During his last days on earth, Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples. At that meal he instituted the Lord's Supper (also Holy Eucharist or Communion). Jesus told his disciples that this bread is my body and this wine is my blood. Lutherans accept Jesus literally at his word: the bread is his body, the wine is his blood. So although we can clearly see that the bread and wine look and taste just the same as before, we believe that Jesus is really present in, with, and under what is still real bread and wine.

    Holy Communion is more than a memorial meal. It is more than a reminder of our relationship with God. Holy Communion is when we actually have com-union with God, where God infuses us with a blessing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is present with us and in us through our meal.

    Historically, some Lutherans had been so awed that God would actually touch us in this way that they celebrated a very reverential Holy Communion only once a year. Today, because we tend to emphasize the intimacy of God's love for us above the grandeur of God's power over the world, most Lutheran congregations celebrate Communion much more frequently: at least once a month and often on each Sunday.