The Lord is present through the Supper because the Lord is presented in the Supper. The Lord ascended into Heaven two thousand years ago, and His body is at the right hand of the Father. Since His body is there, it follows — since He has a true human body — that it is not here.
The Lord is not physically present in the elements of bread and wine; rather, the Lord is physically presented by means of the bread and wine. God has created the world with a host of covenantal interconnections, and this is one of the central ones. The Lord is physically present in Heaven, and we are physically present here. How can this distance be bridged?
The answer given in Scripture is the answer provided by the Holy Spirit of God. When these words are spoken, when bread and wine are received in obedient faith, the Holy Spirit knits us together with Christ, drawing the bonds of love ever tighter. Our unity with Christ is a unity of love. Because it is love between persons, it can obviously grower deeper and richer. But the fact that it is growing does not mean that we were not united before.
The union we have with Christ through the Supper is a union that is true, from the start, and yet is a union that can grow truly richer as time passes. We are being transformed from one degree of glory to another, and it is the gracious work of the Spirit.
So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.
Very good stuff–I think every Christian should read Calvin’s Doctrine of the Word and Sacrament.