Poor translations can sometimes create a world of difficulty. The rendering of the word repentance by “do penance” was a famous stumbling block for Luther. In a similar way, we are all familiar with this phrase from the words of institution in the Lord’s Supper—”do this in remembrance of me.” This is taken as though …
Strength for the Battle
There are only two tables in the world—the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Between the two is the division of light and darkness, righteousness and unrighteousness, good and evil. This means that the choice must be one of the two—the two cannot be combined or blended in order to create a …
Clamoring for Food
When you were a child, you came to the dinner table, knowing that your parents would have food for you there. This child-like faith went for years, for all of us, and it was not until much later that we all learned what that provision cost. All we knew was that parents feed their children. …
Death and Resurrection Both
This is, for us, a cup of blessing. We rejoice here, and we give thanks here, as the Scriptures teach us to. At the same time, we must remember that the cup that the Lord drank—and at a basic level, it is the same cup—was a cup of agony. Just before the Lord asked for …
The Family That Eats Together Stays Together
This is not just a meal, it is a household meal. It is a family meal. This is a meal for sons and daughters, not for aliens and strangers. This may strike us as odd, because we know that in the Scriptures we are to invite everyone to this meal. But there is an important …
More Food
Eating is not a result of the Fall. When God created Adam and Eve, and placed them in the garden, He put them in a garden full of food. Food is not an unfortunate development. When Adam was cursed for his disobedience, the result was a curse upon the ground, a curse that meant that …
Bruised Aroma
As we sit down together at this meal, with the Lord Jesus at the head of the table, we are partaking of a very simple meal—bread and wine. Because of this we may mistakenly forget one of the most important features of food and drink, which is the wonderful blessing of aroma. Smell is essential …
No Countermeasures
God in His great wisdom has determined that He will bring the nations to serve Him, and He will do so as His people gather together to hear His Word preached, and to eat and drink His Word served. As the enemies of God rail and blaspheme, our interest is to make sure that we …
How Near Is Forgiveness?
Meals talk. They say something. Of course, it does not follow from this that we always listen as we ought. The Word that accompanies this sacrament is not a matter of us talking over the meal, providing some sort of sound track for it. Rather, when we speak here, it is really a matter of …
For He Is Good
One of the taunts that was brought against our Lord during His earthly ministry was that He ate with sinners. If you look around the room, and if you consider your own heart, you will observe that He is still doing this. He still eats with sinners. But as He does this, He does not …