don’t believe the same things about these matters.  There are churches (even Lutheran churches) which deny the truths of Scripture we learned to know when we went through confirmation instruction.  People should be aware of what the church body in which they hold membership teaches. To belong to a congregation of a particular denomination is to make a public confession that you believe what that denomination teaches.  You are in communion with that denomination. It’s self-contradictory, therefore, for Christians who are not united in their public confession of faith to give the impression of unity by communing together at the same altar.  For example, what  legitimate unity can there be between those who belong to a denomination that confesses the Bible is the Word of God in its entirety and those who are members of a denomination that teaches something entirely different about the Bible?