The Sacrament of the Altar: What's Going On Here?

It's time to move on to a new topic:  The Sacrament of the Altar.  Holy Communion.  The Eucharist.  The Lord's Supper. It goes by many names, but they all refer to the same thing.

After the prayers of the church and collecting the offering, we begin to approach the altar area, gathering at a rail.  (In our congregation, this process is guided by ushers and follows a particular order.  This is not a requirement, but it is good for things to be orderly and reverent in a worship service.)  Once there the pastor welcomes the gathered group "to the table of the Lord," which indicates that he (the pastor) and we (the congregation) aren't the ones who host this gathering.  There is another host who is "the Lord."

By the time you approach the rail, though, you should know who "the Lord" is and what He is welcoming You for, because the liturgy that goes before the service has already told you.  Before people started coming forward to the rail, the pastor stands at the altar and chants some words of welcome, blessing and prayer called the "preface" and the "proper preface" (i.e.,  "The Lord be with you." "And also with you." "Lift up your hearts."  "We lift them up unto the Lord."  "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.").

After these, we sing what is called the "sanctus" (i.e., "holy"), which echoes the sound of the angels in heaven gathered around the throne of God Almighty and of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Basically, we are joining our voices to theirs.  We are entering the presence of God in a very special way!

Then the pastor speaks the words of a prayer called the "great thanksgiving," which says what happens at communion very clearly:  "Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit.  Grant us faithfully to eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament.  Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end."

So He (that is, Jesus) is the Lord, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  He welcomes us to His Supper.  He (that is, Jesus) bids us to eat and drink His body and blood.  Through it we are forgiven, renewed and strengthened in faith.  That is what we gather to receive at the rail.

In the posts that follow, we'll learn how this Sacrament came to be.  These passages will answer many or most of the questions you probably have, but feel free to write them in the comments here.  I'll try to make sure the posts and comments cover everything!