Living in grace through Holy Communion. What a more fitting celebration to focus on than the Lord’s Supper as we remember His last meal on earth with His beloved disciples and the instruction to continue this Sacrament in His church for perpetuity.

There are many beliefs regarding Holy Communion, some of those beliefs ending up being deemed “cheap grace” because the bread and wine are of no significance in that belief structure.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer offers this definition, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, (it is) baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal admission. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."

The one thing that is for certain as we gather to celebrate the Lord’s Supper is the fact that Holy Communion is packed with power. Reality is, anything associated with grace is packed with power, the very power of God.

Luther refers to the sacrament of Holy Communion in many ways but all point to the same thing, the grace of God, the forgiveness of sin, the very presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

The words of Jesus were a covenant, a new covenant, a promise from God Himself, and when God makes a promise, as we see everywhere in Scripture, He keeps the promise.

The promise here – this cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sin. And when there is sin forgiven there is Grace present.

With that said, how can we not come to the Lord’s Table, especially on Maundy Thursday, and experience the miraculous presence of the One who invites us here?

How can we the people of Lake County not embrace the power of God’s love and forgiveness?

When we gather as one in Christ, miracles happen. We become a family working together to make our town something special.

God has plans for us, he shows us every day, every time we experience something that makes us feel uncomfortable or incomplete.

Join us Thursday at First Lutheran Church and be part of the process of renewal in Lucerne!

Worship on Thursday evening will be at 6 p.m. but come early because prior to the service, we offer a soup supper at 5 p.m.

Good Friday’s service is at noon and Easter Sunday we gather for Bible Study at 9:30 a.m., worship at 11 a.m., a hot Easter lunch following the service and then an Easter Egg hunt for the kids at 1 p.m.

Chris DelCol is pastor of First Lutheran Church in Lucerne, Calif. The church is located at 3863 Country Club Drive, telephone 707-274-5572.