Still Here

Word and sacrament are offered to us together. In what we are offered, we do have a glorious repetition, but we do not have redundancy. Never think that you are offered something in the sacrament that the Word has already completely supplied. The Word prepares us for the sacrament; it does not displace it. The sacrament feeds and nourishes us, but never think that the Word does not nourish us. We are Christians, and so we do feed on the words of Christ. But because we are Christians we also feed on our participation in the gospel of the Lord’s death and resurrection.

God wants to come at us in two ways. He feeds the mind and heart with His Word. We listen and understand. We hear the terms and we acknowledge them. We agree that these things are all true. We rejoice to hear that they are all true. And when this is done, He slides the papers across the desk and asks us to sign.

Participation in the sacrament is partaking of Christ. It does this in an intensely personal way, and this is why it has the force of a mystical oath. You partake of this meal here today in a way that says “I am all in.” Next week you will do the same, saying, “I am still all in.”

Some might wonder why God has us renew our vows this frequently. Is He that insecure that He needs to be reassured of our love for Him, on this kind of a weekly basis? Not a bit of it. Not surprisingly, we have it backwards. How could an infinite fortress be insecure? We are the frail ones. We are the ones following our guide through a dangerous and very treacherous world. Our guide is in front of us. He is sure-footed and knows the way. Periodically He reassures us. “I will never leave you.” And so we partake—“Still here. Thank you.”

So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.