1 Corinthians 11:27-29 - So if anyone eats this bread and drinks from this
cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, he is guilty of sin against the body and
the blood of the Lord. That is
why a man should examine himself carefully before eating the bread and drinking
from the cup. For if he eats the
bread and drinks from the cup unworthily, not thinking about the body of Christ
and what it means, he is eating and drinking God’s judgment upon himself; for
he is trifling with the death of Christ.
Paul was concerned about the manner in
which the Corinth church took Holy Communion…the last supper that Jesus
instructed us to repeat often in remembrance of His death and sacrifice on the
cross. The Corinth church had let it
become a time of overindulging in food and drink…even a meeting time where many
argued over various theological points of the faith. The communion service was
a small part of the evening…no one really taking the time to consider why Jesus
commanded them to remember the body and blood He sacrificed to allow their
salvation.
Paul wanted them to understand the
difference in a meaningless ritual….and participation in a regular time of
examination and repentance of sin. Jesus
wanted them to remember Him….and use the time to examine their life for things
that might be forming a barrier to their faith. Taking of the cup and bread
should be a time of recommitment to God…asking forgiveness of the sin in our
lives and receiving a fresh dose of His mercy and grace to power a closer
relationship with God the father.
Paul adds one last thought to his
explanation. If we take communion without examining our sin….and asking God for
His forgiveness….we run the chance of bringing God’s judgment on ourselves. I
admit…the process of true examination is sometimes hard. Sin hides in places we
don’t want to look at sometimes….we don’t want to remember that brother or
sister in Christ that we had a falling out with. We don’t want to forgive that
person that hurt us in divorce. We
certainly don’t want to admit that our behavior has been anything less than
acceptable to God. But Paul’s point is clear here…our refusal to admit and ask
God to help us move past the sin will result in judgment on us…not them. If we
really think about it...that should be a daily undertaking…not just at communion
time.
Father…thank you for the sacrament of
communion…and the opportunity to remember the sacrifice of your body and blood
that provided me with my salvation. Thank you for the reminder that you require
me to examine myself continually and seek out the sin that threatens to
separate me from your love. Forgive me
for the times that I have just gone through the motions of communion…and not
taken the time to examine my life for sin that needs to be forgiven and removed
from my life. Help me to make this a
daily art of my time with you…so that I can draw closer to you each and every
day. Amen.
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