We have before us bread and wine. We also have before us the choice of whether or not to renew our covenant oaths with God honestly or not. Never forget that the principle issues are not the bread and wine.
“For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! But wisdom is justified of all her children” (Luke 7:33-35).
John the Baptist came, and he did not eat bread or drink wine—and yet he is in fellowship with us here at this Table. He was accused of demonism by the respectable. The Lord Jesus came both eating and drinking, and He was accused of excessive partying by the fastidious. In effect, they were accusing Him—the faithful Son—of being the faithless son of Deut. 21:20 and Prov. 23:20-21.
So John the ascetic had a message of real repentance and true faith, and Jesus the celebrant had a message of . . . true repentance and true faith. The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).
Do we then despise the sacrament? Never, as Paul would say—rather, we uphold it. How so? Jesus taught us to cleanse the inside of the cup first in order that the outside of the cup might be clean also (Matt. 23:25-26). Do you want to eat this bread rightly? Then eat the bread of repentance first in your heart. Chew inside first. Do you want to drink this cup rightly? Then drink the blood-bought faith in your soul first. In that frame of heart you may then come to the sacrament to have the sacrament strengthen your heart.
The Lord has been meeting with His people for thousands of years. And He says, have I been so long with you? Do you not know? Sacrifices and burnt offerings I do not require, chalices and platters I never asked for—but rather a humble and a contrite heart.