Part Five: The Sacrament of the Altar

p. 476 As we have heard of holy baptism, so we must speak also concerning the other sacrament, namely, concerning these three points: What it is, what are its benefits, and who shall receive it. And all these are established by the words whereby Christ has instituted it. This every one who desires to be a Christian and go to the sacrament should know. For we do not think that they who know not what they seek, or why they come, should be admitted or should have it administered to them. The words are these:

“Our Lord Jesus Christ the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

“After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it: this cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Here also we do not wish to enter into controversy and contend with the traducers and blasphemers of this sacrament, but we must first learn (as we did in respect of baptism) what is of the greatest importance, namely, that the chief point is the Word and institution or command of God. For it has not been invented or introduced by any man, but without any one’s counsel and deliberation it has been instituted by Christ. Therefore just as the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed retain their nature and worth, although you never keep the first, pray the second or believe the third; so also does this precious sacrament remain undisturbed, so that nothing can be withdrawn or taken from it, even though we employ and dispense it unworthily. Can you think indeed that p. 477 God is so concerned about what we do and believe, as on that account to change his institutions? Yet in all worldly things everything remains as God has created and ordered it, no matter how we employ or use it. This must always be maintained, for thereby the prating of nearly all the fanatical spirits can be repelled. For they regard the sacraments as something that we do without the Word of God.

What is therefore the Sacrament of the Altar?

Answer: It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, in and under the bread and wine which we Christians are commanded by the Word of Christ to eat and to drink. And as we have said of baptism that it is not simply water, so here also we say the sacrament is bread and wine, but not mere bread and wine as are ordinarily served at table, but bread and wine comprehended in and connected with the Word of God.

It is the Word (I say) which makes and distinguishes this sacrament, so that it is not mere bread and wine, but is and is properly called the body and blood of Christ. For it is said: “Accedat verbum ad elementum, et fit sacramentum.” “If the Word be joined to the element it becomes a sacrament.” This saying of St. Augustine is so explicitly and so well put that he has scarcely said anything better. The Word must make a sacrament of the element, else it remains a mere element. Now, it is not the word or institution of a prince or emperor, but of the Exalted Majesty, at whose feet all creatures should fall and say: “Amen, it is as he says,” and accept it with all reverence, fear and humility.

With this Word you can strengthen your conscience and say: If a hundred thousand devils, together with all fanatics raise the objection, How can bread and wine be the body and blood of Christ? etc., I know that all spirits and scholars together are not as wise as is the Divine Majesty in his little finger. For here stands the Word of Christ: “Take, eat; this is my body;—Drink ye all of this, this is the new testament in my blood,” etc. Here we abide, and would like to see those who will constitute themselves his masters, and make it different from what he has spoken. It is true, indeed, that if you take away the Word or regard it without the Word, you have nothing but mere bread and wine. But if the Word be added thereto, as it must be, then in virtue of the same it is truly the body and blood of Christ. For as the lips of Christ have spoken, so it is, as he can never lie or deceive.

Hence it is easy to reply to all manner of questions about which at the present time men are anxious, as, for instance: Whether a wicked priest can administer and distribute the sacrament, and such like other points. For here conclude and say: Even though a knave take or distribute the sacrament, he p. 478 receives the true sacrament, that is, the true body and blood of Christ, just as truly as he who receives or administers it in the most worthy manner. For it is not founded upon the holiness of men, but upon the Word of God. And as no saint upon earth, yea, no angel in heaven, can change bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, so also can no one change or alter it, even though it be abused. For the Word by which it became a sacrament and was instituted does not become false because of the person or his unbelief. For he does not say: If you believe or are worthy you will receive my body and blood, but: Take, eat and drink, this is my body and blood. Likewise: Do this (namely, what I now do, institute, give and bid you take). That is as much as to say, No matter whether you be worthy or unworthy, you have here his body and blood by virtue of these words which are added to the bread and the wine. This mark, and observe well; for upon these words rest all our foundation, protection and defence against all error and temptation that have ever come or may yet come.

Thus we have briefly the first point which pertains to the essence of this sacrament. Now let us further look to the efficacy and benefits on account of which the sacrament was instituted; which is also the most necessary part therein, that we may know what we should there seek and obtain. This is plain and clear from the words just mentioned: “This is my body and blood, given and shed for you, for the remission of sins.” That is as much as to say briefly: We approach the sacrament in order to receive there a treasure by and in which we obtain forgiveness of sins. Why so? Because the words stand here and give us the same; for on this account he bids me eat and drink, that it may be my own and may benefit me, as a sure pledge and token, yea, just the very same thing that is appointed for me against my sins, death and every calamity.

On this account indeed is it called a food of souls, which nourishes and strengthens the new man. For by baptism we are first born anew; but (as we said before) there remains besides the old vicious nature of flesh and blood in man, and there are so many hindrances and temptations of the devil and of the world that we often become weary and faint, and sometimes also stumble.

Therefore it is given for daily food and sustenance, that faith may refresh and strengthen itself so as not to retire in such a battle, but that it become ever stronger and stronger. For the new life must be so regulated that it continually increase and progress; but it must suffer much opposition. For the devil is such a furious enemy that if he sees that we oppose him and attack the old man, and that he cannot overpower us with violence, he prowls and moves about on all sides, attempts all p. 479 arts, and does not desist, until he finally wearies us, so that we either renounce our faith or yield hands and feet and become careless or impatient. Therefore is this consolation here given when the heart feels that the burden is becoming too heavy, so that it may here obtain new power and refreshment.

But here a wilful misrepresentation is made by our wise spirits with their great art and wisdom, crying out and protesting: How can bread and wine forgive sins or strengthen faith? Although they hear and know that we do not say this of such bread and wine as is in itself bread and wine, but of such bread and wine as is the body and blood of Christ, and is united with the words. That, we say, is the treasure, and nothing else, through which such forgiveness is obtained. Now the only way in which it is given and appropriated to us is in the words: “Given and shed for you.“For herein I have both truths, that it is the body and blood of Christ, and that it is mine as a treasure and gift. But the body of Christ can never be an unfruitful, vain thing, without efficacy and without benefits. Yet however great be the treasure in itself, it must be comprehended in the Word and administered to us, else we should never be able to know or seek it.

Therefore also it is vain talk when they say that the body and blood of Christ are not given and shed for us in the Lord’s Supper, and therefore we cannot have forgiveness of sins in the sacrament. For although the work was accomplished and the forgiveness of sins acquired on the cross, yet it cannot otherwise come to us, but through the Word. For what would we otherwise know about it, that such a thing was accomplished and is to be given us if it were not delivered to us in the preaching or administration of the oral Word? Whence will they know, or how can they lay hold of and appropriate to themselves, this forgiveness, except they hold and believe the Scriptures and the Gospel? But now the entire Gospel and the article of the Creed: “I believe a holy Christian Church, the forgiveness of sin,“etc., are by the Word embodied in this sacrament and presented to us. Why should we allow this treasure to be torn from the sacrament? Since they must confess that these are the words which we hear everywhere in the Gospel, and they dare by no means say that these words in the sacrament are of no use, as little as that the entire Gospel or Word of God, apart from the sacrament, is of no use.

Thus we have now the entire sacrament, both as to what it is in itself and as to what it brings and profits. Now we must also see who is the person that receives this efficacy and benefit. That is answered briefly, as we said above of baptism and often elsewhere: Whoever believes it has what the words declare and bring. For they are not spoken or proclaimed p. 480 to stone and wood, but to those who hear them, to whom he says: “Take and eat,” etc. And because he offers and promises forgiveness of sin, it cannot be received otherwise than by faith. This faith he himself demands in the Word when he says: “Given and shed for you.” As if he had said: For this reason I give it, and bid you eat and drink, that you may partake of it and enjoy it. Whoever now receives these words, and believes that what they declare is true, has it. But whoever does not believe it has nothing, as it is offered to him in vain, and he refuses to enjoy such a saving good. The treasure indeed is opened and placed at every one’s door, yea, upon every one’s table, but it is necessary that you also take of it, and confidently regard it as the words give it to you.

This now is the entire Christian preparation for receiving this sacrament worthily. For since this treasure is fully presented in the words, it can be apprehended and appropriated only by the heart. For such a gift and eternal treasure cannot be seized by the hand. Fasting and prayer, etc. may indeed be an external preparation and discipline, that the body may bear itself modestly and reverently towards the body and blood of Christ; yet that which is given in and with it cannot be seized and appropriated by the body. But this is done by the faith of the heart, which discerns this treasure and desires it. This may suffice for the general instruction respecting this sacrament; for what is further to be said of it belongs to another time.

In conclusion, since we have now the true understanding and doctrine of the sacrament, there is indeed need of some exhortation and admonition, that men may not neglect so great a treasure which is daily administered and distributed among Christians—that is, that those who would be Christians often prepare themselves to receive this venerable sacrament. For we see that men are negligent and indifferent with respect to it; and there is a great multitude of such, who hear the Gospel, and who, because the nonsense of the Pope has been abolished, and we are freed from his laws and coercion, go one, two, three years or even longer without the sacrament, as though they were such strong Christians that they have no need of it; and some allow themselves to be prevented and deterred by the pretence that we have taught that no one should approach it unless he feel hunger and thirst, and which urge him to it. Some pretend that it is a matter of liberty and not necessary, and that it is sufficient to believe without it; and thus for the most part they go so far that they become quite hardened, and finally despise both the sacrament and the Word of God.

Now, it is true, as we have said, that no one should be coerced p. 481 or compelled, lest we again institute an inquisition destructive to souls. But this we must know, nevertheless, that such people as so long a time deprive themselves of, and withdraw from, the sacrament, are not to be considered Christians. For Christ has not instituted it to be treated as a show; but has offered it to his Christians, that they may eat and drink it, and thereby remember him.

And those indeed who are true Christians, and esteem the sacrament precious and holy, ought to urge and impel themselves thereto. Yet that the simple-minded and the weak who also desire to be Christians be the more incited to consider the cause and need which ought to impel them, we will treat somewhat of this point. For as in other matters pertaining to faith, love and patience, it is not enough to teach and instruct, but there is need also of daily exhortation, so here also is there need of importunity in preaching, that men may not become indifferent and be offended, since we know and feel how the devil always opposes this and everything Christian, and drives and deters therefrom as much as he can.

And we have, in the first place, the clear text in the very words of Christ: “Do this in remembrance of me.“These are words bidding and commanding us, by which all who would be Christians are enjoined to partake of this sacrament. Therefore whoever would be a disciple of Christ, with whom he here speaks, must consider and observe this, not from compulsion, as being forced by men, but in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to please him. But if one say: It is written in immediate connection, “as oft as ye do it,“from which it appears that he compels no one, but leaves it to our free choice, answer: That is true, yet it is not written that we should never do so. Yea, just because he uses the words, “as oft as ye do it,“it is implied that we shall often do it; and therefore it is added that he wishes to have the sacrament free, not limited to special times, like the Passover of the Jews, which they were obliged to eat only once a year, and just upon the fourteenth day of the first full moon in the evening, and which must not vary a day. As if he would say thereby: I institute a Passover or Supper for you which you shall enjoy not only once a year, just upon this evening, but often, when and where you will, according to every one’s opportunity and necessity, bound to no place or appointed time, although the Pope afterwards perverted it, and again made a Jewish feast of it.

Thus, you perceive, it is not left free in such a sense that we may despise it. For that I call despising it if one allow so long a time to elapse and with nothing to hinder him, but yet never feels desire for it. If you wish such liberty you may as well have so much more, and be no Christian, that you may neither p. 482 believe nor pray, for the one is just as much the command of Christ as the other. But if you wish to be a Christian, you must from time to time render satisfaction and obedience to this commandment. For this commandment ought ever to move so you to examine yourself and to think: See, what sort of a Christian I am! If I were truly one, I would sometimes have some little longing for that which my Lord has commanded me to do.

And, indeed, because we are so much estranged from it we perceive what sort of Christians we were under the Papacy, that we went from mere compulsion and fear of human commandments, without inclination and love, and never regarded the commandment of Christ. But we neither urge nor compel any one; nor need any one do it as a favor or service to us. But you should be induced and constrained of your own accord, by this, viz. that he desires it and that it is pleasing to him. You must not be influenced by men to faith or to any good work. We, on our part, do no more than to say and exhort you as to what you ought to do—not for our sake, but for your own sake. He invites and allures you; and if you despise it, you must yourself answer for it.

This is the first point, especially for those who are cold and indifferent, that they may come to reflection and be awakened. For this is certainly true, as I have found in my own experience, and as every one will find, that if a person thus withdraw from this sacrament, he will daily become more and more hardened and cold, and will at last altogether disregard it. Otherwise we must, from time to time, examine heart and conscience, and assume the position of those who desire to be right with God. And the more this is done, the more will the heart be warmed and enkindled, that it may not become entirely cold.

But if you say: How if I feel that I am not prepared? Answer: The same is also my temptation, especially from the old way under the Pope, in which we were compelled to self-torture in order to be so perfectly pure that God could not find the least blemish in us. On this account we became so timid that every one was instantly thrown into consternation and said to himself: Alas! thou art unworthy! For then nature and reason begin to reckon our unworthiness in comparison with the great and precious good; and then it appears like a dark lantern in contrast with the bright sun, or as filth in comparison with precious stones. Because nature and reason see this they refuse to approach, and would wait until they are prepared, so long that one week brings another, and one half year the other. But if you are to regard how good and pure you are, and labor that nothing burden the conscience, you must never approach.

We must, therefore, make a distinction here among men. For p. 483 those who are shameless and dissolute must be told to stay away. For they are not prepared to receive forgiveness of sin. For they do not desire it, and do not wish to be godly. But the others, who are not so hardened and wicked, and desire to be godly, must not absent themselves, even though they be feeble and full of infirmities: as St. Hilary also says: “If any one have not committed sin in such a way as to be properly put out of the congregation and to be esteemed as no Christian, he ought not to absent himself from the sacrament, that he may not deprive himself of life.” For no one will reach such a position that he will not retain many daily infirmities in flesh and blood.

Therefore such people must learn that it is the highest art to know that our sacrament does not depend upon our worthiness. For we are not baptized because we are worthy and holy, nor do we go to confession because we are pure and without sin, but the contrary, as poor miserable men, and just because we are unworthy; unless it be some one who neither desires grace or absolution nor intends to reform.

But whoever earnestly desires grace and consolation should feel impelled of his own accord, and should allow no one to deter him, but say: I, indeed, desire to be worthy; but I come not upon any worthiness, but upon thy Word, because thou hast commanded it, and I desire to be thy disciple, no matter what becomes of my worthiness. But this is difficult. For we always have this obstacle and hindrance to encounter, viz. that we look more upon ourselves than upon the Word and lips of Christ. For nature desires so to act that it can stand and rest in itself, and where it cannot do so it declines to take a step. Let this suffice concerning the first point.

In the second place, there is besides this commandment also a promise, as we heard above, which ought most strongly to incite and encourage us. For here stand the kind and precious words: “This is my body, given for you. This is my blood, shed for you, for the remission of sins.” These words, I have said, are not preached to wood and stone, but to thee and me. Else he might as well be silent and not institute a sacrament. Therefore consider, and bring thyself into this YOU, that his speaking with thee be not in vain.

For in this he offers to us the entire treasure which he has brought for us from heaven, and to which he so invites us in other places with the greatest kindness, as in St. Matt. 11:28: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Now it is indeed a sin and a shame that he so cordially and faithfully summons and exhorts us to our highest and greatest good, and we act so distantly with regard to it, and permit so long a time to pass [without nartaking of the sacrament] p. 484 that we grow quite cold and hardened, and have no inclination or love for it. We must never regard the sacrament as something injurious from which we had better flee, but as a remedy imparting only salvation and comfort, which will cure us and give us life, both in soul and body. For where the soul has recovered the body also is relieved. How then is it that we regard it as if it were a poison, the eating of which would bring death?

It is indeed true that those who despise it and live in an unchristian manner receive it to their hurt and judgment, for nothing shall be good or saving to them, just as with a sick person who from caprice eats and drinks what is forbidden him by the physician. But those who are sensible of their weakness, desire to be rid of it and long for help, should regard and use it only as a precious antidote against the poison which is in them. For here in the sacrament you shall receive, from the lips of Christ, forgiveness of sin, which contains and brings with it the grace and Spirit of God, with all his gifts, protection, shelter and power against death and Satan and all misfortune.

Thus you have, on the part of God, both the commandment and the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ. Besides this, on your part, your own distress which oppresses you, and because of which this commandment, invitation and promise are given, ought to impel you. For he himself says: “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that be sick;“that is, those who are weary and heavy-laden with their sins, with the fear of death, temptations of the flesh and of the devil. If, therefore, you are heavy-laden and feel your weakness, then go joyfully to this sacrament and obtain refreshment, consolation and strength. For if you would wait until you are rid of such burdens, that you might approach worthily and with entire purity to the sacrament, you must for ever stay away. For in that case he pronounces sentence and says: If you are pure and godly you have no need of me, and I have no need of thee. Therefore they alone are to be called unworthy who neither feel their infirmities nor wish to be considered sinners.

But if you say: What shall I do if I cannot feel such distress or experience hunger and thirst for the sacrament? Answer: For those who are so minded that they do not realize their condition I know no better counsel than that they explore deeply their own heart to ascertain whether they also have flesh and blood. And if you find that to be the case, then go, for your good, to St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, and hear what is the nature of the fruits of your flesh: “Now the works of the flesh“(he says c. 5: sqq.) “are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness. lasciviousness, idol- p. 485 atry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings and such like.”

Therefore if you cannot feel it, only believe the Scriptures. They will not lie to you, and they know your flesh better than you yourself. Yea, St. Paul further concludes (Rom. 7:18): “I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing.“If St. Paul, therefore, speaks thus of his flesh, we had better not pretend to be more holy. But that we do not feel it is so much the worse; for it is a sign that there is a leproous flesh which feels nothing, and yet rages and consumes. Yet, as we have said, even if you be quite dead to all sensibility, only believe the Scriptures, which pronounce sentence upon you. And, in short, the less you feel your sins and infirmities, the more reason have you to go to the sacrament to seek help and a remedy.

In the second place, look about you and see whether you are also in the world. Or if you do not know it, ask your neighbors. And if you are in the world, do not think that there will be lack of sins and misery. For only begin to deport yourself as though you would be godly and adhere to the Gospel, and see whether no one will become your enemy, and do you harm, wrong and violence, and likewise give you cause for sin and crime. If you have not experienced it, then learn it from the Scriptures, which everywhere give this praise and testimony to the world.

Besides this, you will also have the devil about you, whom you will not entirely tread under foot, because our Lord Christ himself could not entirely avoid him. Now, what is the devil? Altogether, as the Scriptures call him, a liar and murderer. A liar to lead the heart astray from the Word of God, and to blind it, that you cannot feel your distress or come to Christ. A murderer, who cannot bear one single hour to see you live. If you could see how many knives, darts and arrows are every moment aimed at you, you would be glad to come to the sacrament as often as possible. But there is no reason why men walk so securely and heedlessly, except that they neither think nor believe that they are in the flesh, and in this wicked world or in the kingdom of the devil.

Therefore only try this and practise it well, and examine yourself, or look about you a little, and only keep to the Scriptures. If even then you still feel nothing, you have so much the more need to lament both to God and to your brother. Then take counsel and seek others’ prayers, and do not desist until the stone be removed from your heart. Then, indeed, the distress will not fail to be manifest, and you will find that you have sunk twice as deep as any other poor sinner, and are much p. 486 more in need of the sacrament against the misery which unfortunately you do not feel, so that God may give his grace, and you may feel it more and hunger the more for the sacrament. This, too, especially since the devil plies his forces against you, and lies in wait for you without ceasing, to seize and destroy you, soul and body, so that you are not secure against him one hour. How soon might he have suddenly brought you into misery and distress when you least expected it!

Let this then be said for exhortation, not only for those of us who are adults and aged, but also for the young people, who ought to be brought up in the understanding of Christian doctrine. For thereby the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer might be more easily inculcated to our youth, and they would learn it with zest and pleasure, and thus would accustom themselves to it and practise it from their youth. For the old are wellnigh defunct, so that these and other things cannot be attained, unless we train the people who are to follow and succeed us in our office and work, that they also bring up their children in good fruits, that the Word of God and the Christian Church may be preserved. Therefore let every father of a family know that it is his duty, by the injunction and command of God, to teach these things to his children, or have them learn what they ought to know. For since they are baptized and received into the Christian Church, they should also enjoy this communion of the sacrament, so that they may serve us and be useful to us; for they must all indeed help us in believing, loving, praying and fighting against the devil.