In the same manner as we have heard regarding
Holy Baptism, we must speak also concerning the other Sacrament, namely, these
three points: What is it? What are its benefits? and, Who is to receive it? And
all these are established by the words by which Christ has instituted it, and
which every one who desires to be a Christian and go to the Sacrament should
know. For it is not our intention to admit to it and to administer it to those
who know not what they seek, or why they come. The words, however, 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 His 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 to learn first (as we did regarding Baptism) what is of the greatest
importance, namely that the chief point is the Word and ordinance or command of
God. For it has not been invented nor 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, pray, or believe them, so also does
this venerable Sacrament remain undisturbed, so that nothing is detracted or
taken from it, even though we employ and dispense it unworthily. What do you
think God cares about what we do or believe, so that on that account He should
suffer His ordinance to be changed? Why, in all worldly matters every thing
remains as God has created and ordered it, no matter how we employ or use it.
This must always be urged, for thereby the prating of nearly all the fanatical
spirits can be repelled. For they regard the Sacraments, aside from the Word of
God, as something that we do.
Now, what is 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 simple water, so here also we say the Sacrament is bread and wine,
but not mere bread and wine, such as are ordinarily served at the 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 called, the body and blood of Christ. For it is said: Accedat verbum ad
elementum, et At sacramentum. If the Word be joined to the element it becomes a
Sacrament. This saying of St. Augustine is so properly 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 ordinance
of a prince or emperor, but of the sublime Majesty, at whose feet all creatures
should fall, and affirm 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, should rush
forward, crying, 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. Now here stands the Word of Christ: Take, eat;
this is My body; Drink ye all of it; 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 words, you have nothing
but mere bread and wine. But if the words remain with them as they shall and
must, then, in virtue of the same, it is truly the body and blood of Christ.
For as the lips of Christ say and speak, so it is, as He can never lie or
deceive.
Hence it is easy to reply to all manner of
questions about which men are troubled at the present time, such as this one:
Whether even a wicked priest can minister at, and dispense, the Sacrament, and
whatever other questions like this there may be. For here we conclude and say:
Even though a knave takes or distributes the Sacrament, he 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 make bread and wine to be the body and blood of
Christ, so also can no one change or alter it, even though it be misused. 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 receive My body and blood, but: Take, eat and drink;
this is By 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 are
worthy or unworthy, you have here His body and blood by virtue of these words
which are added to the bread and wine. Only note and remember this well; for
upon these words rest all our foundation, protection, and defense against all
errors and deception that have ever come or may yet come.
Thus we have briefly the first point which
relates to the essence of this Sacrament. Now examine further the efficacy and
benefits on account of which really the Sacrament was instituted; which is also
its most necessary part, that we may know what we should seek and obtain there.
Now 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. Briefly that is as
much as to say: For this reason we go to the Sacrament because there we receive
such a treasure by and in which we obtain forgiveness of sins. Why so? Because
the words stand here and give us this; 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, the very same treasure that is appointed for me against my sins, death,
and every calamity.
On this account it is indeed 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 still 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 a daily pasture and
sustenance, that faith may refresh and strengthen itself so as not to fall back
in such a battle, but 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 when he sees that
we oppose him and attack the old man, and that he cannot topple us over by
force, he prowls and moves about on all sides, tries all devices, and does not
desist until he finally wearies us, so that we either renounce our faith or
yield hands and feet and become listless or impatient. Now to this end the
consolation is here given when the heart feels that the burden is becoming too
heavy, that it may here obtain new power and refreshment.
But here our wise spirits contort themselves with
their great art and wisdom, crying out and bawling: How can bread and wine
forgive sins or strengthen faith? Although they hear and know that we do not
say this of bread and wine, because in itself bread is bread, but of such bread
and wine as is the body and blood of Christ, and has the words attached to it.
That, we say, is verily the treasure, and nothing else, through which such
forgiveness is obtained. Now the only way in which it is conveyed and
appropriated to us is in the words (Given and shed for you). For herein you
have both truths, that it is the body and blood of Christ, and that it is yours
as a treasure and gift. Now the body of Christ can never be an unfruitful, vain
thing, that effects or profits nothing. Yet however great is 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, hence we could not have forgiveness of sins in the Sacrament. For
although the work is accomplished and the forgiveness of sins acquired on the
cross, yet it cannot come to us in any other way than through the Word. For
what would we otherwise know about it, that such a thing was accomplished or
was to be given us if it were not presented by preaching or the oral Word?
Whence do they know of it, or how can they apprehend and appropriate to
themselves the forgiveness, except they lay hold of 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, then, should we allow this
treasure to be torn from the Sacrament when they must confess that these are
the very words which we hear everywhere in the Gospel, and they cannot say that
these words in the Sacrament are of no use, as little as they dare say that the
entire Gospel or Word of God, apart from the Sacrament, is of no use?
Thus we have 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 power 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 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 said: For this reason I give it, and bid
you eat and drink, that you may claim it as yours and enjoy it. Whoever now
accepts these words, and believes that what they declare is true, has it. But
whoever does not believe it has nothing, as he allows it to be offered to him
in vain, and refuses to enjoy such a saving good. The treasure, indeed, is
opened and placed at every one's door, yea upon his table, but it is necessary
that you also claim it, and confidently view it as the words suggest to you.
This, now, is the entire Christian preparation
for receiving this Sacrament worthily. For since this treasure is entirely
presented in the words, it cannot be apprehended and appropriated in any other
way than with the heart. For such a gift and eternal treasure cannot be seized
with the fist. Fasting and prayer, etc., may indeed be an external preparation
and discipline for children, that the body may keep and bear itself modestly
and reverently towards the body and blood of Christ; yet what is given in and
with it the body cannot seize and appropriate. But this is done by the faith of
the heart, which discerns this treasure and desires it. This may suffice for
what is necessary as a general instruction respecting this Sacrament; for what
is further to be said of it belongs to another time.
