Finding Comfort in Christ’s Body and Blood, Given and Shed For You for the Forgiveness of Sins.
Beloved in the Lord, there are days in our lives when we feel afflicted, pierced by the devil’s arrows of temptation and accusations, and beaten down by the demons of frustration. After all, these satanic afflictions are designed in hell to lead you to discouragement, anxiety, and even to times of despair. But to help us in these difficult times, Jesus offers us more than the simple of advice to “look up” or to “have a good day.” You see beloved, Jesus offers us His resurrection power to overcome all afflictions, the devil’s arrows of temptation and accusations (Ephesians 1:18-20). Jesus gives to us His body which was given into death and His blood which was shed on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins to give us strength and COMFORT that no other person or this world can give.
The very body and blood of Jesus that we receive each week in Divine Worship, gives us strength. It is the medicine that has been prescribed for our sin-sick souls. And the spiritual strength that we receive from the true body and true blood of Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar guarantees us COMFORT! You see beloved, each time that we come to Holy Communion, we receive to our lips the true body and true blood of our crucified and resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ. And, just as our bodies need daily food to nourish and strengthen it, so also your body and soul need the nourishing, strengthening, and comforting body and blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ in Holy Communion. Martin Luther puts it this way:
“Therefore, it (Holy Communion) is appropriately named the food of the soul, since it nourishes and strengthens the new man. While it is true that through Baptism we are first born anew, our human flesh and blood have not lost their old skin. There are so many hindrances and temptations of the devil and the world that we often grow weary and heavy laden, and at times even stumble. Therefore the Lord’s Supper is given for daily food and sustenance, that our faith may refresh and strengthen itself and not fall back in the battle but grow continually stronger.”
But more than that beloved, Christ’s body and blood is also our victory over the devil. What does this mean? Luther goes on to say: “The new life (in Christ) should be one that develops and advances, but at the same time it must endure a great deal. For the devil is truly an angry foe; when he sees that we are on our guard against him, fighting the old Adam within us, and that he cannot overpower us bu his might, he will try stealth and wily methods and use all his arts, never ceasing until at last he wears us out, so that we either renounce our faith or go so far as to yield hands and feet to become dispirited or indifferent. For such times, this comfort is offered; when the heart feels too sorely pressed it may draw renewed strength and comfort from the Lords Supper (Luther’s Large Catechism, 1935, 248).
Luther further notes: “that the first Christians faced persecution with boldness and courage. That strength and comfort came from the regular breaking of the bread (Acts 2:42; 46) (Luther’s Works, vol. 35, p. 61).
Therefore beloved, let us sing with joy about the comfort and strength that we have in Jesus’ body and blood, given and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. Beloved, from the beginning, followers of Jesus Christ were not silent about the strength and COMFORT they knew that they received from the true body and blood of Christ. From the earliest of days of the Christian church, through the Reformation, until now, Christians worldwide are so filled with joy at Holy Communion that is causes them to sing about their comfort and hope.
In the communion hymn based on 1 Corinthians 11:25, “Lord Jesus Christ, You have Prepared,” Christian communicants have rejoiced in the comfort they are about to receive as they sing:
Lord Jesus Christ, You have prepared, this feast for our salvation; It is Your body and Your blood, and at Your invitation as weary souls, with sin oppressed, we come to You for needed rest, for comfort and for pardon.
This hymn then closes with these words:
For Your consoling Supper, Lord, be praised throughout all ages! Preserve it, for in every place, the world against it rages. Grant that this Sacrament may be a blessed COMFORT unto me, when living and when dying (LSB, 622).
Beloved, what Good News, and what great COMFORT the Sacrament of Holy Communion gives to each of us. No matter what you are going through, what afflictions you may be facing, no matter what temptations of the devil you may face, may you always find COMFORT in the true body and blood of Christ, which was given into death and shed on the cross of Calvary for you beloved, for the forgiveness of all your sins. But more than that, may you always hunger and thirst for the life-giving and life-saving body and blood of Jesus, so that you may be strengthened, nourished, and comforted, even when the worst of life comes, death itself. Amen!