"This is my body given for you."

Luke 22:19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." ²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Her breathing had become shallower since the last time the pastor saw her. Her eyes, when they were open, were sunken – those beautiful green irises standing out all the more in the dimmed light of the hospital room. Her body had become thin and frail from the chemotherapy. Her end was surely near. “Wilma,” said her husband, “It’s Pastor. He’s come to bring you communion.” Wilma was dying, but the Supper had come to bring her life.

It was a curious thing. Wilma had fought hard to hold on to life. Six months earlier, the pancreatic cancer had turned her gray and ashen. The doctors had held no hope ... except for one, new, experimental treatment. Wilma was not ready to give up, and thus the treatment led to a significant shrinkage of the tumors and then to no sign of them at all. Over a hundred physicians gathered in conference that day to discuss this latest “miracle.” Her color returned. Life seemed to return.

But then the cancer returned – this time elsewhere, and with a vengeance. The doctors weren’t interested anymore. Their treatment had been beaten, once again, by death. But not so the Supper.

As the pastor approached her bed, she opened her beautiful eyes and stared at him long and hard, as if she were studying his face for the last time. “I’ve come to bring you the Lord’s body and blood, Wilma,” he choked. And the liturgy began. “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” With her eyes closed, she followed every word with her lips. For 76 years she had spoken those same words uttered from the mouths of countless saints gone this way before her: “Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful and that I have disobeyed you in my thoughts, words and actions.” She prayed the Lord’s Prayer. When the pastor said, “The Lord be with you,” she responded, “And also with you.”

Then the words of institution. Then the Agnus Dei. And then the pastor placed the wafer on her tongue and said, “Take and eat, this is the true body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ given into death for the forgiveness of sins.” He placed the small cup of wine in her frail hands and as she put the cup to her lips he said, “Take and drink, this is the true blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

Jesus’ words. His Body. His Blood. His forgiveness. Because of what happened on Mt. Calvary, the body of Christ died. But that same body came back to life from the borrowed tomb. Now that body of Christ was being given to Wilma to eat and drink as she was dying. But it was a meal that would bring her life. Life – real life. What the doctors could not give, the Lord now gave in full. In the prayer after the Sacrament, Wilma heard the words, “… that all who have received in his true body and blood the pledge of your forgiveness may be restored to a new and holy life …” And two days later, Wilma received the answer to that prayer. For she was granted a new and holy life in heaven, where she was now the guest of honor at the marriage feast of the Lamb for all eternity.

Haven’t we all learned in our years of confirmation class the words of Martin Luther in his Small Catechism: “For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation?”

This is a meal we all need. The Passover Meal that the Lord instituted through Moses was only for the Jews. But the meal that Jesus instituted with His disciples in the Upper Room that Thursday evening was meant for His believers from all nations, tribes, people and languages.

But why do we need this meal? Why do we need it tonight? And tomorrow night? And the next? And again on Easter morning? Why do we desire to have the Lord’s Supper so often that this fall we are planning on offering communion every Sunday?

Listen to these words again. “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Jesus said them in the Upper Room and you hear them so often from your pastor that you probably don’t even really think about them. “This is my body given for you.” Why for you, specifically? For your gossiping. For your lust. For your greed. For your pride. For your apathy. For your idolatry. For your selfishness. For your belligerence. For your hatred. For your coveting. For your laziness. For your jealousy.

For your forgiveness. For your strengthening. For your new life and salvation.

Jesus says, “This is my body. … This is my blood.” Because we so often separate ourselves from God. Because we stray from God’s presence and remove ourselves from His care. Because we do not regularly accept Jesus’ invitation to become one with Him in regular use of His Word, Jesus comes to us. He comes to us with His body and His blood in this Holy Supper where He is both the Host and the Meal. Jesus Christ is no distant deity that we cannot approach or come into contact with. In fact, Jesus Christ approaches us in His sacrament. We come into contact with Him every time we see and taste His salvation on our tongues and on our lips.

In the confession and absolution at the beginning of our worship, the pastor announces Christ’s forgiveness upon the whole congregation. But when you kneel at the Lord’s Table, that is one-on-one time with your Savior. He comes to you personally, individually. Christ unites with you and you unite with Christ. He lives in you and you in Him.

As Jesus entered Jerusalem humbly and lowly, riding on a donkey, so Jesus comes to you in the humble and lowly means of unleavened bread and grape wine. But here in this bread and wine, our almighty, omnipresent Lord comes to make His dwelling among us. Holding forgiveness in our hands. Drinking faith-strengthening liquid. Receiving new life now and receiving the promise of a new life to come. Our holy and perfect God comes to us unholy and imperfect people.

This body and blood are given for you. There is nothing you need to do to earn or deserve this Holy Supper. In fact, because of your inborn sin; because of your daily sins of thoughts, words and actions; because you have not loved God with your whole heart, soul and mind; nor have you loved your neighbor as yourself, you now deserve death after this life and have earned eternal death in the life to come.

But Jesus says that this meal is given for you. Jesus has given us a place at His banquet table. He earned this place for us by His suffering and death. He rose from the dead to mark it for all eternity. Here is where we belong. Not because we deserve it, but because we don’t deserve it. Not because we have earned it, but because Jesus earned it for us. Not because He needs us to be here, but because we need to be here. This is exactly the place where Jesus wants us to be – receiving His sacrament, in remembrance of Him, as often as it is offered, eating His body and drinking His blood. He has prepared a place for us. He has given us the proper clothing to wear for His banquet feast. At our Baptism, Jesus clothed us in the white robe of His righteousness.

You’ve had a rough week. Jesus invites you to His meal so your trust in Him might be renewed. You wonder what good can come out of all the bad you’ve been experiencing lately. Jesus invites you to His meal so your doubts may be eased. You are tired and worn out. Jesus invites you to His meal so your faith might be strengthened. Your body is falling apart. Age is taking its toll on you. Death seems to be closing in on you. Jesus invites you to His meal because it grants you the foretaste of all that is to come. Here you may glimpse your future, the future and eternal meal of the wedding feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom which has no end. Your Baptism seems so long ago. Jesus invites you to His meal so you might live out the new life He called you to in your Baptism.

Some churches use gimmicks to get people to come to their church. Bright lights, praise bands, awesome youth groups, sermons about finding better health, more money and the fulfillment of all your dreams … However, this Meal is what should draw you into Christ’s Church. If you question that, sit with an elderly member of this congregation in the last days of her life. What does she desire? Upbeat music? Paintballing with the teens? Inspiration for a better life? No! She desires the Lord’s Supper. There is a tear in her eye as she holds Christ’s body. Her hand trembles slightly as she holds the cup of Christ’s blood. A calm and a quietness wash over her. After the Meal she says a quiet “Thank you.”

It is this Meal which is such a vital part of our worship and our church. To miss this meal is to miss Christ and to miss out on all the gifts of Christ’s Kingdom which He has prepared for us. But to come to this meal where Jesus gives us His body and blood we find and receive so much. The guilty come to be forgiven. The despairing come to receive hope. The lonely come to find fellowship with Christ and with fellow believers. Those wounded by the assaults of Satan come to receive strength. And those who are dying come to receive life. Amen.