<> Ask the Pastor The Rev. Walter Snyder Q: You say on your Web page that Lutherans believe the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper miraculously become the body and blood of Jesus. This sounds more like transubstansiation, not the Real Presence of Luther, where the elements are not changed but Jesus is present in, around, and under the elements of bread and wine. Am I wrong? How does the Real Presence differ from transubstansiation? A: I'm not sure where you found this, since I've written about the Lord's Supper in several columns. As for speaking of "the Real Presence of Luther," I assume you mean "the Real Presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, according to the teaching of Luther." I would never confess to receiving Martin Luther in the Lord's Supper. Regarding Lutherans and the Lord's Supper, we confess that we do not receive only bread and wine only to remember Christ's sacrifice, but that miraculously we receive the very body and blood of Christ. Through eating and drinking this Supper sins are forgiven, faith is strengthened, and we are joined ever more closely with our Savior. Our teaching is also that we do receive the earthly elements of bread and wine; they are not changed (transubstantiated--which is the Roman Catholic teaching) to body and blood, but are present in communion with the body and blood of Christ. Q: Why don't most Protestants believe Communion is the actual blood and body of Christ? In reading the "Bread of Life" discourse in John and then Paul's warnings in 1 Corinthians 11:17-33, it seems to me to be pretty clear what Jesus was saying. Moreover, because many Protestants are strict interpreters of the Bible, logic implies that Calvin would have had an overwhelmingly compelling reason for his position of the "symbolic" presence of Jesus. I know Scripture says Jesus was only sacrificed once. Do they say we are only remembering the sacrifice ("Do this in remembrance of me")? The only reason for this stance I can come up with is, "It just can't be the actual blood and body. How can it?" Well, pagans say, "How can a man rise from the dead?" I don't know how, but I know He did. A: Your question, with the one above, illustrates the difficulty in "pigeonholing" anyone. Some believe that Lutherans are "anti-Catholic." This is not so. From the first, the Lutheran reformers were concerned with what they perceived as abuse or misinterpretation in the Roman Church. The Lutheran Reformation kept more than it discarded, although some of what it kept, it "cleaned up" according to its interpretation of the Scriptures. For example, our writings (including the Apology to the Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV) state, "At the outset we must again make the preliminary statement that we do not abolish the Mass, but religiously maintain and defend it. For among us masses are celebrated every Lord's Day and on the other festivals, in which the Sacrament is offered to those who wish to use it, after they have been examined and absolved. And the usual public ceremonies are observed, the series of lessons, of prayers, vestments, and other like things." However, Luther and those with him did not view each observance of the Mass (Lord's Supper) as a new, unbloody sacrifice of Christ on the Church's altars. As you alluded, Scripture (including Hebrews 10:14) speaks of one sacrifice: "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified." Often, the problem is that people want to "understand" God rather than accept him at his Word. When something is counter to human reason, we try to make the facts conform to our thoughts rather than having our thoughts conformed to the facts. When the facts are of God, the problem grows. Reason disbelieves that the very body and blood of Christ can be present in the Lord's Supper. This is an attempt to understand the God-man Jesus Christ according to our understanding of our own (fallen) humanity. Before Calvin, Zwingli spoke for a spiritual presence. Luther argued with him that "is means is." He could find no way around this clear word of Scripture, which appears in the first three Gospels and in First Corinthians. Look to these passages more than John 6 in teaching the "Real Presence." As for Calvin and others who followed him, I cannot speak in length as to their reasons for not accepting these words at face value. I offer the thought that their "reason" is their reason. In other words, it made no sense to them that Christ could be bodily, bloodily present in the Mass, thus the Lord and St. Paul must have been speaking figuratively regarding Holy Communion. Luther and his heirs answer that faith takes reason captive. If faith and reason disagree, it is because our sin-tainted reason can't understand divine "logic" (cf. Job hearing God from the whirlwind; "my thoughts are not your thoughts; " et al.). Your linking "logic" and "Calvin" cuts to the heart of the matter; most "Protestants" would probably follow this course. It's not logical that we actually receive Christ's body and blood, despite what is said in Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and 1 Corinthians 10 and 11. Likewise, I can't understand or comprehend, yet my faith in these words remains. Thus, I pray to my Lord with the father of the sick child (Mark 9:24) "I believe; help my unbelief!" That's it for now. You can submit questions by mail to "Ask the Pastor," PO Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951; E-mail xrysostom@aol.com; or just stop me on the street. Walter Snyder is the pastor of St. Paul and Faith Lutheran Churches in Jasper and Woodville and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults." Copyright (c) 1998 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.