I'm sure that I've read through this section before, but last night something in the latter half of the chapter caught my attention. Verses 17-34 are instructions for taking communion (aka: The Lord's Supper).
If you've attended a communion service before, you've probably heard this section read:
That's the standard read through before taking communion. But, we don't often look at the surrounding verses, and it is those that caught my attention last night.For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Paul starts this section of his letter with these words, "But in the following instructions I do not commend you...." That's an automatic uh-oh, and Paul goes on to explain that people in this church were abusing and misunderstanding the purpose of communion. Some were using it as their meal for the night, so they'd hog the food and drink until it was gone, leaving believers down the line unable to participate. The instructions here are basic, and easy to understand. It's what comes after verse 26 that may be a little hard to swallow.
Paul gives us a warning that whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord and is unworthy to do so is guilty concerning the body and blood of Jesus. Paul goes on to explain that those of us with sin in our lives, believers or not, bring judgment on ourselves by taking part in communion before repenting of the sin.
There were believers in Corinth living with sin in their lives, and participating in communion without properly examining themselves. They were failing to correcting the sin, or excluding themselves from communion. We're not told why they still participated, but if what we see in today's church is any indication, they might have been afraid of what folks would say. Picture the following:
"Margret, did you see that? Susan didn't participate in communion. You know what that means?"
"You're right, Phyllis. She's got sin. Poor thing. Either that or she's not really a Christian."
Think I'm exaggerating? Think again. We don't like people to know we have issues we're struggling with. So ,rather than face the scrutiny of those we go to church with, we fore go the examination and participate in communion. And, that's where Paul drops the proverbial Heimlich Maneuver.
In verse 30, Paul writes, "That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died." What?!? Seriously?!?
This is the verse that really caught my attention. I had to do a double-take and read it again. People had actually become frail, sickly and died, because they had abused and misused communion.
God doesn't fool around when it comes to the ordinances he placed on the church. I don't imagine He told those who had actually died, "You did a great job hiding your sins from those in your church." No, God takes the remembrance of His Son's sacrifice seriously, and we should also. Failure on our part brings judgment on our heads.
I wonder how many of the sick and frail in our churches today are actually a result of abused communion? Maybe you are one of them. I wonder how many times I've abused communion by not properly examining my life before participating.
Fortunately, Paul's instructions serve to point out our error, and work to correct us. This judgment can be reversed. However, it'll require us to be honest with ourselves about the sin in our lives. If that means we have to skip a communion, so be it. It's better to suffer a little embarrassment before man than to suffer embarrassment before The Almighty.
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