Evening Communion

A short weekday service with a brief sermon on the Small Catechism at Luther’s Church. An encounter with Christ in the bread and wine of Communion, the medicine of eternal life and sustenance for Christians on their journey.

Jesus: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me will live because of me.” (John 6:54–57)

Catechism: The gift of Communion

In Communion we remember Jesus’ death on the cross. On the cross at Golgotha, God’s only Son, the Lamb of God, shed his blood and died for the whole world. In the sacrament of Christ’s body and blood, Christ, sacrificed on the cross, gives himself to us. The gift of Communion, the forgiveness of sins, is given to us in the words spoken when we receive the sacrament: “given for you.” When we believe these words and receive the bread and wine, we partake of a spiritual meal that renews our lives and increases our love for our neighbours. Communion unites us with Christ and with one another. It is celebrated together with the host of heaven and all the saints. By receiving Communion, we remain in Christ, and he remains in us. Christ’s body, the bread of life, nourishes and strengthens the spiritual life begun in baptism. Christ’s blood, the medicine of immortality, heals us and gives us eternal life. Communion anticipates the heavenly feast at which Christ will one day gather all who are his.