The Small Catechism – part 218
Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: Mark 6:34
Series: Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
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From the Confessions: The Small Catechism, Holy Communion
What is Holy Communion?
Communion is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, given to us Christians to eat and drink, as it was instituted by Christ himself.
Pulling It Together: Jesus fed people throughout his ministry. I have a feeling that he fed people far more often than Scripture chronicles. The recorded cases were miraculous in nature, a little going a long way. In today’s larger pericope (Mark 6:30–46), he fed thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Not only were 5,000 men fed, they were stuffed.
Jesus is still feeding people today, and in a miraculous way. He takes something much smaller than a loaf, and far less ample than a bottle, and fills us to the point of satisfaction. A bit of bread so small that we refer to it as a wafer, and a mere sip of wine amount to a meal, a supper. The whole church on earth communes around this holy meal, and is filled. We are satisfied because what fills us is not just bread and wine, but the true body and blood of Christ Jesus.
Prayer: Give me such faith, Lord, that I may be content with you. Amen.
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Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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