Today we'll briefly examine the Lutheran doctrine of the Lord's Supper, popularly known as "consubstantiation," although not by Lutherans. Martin Luther denied transubstantiation, the medieval Roman Catholic teaching we reviewed yesterday. In his theology, the bread and wine remain as they are. But he insisted on a strictly literal interpretation of Jesus' words "This is my body." Lutherans teach that the physical, material substance of Christ's flesh and blood are present in, with, and under the elements, such that the physical Jesus is really received with the taking of the sacrament. Some have made an analogy to the way a sponge holds water--the water is really in the sponge, but the substance of the sponge itself is not changed. Lutherans use the concept of ubiquity to explain how Christ can be physically present in many places at once when the Supper is celebrated.
Tomorrow: The memorial view.
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