Help! The communion wafers are stale.

by Marvin Bublitz

It’s an interesting phenomenon. With the pandemic shutdowns and reduced numbers in our worship services, the wafers and perhaps the wine may have gone a bit stale. Maybe, if water was left in the baptismal font, algae is growing. Perhaps there is dust covering the Bible which has not been opened or moved.

I have more in mind here than just the physical state of wine and wafer, Word and water. Their staleness is but a sign of a deeper staleness within. Jesus warned us of this as He spoke of the approaching end of the world. He said, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:12).

As the Day approaches, Jesus tells us that not only will we suffer in various ways, but people will turn on each other, and the love of many will grow cold. Boy, how well that describes our times. You see it every day on the news. In one place or another people are attacking each other. I personally know of individuals who have been assaulted for simply asking someone to wear a mask on the elevator. At the same time, the public vitriol which has sometimes been directed at people sceptical of masks has not been constructive either. Some might say, “It’s my right to ask them to wear a mask.” Others might say, “It’s my right not to wear a mask.” “It’s my right to demand you get vaccinated.” “It’s my right to refuse the vaccine.”

Shame on us, one and all! When children of God focus exclusively on our individual rights, we are in the wrong. Oh, yes, as citizens of Canada, we have rights. But as Christians with our citizenship in heaven (Philippians 3:20), our responsibilities and our love for neighbour trump those rights.

The Holy Spirit inspired St. Paul to speak of love this way: “It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful” (1 Corinthians 13:5). In fact, the Holy Spirit says a lot to us about how love bears with each other, forgives each other, and seeks what benefits the other. We need to shake the dust out of our ears and listen:

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. | Colossians 3:12-14

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. | Ephesians 4:1-3

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. | Galatians 6:2

We have the Old Adam in us, and during trying times, he seems to speak louder than the new man in Christ of Holy Baptism. The love of many has grown cold.

Let us never forget that “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49). And, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20).

See, the real staleness is not in wine and wafer or Word and water. Rather, it is a spiritual staleness within. In sin, our love for the blessings of God in Word and Sacrament, and our love for each other that flows from font and table, can grow cold. It is true not just of people “out there”; it is true also of us within the household of faith.

We need to return to the Lord our God. Return to His Word and gladly hear and learn it. Return to our Baptism, rejoicing in all He does for us there, and let the new man in Christ reign. Return to His table and take His crucified, risen, and ascended Body and Blood into our body to renew, restore, and forgive us.

We need to kneel at His bloodstained cross, repenting of our sins so that we receive His Holy Absolution. As we arise from our knees, the cold staleness of this sinful world in our hearts is forgiven. Thus, bearing the image of Christ, we love and forgive and bear with each other as fellow members in the Body of Christ. Grant this Lord unto us all. Amen.

Rev. Marvin Bublitz

Rev. Marvin Bublitz is Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC)'s East Regional Pastor.