Frequently Asked Questions about Weekly Communion
These FAQs are offered for consideration in our ongoing discussion regarding this matter. They are by no means exhaustive. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Pr. McDermott or one of the elders.
Q: Why would the church desire to have celebrate the Lord's Supper in the Divine
Service each Sunday?
A: Since in the Lord's Supper we receive our Lord Jesus' very body and blood for the forgiveness of sins it is a great gift to us and is central to the Divine Service. The holy Christian church throughout the ages has identified the Lord's Day (Sunday) with the Lord's Supper. As such the Lord's Supper was never viewed as an occasional extra or as somehow not as important as the other means of grace (Word, Absolution, Holy Baptism). In the Supper the Church, the Bride of Christ, sees herself clearly as the Body of Christ, being "one flesh" with Christ Jesus -- a great mystery indeed (Ephesians 5). The Supper is our Lord's last will and testament where we receive Him in all His life-giving mercy.
Also, since each day and each week we are in need of the Lord's forgiveness and strength, we are therefore in need of the Lord's Supper much in every way. Today, our increasingly less and less Christianly influenced culture threatens our faith daily, along with the help of Satan and our own sinful desires (old Adam). In the Christian Questions and Answers in the Small Catechism Luther writes the following, admonishing us to frequently receive the gift of Communion:
"What should admonish and incite a Christian to receive the sacrament frequently? In respect to God, both the command and the promise of Christ the Lord should move him, and in respect to himself, the trouble that lies heavy on him, on account of which such command, encouragement, and promise are given."
