The Lord's Supper Vol. 5--- Discerning the Body (cont.)
The Lord's Supper text in I Cor. 11:17-32 is remarkable. The church was having trouble with divisions. The text shows us they may have had a common meal with the Lord's Supper, one they brought from home. Paul said what they ate was not the Lord's Supper, because they did not eat it as a unified body (-the paraphrase is mine). One had nothing and another gets drunk. They were forgetting that, without the sharing, it was just a plain meal they had (or, in our case...just crackers and juice), which they could better do at home. Paul recaps the Passover meal which the Lord apparently gave him knowledge of, and he uses it to remind them what they were doing, and what they were doing wrong.
Can you take the bread "in remembrance of Christ" while ignoring his body?
Can you share the cup "in remembrance of Christ" while selfishly catering your own meal??
NO!!
In verse 27...therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
I grew up believing this meant I should take the Lord's Supper in humility, in reverence, in silence, with introspection and prayers for forgiveness. None of those things are bad, but I don't think that is what Paul means. Look at why they are being scolded:
each of you goes ahead without waiting on anybody else...
One remains hungry and another is Drunk.
Do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?
A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. (WHY?--the unspoken question)
---For anyone who eats of the bread and drinks of the cup WITHOUT RECOGNIZING THE BODY OF THE LORD eats and drinks judgement on himself. THAT IS WHY many among you are weak and sick and a number of you have fallen asleep.
The church at Corinth did not realize that actually sharing in the supper made them all one. Each of them went on selfishly with their own party as if others did not matter. THEY DID NOT RECOGNIZE THE BODY OF JESUS DOWN THE AISLE AND IN THE NEXT SEAT!!! They did not remember Christ was all around them, and the phrase "In remembrance of me" was being ignored. As a result, Paul said some of them were weak, some were sick, and some had died. I have heard some discussion about whether that is physical or spiritual. Physical or spiritual, it is still serious business.
If taking the Lord's Supper selfishly caused them to be weak and sick, and even to die, there is great and miraculous power involved here. I don't think that power can be denied in our day, any more than we can deny the necessity for the Lord's Supper.
I believe Paul's charge to examine ourselves is in reference to the way we relate to the body, those around us, not in reference to our own sin or guilt. (Remember leaving our gift at the altar?) I will never be able to make myself worthy, and no amount of prayer or introspection can accomplish that, but I can take it worthily by recognizing the body I share it with. The term "worthily" or "in a worthy manner" implies an action on my part, and according to Paul that action is directed at the body around me. We eat and drink judgement on ourselves when we don't relate to each other, when we are selfish, when we forget the body is next to us or across the aisle. In the early days of the church in Acts, Luke describes the members having "everything in common" --- the opposite of selfishness.
Our normal communion service usually involves less than 10 minutes, while serving as many as 1700 people. The trays are passed in an orderly fashion to allow the quickest completion of the job. Silence, introspection, even navel contemplation. Our thoughts are inward or upward, How do we relate to each other in this? When we keep to ourselves, is that not selfish by definition? Is our church weak and sick and dead because of the way we take the Lord's Supper? Are we willing to take the time required to make it a communing event? A self-less event? Is it possible that we miss the great potential power of the covenant because we fail to make it a sharing event?
When I started this blog series, some might remember that the study was to prepare to lead the Lord's Supper at camp. When I had reached this point in my little review, I didn't know what to do next. How did the church do it two weeks after Pentecost? I don't think we really know. What is the focus of the Lord's Supper really supposed to be?
I landed on the word "communion" and realized that it was the same root as "communicate". We needed to communicate. Would communicating help us recognize the body? Was that possible?
My Journey down this road had beginnings at that HEB Camp worship service, where I asked everyone to PARTICIPATE in family groups. Take the bread to someone else and look into their eyes and communicate. "I love you" or "This is the body of Jesus, and he died to give you life." or "I'm glad you are here to share with me." I wasn't sure at all what to say. I didn't know how people would respond, but I began to see sharing and tears and people communicating everywhere. Nearly everyone got hugged. A couple I didn't really know (but love deeply now) say that was the first time they really shared the Lord's Supper. The cup was passed in a similar fashion, but to different folks. It took time, it was a bit unorganized, and definitely out of most of our comfort zones (mine included). But it was rich and powerful. The Spirit did something in the sharing.
Slowly, over the next few months, I began to think of the Lord's Supper as a sharing event. I began to look around the auditorium at church and wish I could get up and go to someone and share and communicate. I became painfully aware that I had missed the point all these years, and I had been guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. I began to look forward to sharing the meal in our Life Team, where we took the time and trouble to talk to each other and look into each other's eyes. Something inside me was different, somehow. I began again to study the Lord's Supper. What a journey it is!!
Can you take the bread "in remembrance of Christ" while ignoring his body?
Can you share the cup "in remembrance of Christ" while selfishly catering your own meal??
NO!!
In verse 27...therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
I grew up believing this meant I should take the Lord's Supper in humility, in reverence, in silence, with introspection and prayers for forgiveness. None of those things are bad, but I don't think that is what Paul means. Look at why they are being scolded:
each of you goes ahead without waiting on anybody else...
One remains hungry and another is Drunk.
Do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?
A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. (WHY?--the unspoken question)
---For anyone who eats of the bread and drinks of the cup WITHOUT RECOGNIZING THE BODY OF THE LORD eats and drinks judgement on himself. THAT IS WHY many among you are weak and sick and a number of you have fallen asleep.
The church at Corinth did not realize that actually sharing in the supper made them all one. Each of them went on selfishly with their own party as if others did not matter. THEY DID NOT RECOGNIZE THE BODY OF JESUS DOWN THE AISLE AND IN THE NEXT SEAT!!! They did not remember Christ was all around them, and the phrase "In remembrance of me" was being ignored. As a result, Paul said some of them were weak, some were sick, and some had died. I have heard some discussion about whether that is physical or spiritual. Physical or spiritual, it is still serious business.
If taking the Lord's Supper selfishly caused them to be weak and sick, and even to die, there is great and miraculous power involved here. I don't think that power can be denied in our day, any more than we can deny the necessity for the Lord's Supper.
I believe Paul's charge to examine ourselves is in reference to the way we relate to the body, those around us, not in reference to our own sin or guilt. (Remember leaving our gift at the altar?) I will never be able to make myself worthy, and no amount of prayer or introspection can accomplish that, but I can take it worthily by recognizing the body I share it with. The term "worthily" or "in a worthy manner" implies an action on my part, and according to Paul that action is directed at the body around me. We eat and drink judgement on ourselves when we don't relate to each other, when we are selfish, when we forget the body is next to us or across the aisle. In the early days of the church in Acts, Luke describes the members having "everything in common" --- the opposite of selfishness.
Our normal communion service usually involves less than 10 minutes, while serving as many as 1700 people. The trays are passed in an orderly fashion to allow the quickest completion of the job. Silence, introspection, even navel contemplation. Our thoughts are inward or upward, How do we relate to each other in this? When we keep to ourselves, is that not selfish by definition? Is our church weak and sick and dead because of the way we take the Lord's Supper? Are we willing to take the time required to make it a communing event? A self-less event? Is it possible that we miss the great potential power of the covenant because we fail to make it a sharing event?
When I started this blog series, some might remember that the study was to prepare to lead the Lord's Supper at camp. When I had reached this point in my little review, I didn't know what to do next. How did the church do it two weeks after Pentecost? I don't think we really know. What is the focus of the Lord's Supper really supposed to be?
I landed on the word "communion" and realized that it was the same root as "communicate". We needed to communicate. Would communicating help us recognize the body? Was that possible?
My Journey down this road had beginnings at that HEB Camp worship service, where I asked everyone to PARTICIPATE in family groups. Take the bread to someone else and look into their eyes and communicate. "I love you" or "This is the body of Jesus, and he died to give you life." or "I'm glad you are here to share with me." I wasn't sure at all what to say. I didn't know how people would respond, but I began to see sharing and tears and people communicating everywhere. Nearly everyone got hugged. A couple I didn't really know (but love deeply now) say that was the first time they really shared the Lord's Supper. The cup was passed in a similar fashion, but to different folks. It took time, it was a bit unorganized, and definitely out of most of our comfort zones (mine included). But it was rich and powerful. The Spirit did something in the sharing.
Slowly, over the next few months, I began to think of the Lord's Supper as a sharing event. I began to look around the auditorium at church and wish I could get up and go to someone and share and communicate. I became painfully aware that I had missed the point all these years, and I had been guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. I began to look forward to sharing the meal in our Life Team, where we took the time and trouble to talk to each other and look into each other's eyes. Something inside me was different, somehow. I began again to study the Lord's Supper. What a journey it is!!
posted by G'ampa C @ 11:06 PM
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