20-22 And then I find that you bring your divisions to
worship—you come together, and instead of eating the Lord’s Supper, you bring
in a lot of food from the outside and make pigs of yourselves. Some are left
out, and go home hungry. Others have to be carried out, too drunk to walk. I
can’t believe it! Don’t you have your own homes to eat and drink in? Why would
you stoop to desecrating God’s church? Why would you actually shame God’s poor?
I never would have believed you would stoop to this. And I’m not going to stand
by and say nothing.
23-26 Let me go over with you again exactly what goes
on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my
instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master,
Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke
it and said,
This
is my body, broken for you.Do this to remember me.
After
supper, he did the same thing with the cup:
This
cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.Each time you drink this cup, remember me.
What
you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time
you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the
Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master
returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.
Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of
the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him
at his death. Is that the kind of “remembrance” you want to be part of? Examine
your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe.
If you give no thought (or worse, don’t care)
about the broken body of the Master when you eat and drink, you’re running the
risk of serious consequences. That’s why so many of you even now are listless
and sick, and others have gone to an early grave. If we get this straight now,
we won’t have to be straightened out later on. Better to be confronted by the
Master now than to face a fiery confrontation later.
So, my friends, when you come together to the
Lord’s Table, be reverent and courteous with one another. If you’re so hungry
that you can’t wait to be served, go home and get a sandwich. But by no means
risk turning this Meal into an eating and drinking binge or a family squabble.
It is a spiritual meal—a love feast.
The
other things you asked about, I’ll respond to in person when I make my next
visit. -The Message–
If I properly follow Paul’s thought pattern he says we are
given this blessed freedom so we can help others life a more Godly life.
(10:23-32). We do this primarily by giving honor to those in authority over us
(11:1-16).
Paul now takes issues with the church saying criticism and
division within the Body of Christ are not in character for believers. In fact,
such behavior is so odious Paul was inclined not to believe it.
Oh, now I have to honor my peers? Yes. You see…if I had any regard
for my friend in the next pew I’d never conduct myself in a manner that would
give him pause…
The problem is simple. When we dishonor our brethren it
spills into our church practices and rituals. Paul sites an example of the Lord’s
Supper. The believers had such little regard for one another that they turned a
sacred sacrament into an excuse to party. It began to look more like an Irish
wake rather than a sacrament. Not what God intended.
Paul reminds us of the sacred nature of the Eucharist. What you must
solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink
this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master… Anyone
who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of
the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death.
I recently observed the Lord’s Supper in a local church. It
wasn’t a party but it was just as bad. The minister did nothing to remind us of
the sacred nature of the body and blood. He didn’t bless the elements. He didn’t
even explain the meaning of the ritual He simply said “come on up”. I was so offended I didn’t partake. He dishonored the Eucharist.
He dishonored me and he dishonored God.
Is nothing sacred anymore?
Of course, if we can’t honor our peers how can we honor God?
Live
boldly out there today…
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