Lord's Supper Vol. 6--Discerning the Body (cont.)
The church at Corinth was having trouble with divisions, and their Lord's Supper was being taken so selfishly that Paul said it was NOT even the Lord's Supper.
If I look at I Cor. 11 and concentrate on Paul's assessment----that the church's NOT discerning or recognizing the body of Christ around them caused them to be weak and sick and even to die, is there an inverse deduction to be made?
That is, if NOT recognizing the body in communion causes weakness and sickness and death, does RECOGNIZING the body in communion bring health and strength and life? Is it another part of a covenant agreement? I can draw no conclusion but YES!
How do we reach out and claim that part of communion?
I don't think there is a formula for what is supposed to happen when we share the Lord's Supper, but I can tell you what I have witnessed.
I have watched as people shared with each other at HEB Camp. What was said varied a great deal. The recurring theme I see, though, is that communication and eye contact and touch have a strong effect on the moving of the Spirit in the group. Something changes by the power of the Spirit when we communicate and recognize our family. We share our souls with those around us, and they share with us. Many, many people have commented on it. Is it really this simple? Can changing how we do something in so simple a way really make such a difference? It seems so.
In our Life Team, we try to meet each week and one of the things we do now is share the Lord's Supper. Different people lead it in different ways, but we always look at each other and communicate. Many times, we take turns by deciding who we should share with. That is, we get the bread or cup and go to a person across the room, and share. This requires everyone to pay attention and be discerning of those not yet served. (Probably good practice for healthy church.) It has become very important to our group, and it is not uncommon for someone to call or send word that they will be late because of a meeting, ....and could we wait for the Lord's Supper so they can be there?
I was a member of a mission team last summer, and we had been meeting and praying and preparing for months and months. Even up to about three weeks before we were to leave, things hadn't felt right, and we were struggling. Satan was pushing hard to stop us before the trip even started. Our group met at a friend's house one Saturday after lunch to spend the day together relaxing and discussing. Two of us, then three of us, then four of us became involved in a discussion of the Lord's Supper which lasted a couple of hours. We talked about what it meant and what it should be, and the things we believed. A couple of us went to the store for crackers and juice, and after our evening meal we talked to the group about what we wanted to do and why. We shared the Lord's Supper sitting around a ping pong table. As we passed the bread and the cup, we shared about things we believed and how we were being blessed, and how others had blessed us. We looked into each other's eyes and shared. This was a first for me on Saturday night (I'll talk about that later). As we shared, many of us were moved to tears as we celebrated God's working. Over the span of an hour or so, the Spirit worked in us and we became a team. It was as if a burden was lifted from all of us, and we went to our mission in celebration. We saw God do amazing things that we could never have imagined. I believe everyone in that group felt different, we had been changed. And I doubt that anyone will forget that Lord's Supper around a ping pong table one Saturday evening. Nearly all that team met again earlier this week to send a dear couple off to a new job in New Mexico. We shared the Lord's Supper again and passed rich blessings around the table. We cried and laughed and shared, and we celebrated being one even when we are apart. We have truly become family. The richness of watching and listening as someone pours out their heart to a brother or sister is also important, it is like sharing a part of yourself with others. That may be the true call of Jesus and the true message of the communion: Be self-less in what you share.
There is no question that this selfless-ness allows others inside our own space: it does. It is not something that comes naturally and easily. But..... isn't it true that we can never experience the saving grace of Jesus while we keep him at arm's length? He wants us to let him in...... not just his Spirit, but also his body. Isn't it also true that we will be judged by the world (either as disciples or not) based on our love for each other?
If I look at I Cor. 11 and concentrate on Paul's assessment----that the church's NOT discerning or recognizing the body of Christ around them caused them to be weak and sick and even to die, is there an inverse deduction to be made?
That is, if NOT recognizing the body in communion causes weakness and sickness and death, does RECOGNIZING the body in communion bring health and strength and life? Is it another part of a covenant agreement? I can draw no conclusion but YES!
How do we reach out and claim that part of communion?
I don't think there is a formula for what is supposed to happen when we share the Lord's Supper, but I can tell you what I have witnessed.
I have watched as people shared with each other at HEB Camp. What was said varied a great deal. The recurring theme I see, though, is that communication and eye contact and touch have a strong effect on the moving of the Spirit in the group. Something changes by the power of the Spirit when we communicate and recognize our family. We share our souls with those around us, and they share with us. Many, many people have commented on it. Is it really this simple? Can changing how we do something in so simple a way really make such a difference? It seems so.
In our Life Team, we try to meet each week and one of the things we do now is share the Lord's Supper. Different people lead it in different ways, but we always look at each other and communicate. Many times, we take turns by deciding who we should share with. That is, we get the bread or cup and go to a person across the room, and share. This requires everyone to pay attention and be discerning of those not yet served. (Probably good practice for healthy church.) It has become very important to our group, and it is not uncommon for someone to call or send word that they will be late because of a meeting, ....and could we wait for the Lord's Supper so they can be there?
I was a member of a mission team last summer, and we had been meeting and praying and preparing for months and months. Even up to about three weeks before we were to leave, things hadn't felt right, and we were struggling. Satan was pushing hard to stop us before the trip even started. Our group met at a friend's house one Saturday after lunch to spend the day together relaxing and discussing. Two of us, then three of us, then four of us became involved in a discussion of the Lord's Supper which lasted a couple of hours. We talked about what it meant and what it should be, and the things we believed. A couple of us went to the store for crackers and juice, and after our evening meal we talked to the group about what we wanted to do and why. We shared the Lord's Supper sitting around a ping pong table. As we passed the bread and the cup, we shared about things we believed and how we were being blessed, and how others had blessed us. We looked into each other's eyes and shared. This was a first for me on Saturday night (I'll talk about that later). As we shared, many of us were moved to tears as we celebrated God's working. Over the span of an hour or so, the Spirit worked in us and we became a team. It was as if a burden was lifted from all of us, and we went to our mission in celebration. We saw God do amazing things that we could never have imagined. I believe everyone in that group felt different, we had been changed. And I doubt that anyone will forget that Lord's Supper around a ping pong table one Saturday evening. Nearly all that team met again earlier this week to send a dear couple off to a new job in New Mexico. We shared the Lord's Supper again and passed rich blessings around the table. We cried and laughed and shared, and we celebrated being one even when we are apart. We have truly become family. The richness of watching and listening as someone pours out their heart to a brother or sister is also important, it is like sharing a part of yourself with others. That may be the true call of Jesus and the true message of the communion: Be self-less in what you share.
There is no question that this selfless-ness allows others inside our own space: it does. It is not something that comes naturally and easily. But..... isn't it true that we can never experience the saving grace of Jesus while we keep him at arm's length? He wants us to let him in...... not just his Spirit, but also his body. Isn't it also true that we will be judged by the world (either as disciples or not) based on our love for each other?
posted by G'ampa C @ 7:56 AM
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