Congregation at Prayer

Catechesis Notes for the Week — A Pledge of the Resurrection of the Body — The Lord’s Supper was, since ancient times, called “the medicine of immortality”. In the Lord’s Supper we receive Jesus’ true body and blood. This is the same body and blood that was born of the Virgin Mary and that was given and shed for us for the forgiveness of all our sin. “Where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.” It is precisely because the body and blood of Jesus delivers to us Christ’s forgiveness, that His body and blood becomes the source of restored life with God, the resurrection of our bodies, and eternal life, incorruption, and immortality. When we receive Jesus’ true body and blood in faith, we are receiving the very pledge from our Savior that on the last day we shall be raised bodily from the dead, and our mortal flesh will put on immortality and incorruption. CP250223

Catechesis Notes for the Week — Catechesis Notes for the Week—They Drank from the Rock—This week’s Bible verse teaches us that Christ was actually in the Old Testament with the children of Israel in the Rock that followed them and from which they drank. This passage of the “real presence” is chosen to highlight that since Christ was actually present with the children of Israel in the Rock from which they drank in the Old Testament, how much more should we understand that Christ is truly present with us today in the Lord’s Supper. He declares of the bread and the wine of the Lord’s Supper: “This is My body…This is My blood…” Therefore it is His true body and blood.

This is My body. In the Lord’s Supper Jesus gives us His body to eat and His blood to drink. The Sacrament of the Altar rests upon the Word of God. Jesus’ words give what they say. The power and benefits of the Sacrament are given through the Word. Take away the Word and there is no Sacrament. With the Word, there is a Sacrament, namely, “the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself, for us Christians to eat and to drink.” What role does faith play in the Sacrament? Faith receives what the Word says. Faith believes in what the Word gives. Faith rests upon the promises of God. The essence of the Sacrament, that is, “what it is,” is determined by the Word. This gives faith its certainty. We know we receive the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of all our sins, because the Word says so.  Faith knows no other certainty but the promises of the Gospel.CP250216

Catechesis Notes for the Week — Martin Luther Teaches Concerning Private Confession and Absolution: If anybody does not go to confession willingly and for the sake of absolution, let him just forget about it. Yes, and if anybody goes about relying on the purity of his confession, let him just stay away from it. We urge you, however, to confess and express your needs, not for the purpose of performing a work but to hear what God wishes to say to you. The Word of absolution, I say, is what you should concentrate on, magnifying and cherishing it as a great and wonderful treasure to be accepted with all praise and gratitude (Large Catechism, “A Brief Exhortation to Confession,” Tappert Edition)CP250209

Catechesis Notes for the Week — “A Lover’s Word”—This week we begin two weeks of meditation on Confession and the Office of the Keys. These headings from the Catechism might sound dry and sterile to some, but these sections are all about receiving “a Lover’s Word.” Jesus’ Word of forgiveness is a “Lover’s Word”—the Word of Him who loved us, His bride, so much that He laid down His life in death to cover the ugliness of our sin and rebellion against God. Just as the words of our beloved in marriage strengthen our relationship with our spouse, so the words of absolution from our lover Jesus strengthen our relationship with Him. Even more than this, His Word of forgiveness makes us beautiful, strengthens our faith against sin and temptation, and gives us comfort. What woman doesn’t want to hear the word of him who loves her? This is how we should view the absolution, and why we should learn to value it and long to hear it from our pastorsCP250202