One of those ongoing debates had to do with the words of institution at communion. In most Lutheran congregations, the pastor presiding at communion uses the words of Jesus, “Take and eat, this is my body. Take and drink, this is my blood.” These words have been key to our understanding of the sacrament for two thousand years. Christians don’t all agree about the details, but we have fundamentally agreed that the words of institution – the verba – are key to what it is that we do at the table.