July 26, 2024

Today's Reading: Catechism: What is the Sacrament of the Altar?

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 10:1-27; Acts 22:17-29

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:16)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What is it?! That’s the question I hear children ask their parents at the Communion rail all the time. I’ll admit that I’ve heard a wide range of answers whispered into those little ears in response. There are a few I’ve heard that have left me thinking, “Don’t cringe!” Recently, I heard an answer that actually made me grin. “He’s right here,” said the little boy’s grandma, as she held the host in her hand, “and in heaven, too.” Perfect. I love it. Praise God. We shouldn’t budge an inch on this. “What is this bread?” one of our hymns asks… “Christ’s body risen from the dead!” comes the answer! We have here, from our Lord Jesus, the food from the table He prepares before us— the meal from the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom. When Jesus instituted this Blessed Meal, He did so that we might receive the great benefits of His Gospel in a tangible way through one of the most common experiences we can imagine: eating and drinking. Bread is a nearly universal staple of mankind; this began with Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Eden. “By the sweat of your brow, you will eat bread,” God told our first father. Bread is the food of the Fall. It requires multiple steps, processes, and preparation to create, and it is fleeting. Israel learns that man can’t live by bread alone in the wilderness, and the manna God gave them spoiled in a day’s time! But Jesus takes this food and repurposes it. Just as man lives by the Words that proceed from the mouth of the Lord, we are given daily bread that will never spoil but endures to eternity! Just as Christ’s body is given for us Christians to eat, so also is His precious blood poured out for us to drink, trusting His words. Paul reminds us that eating and drinking the bread and the cup is a participation in the Body and Blood of Jesus. We are connected to Christ through eating and drinking in faith. So come, dear Christian, to the altar. It is Christ. It is for you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord, our God, in Holy Baptism You have called us to be Christians and granted us the remission of sins. Make us ready to receive the most holy Body and Blood of Christ for the forgiveness of all our sins, and grant us grateful hearts that we may give thanks to You, O Father, to Your Son, and to the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

-Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

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