“Holy Communion—A Feast for the Senses”
1 Corinthians 11:23-26

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Maundy Thursday—April 17, 2014

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Our text is from this evening’s Epistle Reading.  St. Paul recounts the Words of Institution, and then he explains the significance of Holy Communion: “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” 

What does St. Paul mean when he says that Holy Communion “proclaim[s] the Lord’s death”?  While I was formerly Director of Communications at Concordia University Wisconsin, a concept that I worked with every day was “integrated marketing.”  Integrated marketing means that the way to really get your message across is by employing a variety of different methods that appeal to the various human senses.  To really hit home, the same message needs to be HEARD on the radio, SEEN on billboards and advertisements, even FELT when on the campus.  Modern marketing experts have discovered that to reach the human psyche you must reinforce your message through all these different methods.

Of course, God was employing what we would call integrated marketing thousands of years ago.  In Romans, St. Paul tells us that the Law is “written on [our] hearts.”  At creation, God implanted into us humans a natural knowledge of right and wrong.  That is what we call a conscience.  God later reinforced this natural knowledge of God by summarizing the Law in an easy to understand written form in the Ten Commandments.  And then throughout the Bible he repeats and reiterates his divine requirements in a variety of different ways.  But, despite his clear, repeated message, we have neglected and rejected God’s will, we have broken his Law.  So, God ultimately communicates to us the message of his wrath, in a final, fearful way that we cannot ignore: “For the wages of sin is death.”

However, God’s message to us does not stop with the Law, the bad news of our sin.  God uses also an integrated marketing approach to communicate to us the Gospel, the Good News of our salvation.  That is what St. Paul means when he says that Holy Communion “proclaim[s] the Lord’s death.”

The old adages tell us that seeing is believing, and a picture is worth a thousand words.  It is the Lord who has given us five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing.  And, so, the Lord, in his wisdom, not only TELLS us the Good News, which we hear and read through preaching and his Word, he also SHOWS us the Good News, through the two Sacraments he instituted: Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.  In these Sacraments we see God in action.  For, in these Sacraments we have a picture of what Jesus has done for us.  In these Sacraments God communicates to us the Gospel of salvation, not only through our sense of hearing, but also through all the other senses he gave us: sight, smell, taste, touch.

The Bible tells us that the Sacrament of Holy Baptism portrays Jesus washing away our sin, cleansing us of our guilt, and the drowning of our old sinful self. In Holy Baptism God communicates the Gospel to us through three of our senses:  We hear the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.”  And we also see the water pouring out and feel the water on our skin. 

Holy Baptism is a richly symbolic act, but it is more than just symbolism.  Baptism actually accomplishes what it symbolizes.  It is truly a “sacrament,” a Latin word which means a “sacred act.”  For, in a Baptism we actually see God in action.  As St. Paul says in Titus, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and new life by the Holy Spirit.”

Seeing is believing, and a picture is worth a thousand words.  In the Sacrament of Holy Communion, God communicates the Gospel to us through all five of our senses:  We hear the words of Jesus, “Take eat, this is my body, which is given for you . . . Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins.”  In addition to hearing the words of Jesus, we also see, smell, taste and touch the earthly elements of bread and the wine.  Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of Me.”  In Holy Communion, God gives us a living picture to help us remember Jesus’ love for us, love so great that he gave his body and shed his blood for us on the cross.

But, Holy Communion is more than just a memorial meal.  It is truly a “sacrament,” a “sacred act” through which God actually imparts forgiveness to us, to strengthen and preserve us steadfast in the true faith unto life everlasting. 

Holy Communion is a richly symbolic act, but it is more just symbolism.  For in, with, and under the earthly elements of bread and wine, the very body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are really present, heavenly food to nourish our souls.  As St. Paul says in 1st Corinthians, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?  The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”

Why did God choose to communicate the Gospel to us through the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion?  Because it was God who designed and created us with five senses.  And, so, in the sacred acts of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, God uses all five of our senses to communicate to us the Good News that Jesus is our Savior, who died for us on the cross. 

That is what St. Paul means when he says: “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”  This Sacrament we celebrate tonight proclaims the Lord’s death to you.  Holy Communion is “A Feast for the Senses,” through which Jesus proclaims to you how he gave his body and shed his blood on the cross for your salvation.