I would guess that for the majority of American Evangelicals the Lord’s Supper is anything but mysterious. Yet, for John Calvin the Supper was full of mystery. As I was reading the section on the Lord’s Supper in Calvin’s Institutes this evening I came across the following statement in which Calvin admits his inability to comprehend and express the mystery that in the Lord’s Supper we are made partakers of Christ’s flesh and blood.

“I therefore freely admit that no man should measure its sublimity by the little measure of my childishness. Rather, I urge my readers not to confine their mental interest within these too narrow limits, but to strive to rise much higher than I can lead them. For, whenever this matter is discussed, when I have tried to say all, I feel that I have as yet said little in proportion to its worth. And although my mind can think beyond what my tongue can utter, yet even my mind is conquered and overwhelmed by the greatness of the thing. Therefore, nothing remains but to break forth in wonder at this mystery, which plainly neither the mind is able to conceive nor the tongue to express” (Institutes 4.17.6).

If all this seems rather strange to you I encourage you to read Calvin on this.

[tags]church, Lord’s Supper, sacraments[/tags]