![]() Matthew records that Jesus specifically drew attention to the Supper’s connection to our sin. “This is my body, which is for you.” Every “you” in that sentence is a sinner, a broken rebel, a child of wrath saved by sovereign grace. ![]() Second, I missed that the meal was a meal for sinners. ![]() “The first note struck when the meal was given was gratitude to God.” The first note struck when the meal was given was gratitude to God. This is why some Christian traditions refer to the Lord’s Table as the Eucharist (from the Greek word for thanksgiving). “The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it” (1 Corinthians 11:23–24). What specifically did I miss? Missing Ingredientsįirst, I missed that Jesus established the meal with thanksgiving. In my zeal for gravity, I had forgotten gladness. What was noticeably lacking from my experience of Communion was a strong sense of awe, wonder, joy, Godwardness, and gratitude. My whole demeanor communicated this through hunched shoulders and eyes staring at the ground, only looking up to take the plate and pass it on. The result is that the Lord’s Supper became largely about me retreating into my cocoon to “feast” on Jesus with a heavy heart. My goal as the elements were distributed was to make myself feel the weight of my sin and the horror of the cross so that I could receive the elements in a worthy manner (a grave, somber, heavy, introspective one). I always felt rushed because I was rapidly running through my mind looking for leftover, unconfessed sins. My unwritten rules distorted the gravity that should mark the meal. That was the unworthy manner that brought God’s discipline and judgment down on their heads. And in despising them, they were despising the Lord who bought them. In a word, the Corinthians were despising the members of the church of God (verse 22). The meal was marked by the flaunting of wealth, haughtiness, greed, drunkenness, and overall selfishness. Brother Billy had passed out in the third row (verse 21). Some of the deacons were three sheets to the wind in the back of the room. ![]() In fact, humiliating the Smiths was the reason they brought so much (verse 22). The Johnsons brought a spread that would make Solomon jealous, but they refused to share any with the Smiths, who had nothing. Everyone treated it like it was “his own meal” (1 Corinthians 11:21). Far from being the Lord’s Supper, it became John’s supper and Jane’s supper and Mark’s supper and Carol’s supper. Or more specifically, they forgot whose table it was. Those divisions clearly manifested themselves when they came to the Lord’s Table. The Corinthian church was wracked by factions and divisions. At the same time, it’s important to recognize just how flagrant the sins of the Corinthians were. Given these realities, it’s good and right for there to be a kind of gravity and weight to the meal. This type of sin is so serious that God brought illness and even death upon some of the Corinthians for their failure to eat and drink in a worthy way (verse 30). To partake in this way is to be guilty of the body and blood of Jesus and to drink judgment on oneself (verse 29). Paul says clearly that it’s possible to eat the bread and drink the cup “in an unworthy manner” (1 Corinthians 11:27). Now, this somber, grave, introspective attitude had reasons beneath it. Seriously, don’t acknowledge, notice, or make eye contact with your neighbor you don’t want to interrupt what God might be doing next to you.Try to think about the cross (but don’t forget your own wickedness).Think deeply about your own wickedness.Check your heart for sin again, just to be sure.Try not to be distracted by the 6-year-old behind you who wants to know why he can’t have a snack like everyone else (or feel guilty because it’s your 6-year-old doing the distracting).Hunch your shoulders so that you feel the heaviness of this time better.Close your eyes (or look at the floor).I subtly adopted a number of unwritten rules for receiving the Lord’s Supper: Somewhere along the way, I picked up that this was the right and proper way to approach. How do you approach the Lord’s Table? What is your attitude when you partake of it?įor many years, I viewed Communion as mainly a time of deep introspection, somberness, heaviness, and self-examination.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |