Happy Meal?
11/01/09
Pastor
Marji Miller
Yesterday was Halloween. A night dedicated to the collection of junk food. Who has had candy already this morning? Nutritious breakfast. I do like Halloween, though. Lots of legends, stories, movies. I don’t like the hideous stuff, Disney is more my style, but this year I got brave and we watched the History channel’s History of Halloween. Lots of interesting people. Druids, Roman revelers, contemporary pagan worshippers. What would you think about a religious group that practiced cannibalism? And that met regularly for orgies?
Within the first two centuries of the church, the Romans were accusing Christians of being cannibals. Christians were also being persecuted for having orgies. Do you know why? Because they talked about eating flesh and drinking blood during their Lord’s Suppers. Because they called the Lord’s Supper a “love feast.” Did the non-Christians miss the point? Well, yes. But, what IS the point?
Lots of us have been in church for a long time. And it’s possible that we still don’t know what the Lord’s Supper (we call it communion) really means. We just know that we do it. OR, maybe you’re new to church, and this seems strange. We talk about body and blood but it sure looks like stale crackers and grape juice. And then we don’t even get enough juice to wash the stale crackers down. What’s this about??!
This uncertainty isn’t a new problem. Cannibals and orgies???? This is a problem that’s as old as the church. I don’t think we’ll have anybody accusing us of being cannibals or having orgies this morning, but there is a possibility that you might not know what we’re doing here, or why – even if you’ve been doing it for years.
What if we surveyed the Christian community? What if we asked: Should we do this once a week? Once a month? Or, four times a year? Or, Do we do it sitting down? Or coming to the front? And, what is that stuff? Is it literally Jesus body and blood? Or symbols? And, what does it do? Christians concur this is a holy moment, but there’s not a lot of agreement beyond that. We have called it by different names, done it different ways, disagreed about how often it should be done, fought over what is really is, and even killed over what it means. Ask ten different Christians about any of this, and you’ll get ten different answers.
We’re not going to answer all those questions today, but we are going to look at some of what the Bible has to say about the Last Supper. We’ll be looking at a part of a letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. Same letter. First Corinthians! Feels like we know that church pretty well by now. They were messing up a lot of stuff. And another thing that they were messing up was the Lord’s Supper. Here’s what Paul wrote to them about it:
In the things I tell you now I do not praise you, because when you come together you do more harm than good. First, I hear that when you meet together as a church you are divided, and I believe some of this. (It is necessary to have differences among you so that it may be clear which of you really have God’s approval.) When you come together, you are not really eating the Lord’s Supper. This is because when you eat, each person eats without waiting for the others. Some people do not get enough to eat, while others have too much to drink. You can eat and drink in your own homes! You seem to think God’s church is not important, and you embarrass those who are poor. What should I tell you? Should I praise you? I do not praise you for doing this. The teaching I gave you is the same teaching I received from the Lord: On the night when the Lord Jesus was handed over to be killed, he took bread and gave thanks for it. Then he broke the bread and said, “This is my body; it is for you. Do this to remember me.” In the same way, after they ate, Jesus took the cup. He said, “This cup is the new agreement that is sealed with the blood of my death. When you drink this, do it to remember me.” Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are telling others about the Lord’s death until he comes. So a person who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is not worthy of it will be guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. Look into your own hearts before you eat the bread and drink the cup, because all who eat the bread and drink the cup without recognizing the body eat and drink judgment against themselves. 1 Corinthians 11:17-29 NCV
What if we got a letter saying that when we get together we do more harm than good? Does that sound like a compliment?
Clearly Paul believed the Corinthians weren’t doing this right. (Let’s be grateful, because if they had done it right we wouldn’t have this account of the original event.) What were they doing wrong? They were divided. Paul wrote:
First, I hear that when you meet together as a church you are divided,
And, that division played out as:
….each person eats without waiting for the others. Some people do not get enough to eat, while others have too much to drink.
NOT a happy meal! Especially for the ones who were poor. And hungry. To address the division, Paul wrote more broadly about the Lord’s Supper, and I think we can pick up three points he makes in what we just read. The Lord’s Supper is an act of worship in which Jesus’ people come together to: 1) remember what he did; what it cost him, what it did for us; 2) to celebrate the community that is his church, the people you see around you; and 3) renew our hope in his promised return.
This can be a happy meal, if we keep our focus on this: 1) remember, 2) community and 3) hope.
Let’s start with the Lord’s Supper’s focus on the past: “do this to remember me,” remembering something that has already happened.
We eat and drink to celebrate what Jesus did for us! While you were still in your sin and didn’t care anything about Him, He died for you, saved you and lined up your life with his, giving your life meaning and purpose. Jesus did what He did and suffered what He suffered…… because? Because He loves us:
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NLT
And, it’s completed. Done. Past. Jesus’ words from the cross It is finished! The appropriate response is thankfulness and joy! Remember!
This is the focus of the Lord’s Supper that gets the most emphasis – the past. And it is vitally important. And Paul talks about it – the past – at great length other places. What Jesus has done for us. What it cost him. What would have become of us if he hadn’t. It’s all over Paul, BUT, that’s not his emphasis here.
Paul wasn’t happy. We have to understand how they celebrated the Lord’s Supper in the early church. They would come together for prayer and preaching giving and teaching – and a meal. It seems like, at Corinth, the meal was a class thing. Social events in that culture were regulated by class distinctions. The higher your status, the more comfortable the seats and the better the food. Apparently, the wealthier members of the congregation imported their social customs into the life of the church, probably believing it was just natural to treat their lower class neighbors like that. Because, “Hey! It’s all about me.” We see that in Jesus’ parable:
When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. Luke 14:7-9 TNIV
That is what Paul wrote about. Not a happy meal!
Paul wanted those who had to share with those who didn’t have. There was no unemployment office in those days. There was no such thing as food stamps. Or welfare. If they didn’t work, they didn’t eat. Being part of a community of faith meant that those who had resources were supposed to share with those who were struggling. No sense of community or sharing.
What does “fellowship” mean? How about cookies, coffee and conversation? Maybe throw in a potluck. Right? Wrong! The word “fellowship” is overused in Christian circles and is archaic outside church circles. And that word translated “fellowship” is one of the Greek words you’ve probably heard: Koinonia.
Cookies, coffee and conversation - not what koinonia meant to them. Κοινωνία is translated “fellowship,” but also “communion,” “communication,” “distribution,” and “contribution.” It meant community. Community meant sharing. Resources, joy, sorrow, life.
Paul accused: I do not praise you for doing this…….. So, shift our Focus to the PRESENT. You seem to think God’s church is not important, and you embarrass those who are poor.
That’s not a problem for us at Valley Grace. We don’t get drunk and send the poor away empty. Like so much in the letters to the Corinthians, the specifics aren’t really applicable to us. Meat offered to idols, head coverings, women leading in church. But the principles…. Those are as fresh as this very moment. The point here, and in most of First Corinthians, is the community of believers. This is about community.
Koinonia still means the same thing. Koinonia is more than just shaking hands and being nice to each other. It means that we are involved in each other’s lives. When one hurts, we’re all supposed to hurt. When one rejoices, we’re all supposed to rejoice. Koinonia means that we:
Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15 NLT
Koinonia means:
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 NLT
Koinonia means that we:
Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
Romans 12:10 NLT
……..serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13 NLT
Share each other’s burdens….. Galatians 6:2 NLT
…………. be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 NLT
…………………. submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21 NLT
All these “each other’s” and “one another’s” are the cure for the sin of living at the centre of our own little universes. It means that we receive each other as gifts from a gracious God who wants what is best for us – as a people - and works to bring it about. Koinonia gets me out of the “it’s all about me” trap.
Obviously the “one another” stuff wasn’t going on in Corinth. They weren’t sharing in each other’s lives. Why? We already said they were divided. The word “divided” the Greek is the word we get “schism” and “schizophrenic.” It literally means “to split” or to “rip apart.” Paul had been getting reports that the people in Corinth were ripping each other apart. It was a church split where nobody was leaving.
The entire bible tells us about God’s love for his chosen people. Beginning with Israel – a community. The Greek Ekklesia, means individual churches – Laodicea, Corinth, Rome, Ephesus, Thyatira. The New Testament emphasizes Jesus’ love for his church. One can only wonder about people who claim to love Jesus but say they don’t need church – the church Jesus died for.
The Church Jesus loves isn’t some indefinable entity that cannot be seen or touched. Not a television audience, not a lone person living an independent non-accountable life. The church is local congregations – the gathered communities of faith. The Story of the Bible teaches that God calls his people into communities. Individualism is the enemy of koinonia. No Lone Ranger Christians.
So, it’s a problem when I assume the Lord’s Table is to meet my private needs. Maybe not to overeat, or get drunk, but how about my own spiritual high? If I forget I hurt you, if I forget you just lost your spouse, your job, your dream, and I focus on me – not a happy meal.
Unfortunately, the Lord’s Supper has become—in many churches—an act of private worship that ignores our commitment to each other. Ignores Jesus’ love for us as his church. Ignores our responsibility to “each other.” Ignores the gift of “each other.”
If we miss the “community” part, we have missed the point. It’s NOT all about me.
Paul wrote:
Look into your own hearts before you eat the bread and drink the cup, because all who eat the bread and drink the cup without recognizing the body eat and drink judgment against themselves. 1 CORINTHIANS 1:9 NCV.
What does recognizing the body mean? Is Paul saying we should recognize the physical presence of Jesus in the bread and wine? If so, that would be the only place where we see such teaching in the Bible. Paul’s emphasis sure seems to NOT be Jesus’ presence at the Lord’s Supper. The emphasis is on his absence!!! Remember me. …….until he comes. Not present.
Or, if you aren’t paying careful attention you could think Paul was telling them to realize the spiritual presence of the Jesus. But he’s talking about recognizing a body! What body?
The simplest sense is that the gathered community is recognized as the Body -of Christ – and in light of everything we read, Paul was instructing self-centered Corinthian Christians – and 21st century believers – to recognize the privilege of being part of their Christian communities. And, so, to treat each other with love and respect. The Body of Christ.
If I lose the wonder of being permitted to be a part of the community of believers – this community of believers – of having been placed here by God, of having you to love and to love me back, I am in danger of failing to recognize the body. If ever move mindlessly through the comfortable and familiar sounds and actions surrounding the Lord’s Table, or any part of worship, without thinking of the needs of those around me – you – I am in danger of not recognizing the Body. Body of Christ
Verse 27 also says:
So a person who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is not worthy of it will be guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. (1 Cor. 11:27. NCV)
I have heard this used as a reason not to come to take communion. Paul did NOT intend to limit access to the Lord’s Table to people that were perfect. I believe that he would be the first to tell us that he wasn’t perfect. “Not worthy” doesn’t refer to the people – of course we aren’t worthy – Paul is writing about the activity. We are coming at this with wrong priorities and motives. Ways of participating in the Lord’s Supper are unworthy.
The wrong motive is “it’s all about me.” The right priority, worthy of being part of the celebration, is thankfulness for what Jesus has done (past) for us, and for the people he has given us to share life with (present).
We’re going to be living with each other for a long, long time – through all of time. We better start loving and valuing and respecting each other now.
To live above with those we love, that will be a glory,
But, to live below, with those we know,
that’s an different story .
Does this hit home? Let’s not take that too literally. We learned from Resurrection, that we’ll live here forever, but the relationship part is right on. And, it does point to the focus on the future. Because, finally, the Lord’s Supper focuses forward. Future: Until he comes!
What is not mentioned in these verses, but what is Paul would never let anyone forget, is that the Cross wasn’t the end! Jesus rose from the dead. And, because Jesus is alive, he’s coming back!
Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are telling others about the Lord’s death until he comes.
So, as we share the Lord’s Supper we focus forward, until he comes. He promised – to come back. To make everything right. To make everything new So, we Christians have hope in the middle of this hopeless world. Jesus has conquered death. And he’s coming back!
We do not live solely for this life, but we anticipate Jesus’ return to bring a new heaven a new earth and a new us.
But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 NLT
The Tomb is empty. He is risen!
So, Jesus has died – and rose from death - to give our lives meaning and to bring us into his forever family. That starts now with the community of believers around us this very minute. And he’s coming back to make it all new and perfect.
Yesterday was Halloween. A night dedicated to the collection of junk food. Who has had candy already this morning? Nutritious breakfast. I do like Halloween, though. Lots of legends, stories, movies. I don’t like the hideous stuff, Disney is more my style, but this year I got brave and we watched the History channel’s History of Halloween. Lots of interesting people. Druids, Roman revelers, contemporary pagan worshippers. What would you think about a religious group that practiced cannibalism? And that met regularly for orgies?
Within the first two centuries of the church, the Romans were accusing Christians of being cannibals. Christians were also being persecuted for having orgies. Do you know why? Because they talked about eating flesh and drinking blood during their Lord’s Suppers. Because they called the Lord’s Supper a “love feast.” Did the non-Christians miss the point? Well, yes. But, what IS the point?
Lots of us have been in church for a long time. And it’s possible that we still don’t know what the Lord’s Supper (we call it communion) really means. We just know that we do it. OR, maybe you’re new to church, and this seems strange. We talk about body and blood but it sure looks like stale crackers and grape juice. And then we don’t even get enough juice to wash the stale crackers down. What’s this about??!
This uncertainty isn’t a new problem. Cannibals and orgies???? This is a problem that’s as old as the church. I don’t think we’ll have anybody accusing us of being cannibals or having orgies this morning, but there is a possibility that you might not know what we’re doing here, or why – even if you’ve been doing it for years.
What if we surveyed the Christian community? What if we asked: Should we do this once a week? Once a month? Or, four times a year? Or, Do we do it sitting down? Or coming to the front? And, what is that stuff? Is it literally Jesus body and blood? Or symbols? And, what does it do? Christians concur this is a holy moment, but there’s not a lot of agreement beyond that. We have called it by different names, done it different ways, disagreed about how often it should be done, fought over what is really is, and even killed over what it means. Ask ten different Christians about any of this, and you’ll get ten different answers.
We’re not going to answer all those questions today, but we are going to look at some of what the Bible has to say about the Last Supper. We’ll be looking at a part of a letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. Same letter. First Corinthians! Feels like we know that church pretty well by now. They were messing up a lot of stuff. And another thing that they were messing up was the Lord’s Supper. Here’s what Paul wrote to them about it:
In the things I tell you now I do not praise you, because when you come together you do more harm than good. First, I hear that when you meet together as a church you are divided, and I believe some of this. (It is necessary to have differences among you so that it may be clear which of you really have God’s approval.) When you come together, you are not really eating the Lord’s Supper. This is because when you eat, each person eats without waiting for the others. Some people do not get enough to eat, while others have too much to drink. You can eat and drink in your own homes! You seem to think God’s church is not important, and you embarrass those who are poor. What should I tell you? Should I praise you? I do not praise you for doing this. The teaching I gave you is the same teaching I received from the Lord: On the night when the Lord Jesus was handed over to be killed, he took bread and gave thanks for it. Then he broke the bread and said, “This is my body; it is for you. Do this to remember me.” In the same way, after they ate, Jesus took the cup. He said, “This cup is the new agreement that is sealed with the blood of my death. When you drink this, do it to remember me.” Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are telling others about the Lord’s death until he comes. So a person who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is not worthy of it will be guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. Look into your own hearts before you eat the bread and drink the cup, because all who eat the bread and drink the cup without recognizing the body eat and drink judgment against themselves. 1 Corinthians 11:17-29 NCV
What if we got a letter saying that when we get together we do more harm than good? Does that sound like a compliment?
Clearly Paul believed the Corinthians weren’t doing this right. (Let’s be grateful, because if they had done it right we wouldn’t have this account of the original event.) What were they doing wrong? They were divided. Paul wrote:
First, I hear that when you meet together as a church you are divided,
And, that division played out as:
….each person eats without waiting for the others. Some people do not get enough to eat, while others have too much to drink.
NOT a happy meal! Especially for the ones who were poor. And hungry. To address the division, Paul wrote more broadly about the Lord’s Supper, and I think we can pick up three points he makes in what we just read. The Lord’s Supper is an act of worship in which Jesus’ people come together to: 1) remember what he did; what it cost him, what it did for us; 2) to celebrate the community that is his church, the people you see around you; and 3) renew our hope in his promised return.
This can be a happy meal, if we keep our focus on this: 1) remember, 2) community and 3) hope.
Let’s start with the Lord’s Supper’s focus on the past: “do this to remember me,” remembering something that has already happened.
We eat and drink to celebrate what Jesus did for us! While you were still in your sin and didn’t care anything about Him, He died for you, saved you and lined up your life with his, giving your life meaning and purpose. Jesus did what He did and suffered what He suffered…… because? Because He loves us:
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NLT
And, it’s completed. Done. Past. Jesus’ words from the cross It is finished! The appropriate response is thankfulness and joy! Remember!
This is the focus of the Lord’s Supper that gets the most emphasis – the past. And it is vitally important. And Paul talks about it – the past – at great length other places. What Jesus has done for us. What it cost him. What would have become of us if he hadn’t. It’s all over Paul, BUT, that’s not his emphasis here.
Paul wasn’t happy. We have to understand how they celebrated the Lord’s Supper in the early church. They would come together for prayer and preaching giving and teaching – and a meal. It seems like, at Corinth, the meal was a class thing. Social events in that culture were regulated by class distinctions. The higher your status, the more comfortable the seats and the better the food. Apparently, the wealthier members of the congregation imported their social customs into the life of the church, probably believing it was just natural to treat their lower class neighbors like that. Because, “Hey! It’s all about me.” We see that in Jesus’ parable:
When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. Luke 14:7-9 TNIV
That is what Paul wrote about. Not a happy meal!
Paul wanted those who had to share with those who didn’t have. There was no unemployment office in those days. There was no such thing as food stamps. Or welfare. If they didn’t work, they didn’t eat. Being part of a community of faith meant that those who had resources were supposed to share with those who were struggling. No sense of community or sharing.
What does “fellowship” mean? How about cookies, coffee and conversation? Maybe throw in a potluck. Right? Wrong! The word “fellowship” is overused in Christian circles and is archaic outside church circles. And that word translated “fellowship” is one of the Greek words you’ve probably heard: Koinonia.
Cookies, coffee and conversation - not what koinonia meant to them. Κοινωνία is translated “fellowship,” but also “communion,” “communication,” “distribution,” and “contribution.” It meant community. Community meant sharing. Resources, joy, sorrow, life.
Paul accused: I do not praise you for doing this…….. So, shift our Focus to the PRESENT. You seem to think God’s church is not important, and you embarrass those who are poor.
That’s not a problem for us at Valley Grace. We don’t get drunk and send the poor away empty. Like so much in the letters to the Corinthians, the specifics aren’t really applicable to us. Meat offered to idols, head coverings, women leading in church. But the principles…. Those are as fresh as this very moment. The point here, and in most of First Corinthians, is the community of believers. This is about community.
Koinonia still means the same thing. Koinonia is more than just shaking hands and being nice to each other. It means that we are involved in each other’s lives. When one hurts, we’re all supposed to hurt. When one rejoices, we’re all supposed to rejoice. Koinonia means that we:
Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15 NLT
Koinonia means:
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 NLT
Koinonia means that we:
Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
Romans 12:10 NLT
……..serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13 NLT
Share each other’s burdens….. Galatians 6:2 NLT
…………. be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 NLT
…………………. submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21 NLT
All these “each other’s” and “one another’s” are the cure for the sin of living at the centre of our own little universes. It means that we receive each other as gifts from a gracious God who wants what is best for us – as a people - and works to bring it about. Koinonia gets me out of the “it’s all about me” trap.
Obviously the “one another” stuff wasn’t going on in Corinth. They weren’t sharing in each other’s lives. Why? We already said they were divided. The word “divided” the Greek is the word we get “schism” and “schizophrenic.” It literally means “to split” or to “rip apart.” Paul had been getting reports that the people in Corinth were ripping each other apart. It was a church split where nobody was leaving.
The entire bible tells us about God’s love for his chosen people. Beginning with Israel – a community. The Greek Ekklesia, means individual churches – Laodicea, Corinth, Rome, Ephesus, Thyatira. The New Testament emphasizes Jesus’ love for his church. One can only wonder about people who claim to love Jesus but say they don’t need church – the church Jesus died for.
The Church Jesus loves isn’t some indefinable entity that cannot be seen or touched. Not a television audience, not a lone person living an independent non-accountable life. The church is local congregations – the gathered communities of faith. The Story of the Bible teaches that God calls his people into communities. Individualism is the enemy of koinonia. No Lone Ranger Christians.
So, it’s a problem when I assume the Lord’s Table is to meet my private needs. Maybe not to overeat, or get drunk, but how about my own spiritual high? If I forget I hurt you, if I forget you just lost your spouse, your job, your dream, and I focus on me – not a happy meal.
Unfortunately, the Lord’s Supper has become—in many churches—an act of private worship that ignores our commitment to each other. Ignores Jesus’ love for us as his church. Ignores our responsibility to “each other.” Ignores the gift of “each other.”
If we miss the “community” part, we have missed the point. It’s NOT all about me.
Paul wrote:
Look into your own hearts before you eat the bread and drink the cup, because all who eat the bread and drink the cup without recognizing the body eat and drink judgment against themselves. 1 CORINTHIANS 1:9 NCV.
What does recognizing the body mean? Is Paul saying we should recognize the physical presence of Jesus in the bread and wine? If so, that would be the only place where we see such teaching in the Bible. Paul’s emphasis sure seems to NOT be Jesus’ presence at the Lord’s Supper. The emphasis is on his absence!!! Remember me. …….until he comes. Not present.
Or, if you aren’t paying careful attention you could think Paul was telling them to realize the spiritual presence of the Jesus. But he’s talking about recognizing a body! What body?
The simplest sense is that the gathered community is recognized as the Body -of Christ – and in light of everything we read, Paul was instructing self-centered Corinthian Christians – and 21st century believers – to recognize the privilege of being part of their Christian communities. And, so, to treat each other with love and respect. The Body of Christ.
If I lose the wonder of being permitted to be a part of the community of believers – this community of believers – of having been placed here by God, of having you to love and to love me back, I am in danger of failing to recognize the body. If ever move mindlessly through the comfortable and familiar sounds and actions surrounding the Lord’s Table, or any part of worship, without thinking of the needs of those around me – you – I am in danger of not recognizing the Body. Body of Christ
Verse 27 also says:
So a person who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is not worthy of it will be guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. (1 Cor. 11:27. NCV)
I have heard this used as a reason not to come to take communion. Paul did NOT intend to limit access to the Lord’s Table to people that were perfect. I believe that he would be the first to tell us that he wasn’t perfect. “Not worthy” doesn’t refer to the people – of course we aren’t worthy – Paul is writing about the activity. We are coming at this with wrong priorities and motives. Ways of participating in the Lord’s Supper are unworthy.
The wrong motive is “it’s all about me.” The right priority, worthy of being part of the celebration, is thankfulness for what Jesus has done (past) for us, and for the people he has given us to share life with (present).
We’re going to be living with each other for a long, long time – through all of time. We better start loving and valuing and respecting each other now.
To live above with those we love, that will be a glory,
But, to live below, with those we know,
that’s an different story .
Does this hit home? Let’s not take that too literally. We learned from Resurrection, that we’ll live here forever, but the relationship part is right on. And, it does point to the focus on the future. Because, finally, the Lord’s Supper focuses forward. Future: Until he comes!
What is not mentioned in these verses, but what is Paul would never let anyone forget, is that the Cross wasn’t the end! Jesus rose from the dead. And, because Jesus is alive, he’s coming back!
Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are telling others about the Lord’s death until he comes.
So, as we share the Lord’s Supper we focus forward, until he comes. He promised – to come back. To make everything right. To make everything new So, we Christians have hope in the middle of this hopeless world. Jesus has conquered death. And he’s coming back!
We do not live solely for this life, but we anticipate Jesus’ return to bring a new heaven a new earth and a new us.
But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 NLT
The Tomb is empty. He is risen!
So, Jesus has died – and rose from death - to give our lives meaning and to bring us into his forever family. That starts now with the community of believers around us this very minute. And he’s coming back to make it all new and perfect.