Luther (quoted in Stephenson, LS, 26–27): "We therefore retain the elevation on account of Isaiah's Sanctus, which is highly appropriate to this gesture. For the elevation gets across how He sits on the throne and reigns. And to elevate the body and blood of Christ is nothing other than to preach the Gospel to the whole world."
Luther (AE 38:314, which contains his account of why he eventually "allowed" the discontinuation of the elevation in Wittenberg): "This , too, would be a fine Interpretation, If the priest would with the elevation of the sacrament do nothing other than illustrate the words, 'This is my body,' as if he wished to express by means of his actions: Look, dear Christians, this Is the body which is given for you."
2. Although the Antichrist in Rome and the devil frightfully mutilated
and perverted all that is divine in the church, God nevertheless
miraculously preserved Holy Scripture – even though it was darkened and
dimmed under the pope’s accursed rule – and passed it down to our day.
Thus God also preserved these words of the Gospel, which were read from
the pulpit every Sunday, although without the proper understanding.
Also the words of the Decalog, the Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer, as
well as Baptism and one kind in the Sacrament have survived under the
devilish regime. Although the Gospel was obscured and the proper
understanding of it hidden, God still kept it for the salvation of His
own. These words too, “And the Word became flesh,” were held in
reverence. They were sung daily in every Mass in a slow tempo and were
set to a special melody, different from that for the other words. And
when the congregation came to the words, “from the Virgin Mary and was
made man,” every one genuflected and removed his hat. It would still
be proper and appropriate to kneel at the words “and was made man,” to
sing them with long notes as formerly, to listen with happy hearts to
the message the Divine Majesty abased Himself and became like us poor
bags of worms, and to thank God for the ineffable mercy and compassion
reflected in the incarnation of the Deity. But who can ever do justice
to that theme?...The following tale is told about a course and brutal
lout. While the words, “And was made man” were being sung in church, he
remained standing, neither genuflecting nor removing his hat. He showed
no reverence, but just stood there like a clod. All the others dropped
to their knees when the Nicene Creed was prayed and chanted devoutly.
Then the devil stepped up to him and hit him so hard it made his head
spin. He cursed him gruesomely and said: “May hell consume you, you
boorish ass! If God had become an angel like me and the congregation
sang: ‘God was made an angel,’ I would bend not only my knees but my
whole body to the ground! Yes, I would crawl ten ells down into the
ground. And you vile human creature, you stand there like a stick or a
stone. You hear that God did not become an angel but a man like you,
and you just stand there like a stick of wood!” Whether this story is
true or not, it is nevertheless in accordance with the faith (Rom.
12:6). With this illustrative story the holy fathers wished to admonish
the youth to revere the indescribably great miracle of the incarnation;
they wanted us to open our eyes wide and ponder these words as well.
- Luther’s Works Vol. 22, pp.102-103, 105-106.
Treasury of Daily Prayer, Writing for February 3.
'Worship His footstool.' His footstool is the earth, and Christ took upon Him earth of earth, because flesh is of earth; and He received flesh of the flesh of Mary. And because He walked here in this very flesh, he also gave this very flesh to be eaten by us for salvation. But no one eats that flesh unless He has first worshiped it. Therefore the way has been found how such footstool of the Lord may be worshiped, so that we not only do not sin by worshiping, but sin by not worshiping (Augustine, Catalogue of Testimonies).
If anyone says that the flesh of our Lord as that of a man is inadorable, and is not to be worshiped as the flesh of the Lord and God, him the Holy Catholic Church anathematizes (Athanasius, Catalogue of Testimonies).
Zeeden, Faith and Act, 23-24: The number of church orders that kept the elevation was equal to those that did not
Augustine (*Enarrationes in Psalmos, *98, 9: CCL 39, 1385; quoted by Gerhard, On the Law, §98 [and Cat. of Testimonies?]): ipsam carnem nobis manducandam ad salutem dedit; nemo autem illam carnem manducat nisi prius adoraverit…non solum non peccemus adorando, sed peccemus non adorando.
Paul R. Harris, “The Angels Are Aware…and We Are Too,” Logia 4, no. 1 (January 1995): 21-29.