November 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter

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

You may recall, back in August we celebrated Holy Communion every Sunday. We did this because the Gospel readings were focused on John 6 where Jesus continually brings up in different ways how he is the Bread of Life. Now what has come out of this is the question, “What really is Holy Communion?” Our Lutheran answer to this question is quite simple, Holy Communion is Jesus. We believe that Jesus is present “in, with, and under” the bread and wine. Therefore when you come to the altar to receive Holy Communion, you are physically and spiritually receive Christ.

Now Communion is also the forgiveness of our sins. When we eat and drink the body and blood of Christ, we are physically receiving the forgiveness of our sins. Communion is a spiritual meal that gives us nourishment for the week ahead.

At Waverly’s church council meeting in October, we had a discussion about what Holy Communion is and why it is important for our faith and our spiritual lives. By the end of the discussion, it was decided that at Waverly we will be celebrating Holy Communion every Sunday (not just the first and last Sunday of the month) beginning in November. We were led to make this decision because of how mobile people are now. People come to church when they can, but it does not always work out that they can come on a Communion Sunday. But if every Sunday is a Communion Sunday, then no matter when you come to church, there will be Jesus there for you, present in the bread and wine of the sacrament.

Celebrating Holy Communion every Sunday is not just something that our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters do – this is a Christian practice. Believe it or not, Lutherans used to celebrate Holy Communion every Sunday in Europe. When our ancestors immigrated to America, they established churches wherever they settled. Except, there were not enough pastors in the new land to serve all of these churches. So the pastors that did come to America were circuit riders. They were travel from church to church by horseback, preach and serve Communion, visit the sick, and then head on to the next church. Each church would only see their pastor and receive Communion about one day a month (if they were lucky). This pattern ended up continuing even after churches started having a pastor lead services every week.

Ultimately, Holy Communion is all about Jesus. We not only remember what Christ did for us by sacrificing himself on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, but this Holy Meal is exactly the nourishment that us sinful Christians need on a regular basis. When you come to our Lord’s table to receive the Sacrament of His own body and blood, trust that all of your sins are indeed forgiven and that Jesus goes with you as you go back into the world as a forgiven child of God!

In Christ,

Pastor Anthony