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The Bible Study – Our reading for Monday, August 19 is 1st Corinthians 11:17-34. The sanctity of the Lord’s Supper rests on the authority of Christ Himself. In today’s text, the Apostle Paul gives clear Biblical instruction on what the Lord’s Supper is and means: “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” (vs. 23-26) “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.” (v. 27) “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” (vs. 29-30) Martin Luther’s Small Catechism explains that the Sacrament of the Altar “is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for Christians to eat and to drink.” The Holy Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke have written this. (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:17-20) To partake of the Lord’s Supper in an “unworthy manner” means denying the true presence of the body and blood of Christ joined in Sacramental union with the bread and wine. It also means to come to the Sacrament of the Altar with an impenitent heart, unremorseful of our sins. What is the benefit of taking part in the Lord’s Supper? Luther explains again, “These words, ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,’ show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.” Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto http://christlutherantoronto.org/beliefs