Let the Word Apply It to the Wound

The Word that accompanies the sacrament here is a Word that should be spoken to the occasion, to the circumstance. The bread and wine are constant; we have no authority to substitute other elements. We have no authority to adjust the sacrament itself.

But do we speak words of warning or words of comfort? Do we fence the Table, keeping some away, or do we seek to gather up the reluctant?

This depends entirely on whether we are observing the service in Thyatira, or Pergamum, or Ephesus, or Laodicea. The Word is what applies the sacramental service as it ought to be applied. To simply go through motions involving bread and wine is to invite a covenantal disaster. This is a meal with our Lord; it is not a liturgical drill.

If all we had were certain pronounced words, the words of institution, and the distribution of the elements, we would be treating this meal with disrespect. It is not a one-size-fits-all sort of thing.

Are you troubled? Are you complacent? Are you living with hidden sin? Are you walking in the light? Are you living in high presumption? Have you committed a sin that you have confessed a hundred times? If this meal is the poultice, then you must let the Word apply it to the wound. Nothing else will do this for you.

So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.