A few weeks ago, an acquaintance said, "Pastor Dave, why do you make such a big deal about communion? In the church I grew up in--in Minnesota", this person said, "communion was special, but not so you'd have it every Sunday, and not with all the rigamarole."

     I've thought a lot about that recently. It made me think about how, different, in some ways, Communion is here at Saint Luke's, from how it was celebrated in my home congregation. Years ago, communion at First Lutheran, Columbus, Indiana, was quarterly, but then while I was still young, monthly. The pastor rarely, if ever, used the full Eucharistic Prayer--although it was included in the (red) Service Book and Hymnal--preferring instead, to use only the Words of Institution. And, of course, there was no chalice--no common cup; and there was little liturgical action connected with the Lord's Supper. It, really, was the pastor, back to the congregation, saying the Words of Institution--the words of St. Paul, "in the night in which he was betrayed...", and then distributing the wafers and the little glasslets of wine. And then, it was over. It was special--God, and everybody KNEW it was special, but the liturgy; the actions, the symbols, didn't really communicate that it was special. In fact, that may be why so many Lutherans have grown up without a mature, developed understanding of the real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper; that may be why studies show many Lutherans don't really believe that Christ is truly present in the Holy Communion--because for decades, for generations, our actions and practices didn't teach and reveal, our belief in the real presence. We treated the Lord's Supper like mere bread and wine--and in time, our folks just came to think of them that way. But that still doesn't answer why I have come to the point in my life, my faith, and my ministry, that I see communion as a very big deal--and hence, everything I think, say and do with regard to the Lord's Supper, is aimed at communicating, visually, aurally, and spiritually--that here, in this Lord's Supper, Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, is truly present, giving himself to us, and for us--that we may be nourished and strengthened for life and for eternal salvation, by eating and drinking his own flesh and blood. Jesus says as much in John 6, when he says, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." Those aren't my words, or Luther's words--the Lutheran church didn't come up with them--nor did the popes, for that matter! These are the words of Jesus, in Holy Scripture, and from the time Jesus uttered them, the Church has believed in, what we have come to call, "the real presence"--the fact that Jesus is truly present, in the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper, so that they are--they become, the flesh and blood of the Son of man--Jesus. And because that's what Jesus says--that's what I believe: that's what we believe.

     But again, I still haven't answered the question. Many Lutheran pastors, and many Lutheran laypersons do believe in the real presence, but don't make as big a deal as I do about it. So, why do I--make such a big deal, about the Lord's Supper? I suppose it's because I'm a greater sinner than all those others. Greater than King David, whom we hear about in our First Reading; greater than St. Paul, who persecuted Christians! And I don't mean that as a kind of a badge--as something to boast about--like, look at my big scarlet letter--I bet I'm the biggest sinner of all! It's just that--I can relate to the woman in our gospel lesson, and the parable Jesus tells about the two debtors--one owing five hundred denarii, and the other only fifty. When both have their debts forgiven, naturally, it will be the one who is forgiven the larger debt, who will love the more. In the case of the woman, who was a sinner, who learned that Jesus was at table in the Pharisee's house, because she had, evidently, seen people forgiven by Jesus, couldn't help but kneel at his feet, weeping; she couldn't help but bathe his feet with her tears, wiping them with her hair, kissing them and anointing them with the expensive ointment. Of course, the Pharisee is outraged, offended, because not only was it not appropriate for a woman (a sinner woman!) to touch a man--it was also not acceptable for a woman to be in the room, with men, as they ate! And--the Pharisee thought, if Jesus were a prophet, he would have known who it was, and what kind of a woman it was, who was touching him--that besides being a woman--she was a sinner! Ah--but Jesus knew, she was to be a forgiven sinner! And supposedly, she had been a great sinner in her life, and now, she was receiving great forgiveness! And her actions--her reverence, her devotion, her worship of Jesus, flowed forth, out of a grateful heart! Her love, in response to Jesus' forgiveness and mercy, was manifested, by her dedication and humility and honor. Jesus suggests, subtly, almost ironically, that perhaps it may be that this Pharisee, who did not wash Jesus' feet when he came in, who did not anoint Jesus' head with oil as was the custom, who did not show Jesus even the most basic forms of hospitality--may not have been guilty of many sins--so, he didn't have much love in his heart, for Jesus. But, Jesus says, the person who has committed many sins--the person who bears great guilt--the person who therefore, receives great mercy and grace, just can't help themselves! And the same is true today. I believe that those of us who are great sinners; those of us who have known, are experiencing great forgiveness, just can't help ourselves, and we look for whatever ways we can, to kneel at Jesus' feet, to anoint his head with oil, to show him the greatest respect and reverence and devotion. And that, I think, is why I have come to make such a big deal of the Lord's Supper. Because I want to make a big deal, of the Lord! And where do we have him, bodily, physically, really present with us--more than in the Holy Communion? If I want to kneel at his feet, to worship him and to lift him up as our Savior and Lord--what better way to do that, than by kneeling at his real presence on the altar, lifting him high as we give Him thanks and praise, treating his very body and blood, with the greatest of respect and solemnity. Surely, there are a hundred other ways for us to show Jesus our love, in response to His forgiveness of our many sins--we can show our love for Jesus by loving our neighbor, by caring for the lowest and the least-- but no where is His presence among us more concrete, more manifest, more transparent, than in the Lord's Supper, at the altar, as He gives us Himself to eat and drink.

     And that, I think, is why I--and we, here at Saint Luke's, make such a big deal of Holy Communion. Because we realize we are great sinners! Because we have had our sins, which are many, forgiven. On this day when much of world Christianity observes this as the Festival of the Body and Blood of Christ--as the Festival of Corpus Christi, we will pray that God will consecrate this new aumbry, as a fitting receptacle for the reserved presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. Without a doubt, there are some Christians who would say, "why are you making such a big deal out of this? Why don't you put the consecrated hosts in a plastic bag in a cardboard box on a shelf in pastor's office? This aumby doesn't make the elements any more or less Jesus' presence." Which is true. But this is our way of washing Jesus' feet; this is our way of anointing his head with oil; this is our way of offering Jesus, if not an alabaster jar of ointment, then a beautiful, wonderful receptacle to be his home among us. This new aumby, doesn't make Jesus presence any more real--how can His real presence, be MORE real? But for those of us whose sins are many--for those of us who have been, and are being forgiven, much--we can't show Jesus our love, too much! There isn't anything we wouldn't do--to show Jesus, our Lord and Savior, our gratitude, our appreciation, our adoration--indeed, our great love.

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.