| Hand Out - article by Joel Hempel
Down the table from where I was kneeling, at the communion rail between his parents, stood Oliver. Along with his parents and the rest of us, Oliver was reaching out his hand to receive a piece of unleavened bread, the Body of Christ. Taking his hand, Emeritus Pastor Steve lovingly gave our little brother a blessing.
Of course, a one-and-a-half-year-old doesn’t understand what he is reaching out for at the communion table. But trusting his parents’ modeling, Oliver’s hand is reaching out, ready to receive the gift of grace. Some years into the future, Oliver will receive the Body and Blood of Christ and be blessed beyond human understanding. All of us have our hand out looking for a handout. We bring nothing to the table but faith. We offer no sacrifice, no quid pro quo. We come in faith and reach out, trusting we are receiving what we have been promised. And what we are promised is from beyond and yet within the world around us. None of us, not even the greatest theological minds, understand and thus cannot satisfactorily explain the mystery of the Lord’s Supper. How can the Ever-Present God be especially present in Holy Communion? There are many things I don’t understand, and this is one of them. But I know and trust what Jesus said when he first instituted the Lord’s Supper: Take, eat; this is my body . . . this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:26-28). Here is a snippet of a verbatim conversation I once had with my dad, who was a lifelong Lutheran and son of an LCMS pastor: Joel: What do you believe about what we receive in the Lord’s Supper? Dad: I believe what Jesus said. We are receiving Jesus. Joel: What do you mean? Dad: We are receiving his real presence. If a doctor were to cut open my stomach after I received the Lord’s Supper, you would find Jesus’ flesh and blood. Joel: You know, Dad, that is not what we believe. As you say, we do believe in the real presence of Christ. But by that, we mean Jesus is in, with, and under the bread and wine. Jesus is not actually present in bodily form. Dad: That’s the problem with you ministers. You try to explain the unexplainable. Jesus said, “This is my body. This is my blood.” Either it is, or it isn’t. I believe it is! Was Dad wrong? Materially, yes! Spiritually, no! For 78 of his 91 years, Dad received the grace of God in the presence of Christ in Communion. My father – along with all the rest of us who go to the Lord’s Table in faith: - Receive forgiveness of sins (see Matthew 26:26-28).
- Claim the moment to remember and give thanks for Jesus and for what he did for us on the cross and in his resurrection (see Luke 22:19).
- Proclaim to anyone paying attention that we believe in Jesus and his sacrifice for us on the cross (1 Corinthians 11:26).
- Celebrate our unity as believers in Jesus as Savior (1 Corinthians 11:17-34).
- Receive strength and endurance for our life in Christ now and forever (John 6:53-57).
Maybe our baptized little brother did intuitively know what he was doing, reaching out in faith for that incredible and miraculous gift of God’s grace. | 
