Pastor's Desk

Communion Frequency in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod

Part 1

                At the 1995 Synodical Convention of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Resolution 2-08A was passed.  “Resolved, that the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod…encourage its pastors and congregations to study the Scriptural, confessional, and historical witness to every-Sunday communion with a view to recovering the opportunity to receive the Lord’s Supper each Lord’s Day.”

                It is now 2026, and in the Mapleton and Denison circuits, with whom I meet weekly, only one congregation has every Sunday communion.  In 31 years, only 1 out of 18 congregations in our immediate area has held to this resolution.  A resolution that has been reaffirmed at both district and synodical conventions since then.  Over the next several months we are going to examine the great benefit of every Sunday communion, and why it is the best practice for any congregation.  But before we talk about that, let us discuss what the Lord’s Supper is all about.

                The Lord’s Supper is such a wondrous gift.  In the Lord’s Supper to remember and call to mind Jesus’ death on the cross and the victory of his resurrection?  Yes, but it is more than that.  Is it an act of worship and part of our obedience to Christ’s commands?  Yes, but it is more than that.

                When Jesus gave the bread he said, “This (the bread) is my body.”  When he gave the cup he said, “This (the wine) is my blood.”.  In Matthew’s account of the Lord’s Supper he says that it is given to us for the forgiveness of sins.

                The book “Jesus Calling” became of great popularity.  It promised people ways to encounter and experience God.  Yet, the big problem was that the book promised that people would experience God in ways that God has never promised.

                Jesus, who is God in the flesh, however has promised that he is in the bread and in the wine given for you in the Lord’s Supper.  Every time that the Lord’s Supper is received you experience Christ.  You receive Christ.  You touch the bread, smell the wine, hear the words of Jesus spoken over you, you taste this meal.  In this eating and in this drinking you receive the forgiveness of sins.

                You most definitely encounter, experience, and receive God himself in this precious meal.  Yet Christians have come up with a multitude of excuses as to why they have no need of it, or they need to limit it more.  Looking for God in all the wrong places.  Yet, there he is given to you, as he has promised, in this sacred meal.

                The writer to the Hebrews puts forth another benefit.  He speaks of a gathering of angels, and those who have died in heaven.  It is in these words, expressed by the liturgy “Therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven…”, that we learn that church triumphant gathers at this meal.  Those who have died in the faith are united to us in this sacred meal.

                The Lord’s Supper is a gift that Jesus died for us to receive.  It is a gift that he made sure to give on the night before his crucifixion, thus emphasizing its importance.  It is a gift that the church on Pentecost dedicated itself to receiving regularly.  It is a gift where we receive the one who spoke the world into existence, the one who sat on the throne being worshipped by Seraphim in Isaiah 6.  Where we receive the one who was in the manger that first Christmas morn.  Where we receive the one who was crucified, risen, and ascended on high.  It is in this meal that we encounter, taste, and receive God himself in a grand mystery.

                It is here that we who are wearied by brokenness of this world and of our own sinful flesh, receive a meal to forgive, restore, and strengthen us.  It is here that though we miss our loved ones who have departed  from this mortal coil, it is here that we meet them.  It is in this feast that we meet heaven.

                When you consider the great benefits that we receive every time that we receive this meal.  It does lead us to ask the question, is it offered enough amongst our congregations?  Could we be doing better?  It is this question and thought that we will explore in the months to come.

In Jesus’ Name,

Pastor Neil Wehmas

Last Updated: 4/6/2026