This is a meal of gladness, and not of gloom. We see this in many different ways, but one of them can be seen in the elements that the Lord chose for us to remember Him by. “And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.” (Ps. 104:15).
This bread, which is the body of the Lord, is given to strengthen your heart. This wine, which is the blood of Christ, is given to gladden your heart.
Note in the first place that God is addressing your heart with both elements of the sacrament. You are not coming to this table for the same reasons that you had breakfast this morning. You need bodily strength and God provides it by means of ordinary food—which is also addressed by this passage.
But you also need heart-strength. You need to be built up spiritually. You need to be encouraged in your sanctification, in your walk with Christ. You need to allow God to minister to you by means of all His appointed means of grace. And among those means, we are glad to include this Table.
Your heart needs to be stronger than it is—and so God supplies you with bread. Your heart needs to be gladder than it is—and so He supplies you with the wine of a Eucharistic celebration. You don’t need to be able to explain the mechanics of how God accomplishes this; you just need to come in simple faith. God loves you, delights in you, accepts you, and wants you to grow up into gladness. To that end, He has set the Table for you here. So come and eat, come and drink.