Holy Communion Bible 2-2 1

 LHoly God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal,  Chave mercy and hear us. Our Father, who art in heaven,  hallowed be thy name,  thy kingdom come,  thy will be done,  on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread;  and forgive us our trespasses,  as we forgive those who trespass against us;  and lead us not into temptation,  but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,  forever and ever. Amen  2

 C. I believe in God, the Father almighty,  creator of heaven and earth.  I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.  He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.  He suffered under Pontius Pilate,  was crucified, died, and was buried.  He descended into hell.  On the third day he rose again.  He ascended into heaven,  and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again to judge the living and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Spirit,  the holy catholic Church,  the communion of saints,  the forgiveness of sins,  the resurrection of the body,  and the life everlasting. Amen 3

 LShow us your mercy, O Lord,  Cand grant us your salvation.  LClothe your ministers with righteousness.  CLet your people sing with joy.  LGive peace, O Lord, in all the world;  Cfor only in you can we live in safety.  LLord, keep this nation under your care,  Cand guide us in the way of justice and truth.  LLet your way be known upon earth;  Cyour saving health among all nations.  LLet not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten,  Cnor the hope of the poor be taken away.  LCreate in us clean hearts, O God,  Cand sustain us with your Holy Spirit.   LThe Lord be with you.  CAnd also with you. 4

 LWe give thanks to you, heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have this day so graciously protected us. We beg you to forgive us all our sins and the wrong which we have done. By your great mercy defend us from all the perils and dangers of this night. Into your hands we commend our bodies and souls, and all that is ours. Let your holy angels have charge of us, that the wicked one have no power over us.  CAmen  LLet us bless the Lord.  CThanks be to God.   LThe + Lord bless us, defend us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.  CAmen 5

 Assemble at the altar railing.  Take a moment of silence.  Prepare for Holy Communion 6

 Discuss experience of Holy Communion.  Closer to God?  Closer to neighbor?  More at peace?  More thankful?  Nothing happened?  Other? 7

 1Corinthians 11: 23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.  27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. 8

 One of our baptismal tasks is to hand on to others and to the next generation what we have learned from Jesus.  When Jesus said, “Do this” what did he mean?  What are we to tell others? 9

 Cyril of Jerusalem ( ) “When the Master himself has explicitly said of the bread, ‘this is my body,’ will anyone still dare to doubt? When he is himself our warranty saying, ‘this is my blood,” who will waver and say it is not his blood.?”  Ambrosiaster (c ) Paul shows that the Lord’s Supper is not a meal in the normal sense but spiritual medicine, which purifies the recipient if he partakes of it reverently. “ 10

 This text is often used to debate whether Holy Communion is a sacrament or a memorial meal (“Do this in MEMORY of me), focusing on remembering rather on the direct and holy command to DO THIS.  When, as a community, do we remember our Lord? During our weekly worship.  Therefore when do we do this? During our weekly worship, because our Lord said, “Do this!” 11

 Sometimes Lutherans don’t want to move towards weekly communion because it would be a change, it would involve more Altar Guild work, it would involve more expense (more wafers and wine) placing our excuses above our Lord’s command. Is this a good excuse?  Some people think communing more often makes it less special, meaningful as if what we thought about it made it effective. Is this a good excuse? 12

 John 6: 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 13

 Basil ( ) “It is good and beneficial to communicate every day, and to partake of the holy body and blood of Christ. For He distinctly says, ‘He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life’ (John 6:54) … I, indeed, communicate four times a week … and on the other days if there is a commemoration of any Saint.”  What do you need to live the good life? Among the choices of food, water, shelter, friends, meaningful employment and faith, which is the most necessary for living the good life? … 14

 This kind of depends on how long you expect to live. If this “four score and twenty” is all we expect, then we might as well seek our own comfort and pleasure, or not. Whatever “floats our boat.”  If we understand our life to be eternal by the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, then only one thing is necessary… 15

 Luke 10: 38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” 16

 Psalm 27: 4 One thing have I asked of the L ORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the L ORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the L ORD and to inquire in his temple. 17