Dear Christian Friends,

On the eve of his death, Jesus' concern was for his disciples. He knew how frail and frightened they were. He wanted to give them extra support and strength.

And that night Jesus was looking not only at those eleven. He was also looking into the future at us. So he showed his tender mercy in a remarkable and miraculous way. He took them, and still today he takes us, to another "Place of the Passion," where we experience the Last Supper: a feast of three communions.

1. Bread and wine-body and blood

If you are sitting at a dinner table ready to eat a meal and you are wondering just what you are eating, all you have to do is look at the food. Chicken is chicken. Potatoes are potatoes. Beans are beans. If you want to know if there are any other ingredients present that you can't see, you will have to read a food label. For instance, the salad dressing you dribble on your lettuce contains water, corn syrup, cultured buttermilk, vinegar, onion juice, sugar, garlic juice, salt, modified food starch, soybean oil, xanthan gum, phosphoric acid, propylene glycol alginate, monosodium glutamate, potassium sorbate and calcium disodium EDTA as preservatives, dried parsley, dried green onions, spice, and yellow 5 for coloring.

If you want to know what Jesus gives us in this feast, start by looking at it. "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and give it to his disciples. . . . Then he took the cup, give thanks and offered it to them" (vv. 22,23). When we partake of this feast, bread is still bread and wine is still wine. But there are added ingredients in this meal that we do not see. So, we look at the label. We look at the Savior's words. "[He] took bread and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take it; this is my body.' Then he took the cup . . . and offered it to them . . . [saying,] 'This is my blood' "(vv. 22-24). In this special meal, Jesus gives us his own body and blood, the same body that was nailed to the cross, the same blood that was shed, miraculously joined to the bread and wine. How can bread and wine be the body and blood of Christ? A famous professor once said, "If a hundred thousand devils should rush forward and ask that question, we know that all the demons together with all the scholars of the world do not have as much wisdom as God does in his little finger."

The words of Christ stand. "This is my body. . . . This is my blood."

At this place for a feast and every time this feast is celebrated as Jesus began it, there are three communions, three "coming-togethers." This is the first, a communion, a coming together, of four elements. "It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ for us Christians to eat and to drink" (Luther's Catechism, Lord's Supper, Part I).

2. God-sinners

Do you sometimes eat the wrong kind of foods? Many people enjoy eating junk food. Unfortunately, eating a lot of that stuff causes a person to take in too much fat and cholesterol. What each of us really needs is a well-balanced diet. Our bodies need a proper combination of carbohydrates, protein, and fiber so all our systems function properly. We need to eat food that has solid nutritional value so our bodies grow and maintain their strength.

Our souls need nourishment too, so that our faith can grow and maintain its strength. There is a lot of spiritual junk food available in the religious marketplace. You can fill up on the "Twinkies" of social action and civil rights served up as the main course in some churches today. You can fatten up on the "cupcakes" of self-indulgence, self-reliance, or self-fulfillment neatly packaged as religious piety. But there is only one food that has real value for our souls, and that is the forgiveness of all our sins.

When we want to be sure that food for our bodies has value, we check with the experts, the nutritionists. They have the expertise to tell us not only what is in certain foods but also to determine what benefit there is in them. We take their word for it. If we don't believe what they say, we could end up feeding on harmful food and eating our way to an early grave.

The same is true in this special meal. When we want to be sure that this sacramental meal has real value, we check with the only expert there is, the Lord Jesus himself. He has the expertise to tell us not only what is in this special meal but also the benefit it has for us. We take his word for it. If we don't believe what he says, we may be feeding on Satan's lies and eating our way to an eternal grave.

So let's examine what our Lord says: "Take it; this is my body [given for you] . . . This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many [for the forgiveness of sins]" (vv. 22-24; Lk 22:19; Mt 26:28). The word covenant is the key. A covenant is an agreement. Normally there are two sides to an agreement. If you agree not to throw a hymnal at me, I'll agree not to throw one at you. That would be a two-sided covenant, a two-sided agreement. But when Jesus made this covenant with us, he did not make a two-sided agreement. It is just a one-sided promise. He says: "You don't have to do anything. Come to this table empty. Come with your sin. Come with your guilt." "I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them" (Hos 14:4).

Yet, sometimes we struggle long and hard against the desires of our sinful nature and lose the battle. Then we wonder if God still loves us. That's when we need this special meal for the special assurance that God still loves us. Because we are struggling, tempted, and weak, we go to the Lord's Supper to touch and taste, to eat and drink in a personal way the reassurance, "Your sins are forgiven."

At this place for a feast and every time this feast is celebrated as Jesus began it, there are three communions. This is the second, a communion, a coming together, of God and sinners.

3. People-people

I find it hard to grasp how a politician can attend a state dinner with his political opponent and actually smile and digest the food. A person would have to be a terrific actor to pull it off. It's tough enough for us regular citizens, when invited to a business lunch, to sit across the table from the person who has been bad-mouthing us at the office all week. A meal like that would be uncomfortable. We might even be so tense that our digestive systems might get thrown off, and the meal may prove to have little nutritional value.

On the other hand, some of the most pleasant times in our lives may center around a relaxing and enjoyable meal with dear friends and relatives. Relationships are solidified, and expressions of love and mutual commitment are shared.

As the evening in the upper room drew to a close, Jesus hinted at that kind of oneness. "I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God" (vs. 25). There can be no closer link between friends than when they are joined with each other and Jesus in heaven. This meal is a foretaste of that oneness we will enjoy there. Then the Bible writer adds, "When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives" (vs. 26). Singing at the Passover meal was commonplace, a demonstration of the unity shared by those who partook of the meal. While it is only hinted at here and expanded on in greater detail by the apostle Paul, we are given a taste of the third communion of this great feast.

At this place for a feast and every time this feast is celebrated as Jesus began it, there are three communions. This is the third, a communion, a coming together of people to people. Whenever we participate together in this feast, we are indicating that we are one in faith, that we all believe the same thing.

Do you remember the Bible story about doubting Thomas? Jesus had risen from the dead on Easter Sunday morning. That night he appeared to his disciples who were hiding behind locked doors. But Thomas was not there. When the other disciples told him that they had seen the Lord, he declared, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it" (Jn 20:25). He wanted more than the others' say-so. He wanted to see and touch for himself.

A week later the disciples were in that house again. This time Thomas was with them. Suddenly Jesus appeared again, and after calming their fears, he turned to Thomas and said: "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas believed. He said, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (Jn 20:27-29).

I'd like to think Jesus was talking about us. But sometimes, like Thomas, we have our doubts-maybe not an all-out "I won't believe this!" but little misgivings. "Is our religion really the right one?" "Is the Bible really errorless in all it says?" Then there are times when we sin and start to wonder: "Will God really forgive me for saying what I said? Does he really have the patience to put up with me every time I slip? I know he tells me I am forgiven. I hear his words. But if only I could see him or touch him, then I would really be reassured."

The kind of reality we want and the kind of reassurance we desire come to us from the only kind of Savior who can help, a Savior who takes us by the hand and leads us to this place for a feast, a feast of three communions. Here he joins the payment for our sins with something we can see, touch, and taste. Here he joins his love to our hearts. Here he joins us to each other so that at this place, whenever we partake of this feast, the apostle Peter's words are pointed right at your heart and mine: "Though you have not seen [Christ Jesus], you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls" (1 Pe 1:8,9). Amen.