Last updated on November 22, 2024
Today we have one more reading from 1 Corinthians.
Every Sunday morning at my church we take communion together. And quite often the person leading reads from 1 Corinthians 11. It’s a reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice, of how at that Passover dinner before his death, he helped his friends see that he was true bread that they were breaking and the true wine that was being poured out. He invited them to eat and drink with this in mind. By the time Paul was writing to the Corinthian church some 20 years later, this practice had been cemented into the life of the church, both Jewish and Gentile.
Paul needs to address a problem, though. In that day, the Lord’s Supper was an actual supper. It was a communal meal. Paul believes community is absolutely essential to the life of the church, but he needs them to know that what they are doing is causing more harm than good (1 Corinthians 11:17).
What was the problem that Paul wanted to address?
The church in Corinth was very diverse. It reflected their very diverse city. There were people in the church who were extremely wealthy, and there was also extreme poverty. There were business owners and there were slaves. To Paul the church was the one place in society where people from diverse backgrounds could come together and be one. Their diversity wouldn’t be eliminated. But what brought them together (Christ) was greater than what differentiated them. But at these dinners, the opposite was happening. Those who had food brought it to the meeting and ate, while those who didn’t have food came and ate nothing. This simply reflected the truth that division, rather than unity, was the result of their diversity.
Paul was strong in his condemnation of this behavior. He says, “So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).
Every church I’ve been a part of has observed the ordinance of communion. Some did it quarterly. Others did it every Sunday. For most of my life I heard this passage and related to it as an individual. Did I have some unconfessed sin that would result in me taking communion in “an unworthy manner?” It’s not that I don’t think this is true, but I don’t believe this is what Paul was talking about. He was addressing them as a community, and the “unworthy manner” came when they failed to think about one another. It came when they failed to honor one another above themselves. And it came when some would have their fill while others were hungry.
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