Is This What God Had in Mind?
20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 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.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 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. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world. I Corinthians 11:20-32
Think for a minute about how you take communion at church. Likely…you take it weekly, monthly or periodically depending on your religious affiliation. Typically, it is a paper thin bread wafer and perhaps a small cup or wine or grape juice. The point is that it is a token or symbolic representation of a meal. What was it intended to be? In I Corinthians 11:20 the word translated for dinner or supper is the Greek word “deipnon” which refers to an actual, entire and ordinary meal. This meal held a very special place in the early church as it does for us today. The church in Troas took it weekly (Acts 20:7). The church in Jerusalem and Corinth took it regularly. (Acts 2:42, I Corinthians 11:20-21, 33) Jesus powerfully encouraged us to participate in the supper. (Luke 22:19-20)
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. Luke 22:19-20
The reason the Lord’s Supper has such a prominent place in our lives is that it embodies what is so magical and meaningful in our faith. Here’s a brief sketch of its telling features:
The Broken Bread represents the humanity of Jesus. His body was broken for us on the cross.
The Lord’s Supper was taken in the context of a normal meal. When Jesus instituted the Supper it happened in the context of the Passover Feast (Luke 22:15-20) and was more of a gathering and banquet. In this view, it is easy to see that God meant for us to be together in a great banquet without social distinctions or class warfare but unified and one.
A Meal and Great Fellowship
It was a Covenant Meal and solidified their sense of identity and belonging. It concretely attached their lives one to another. It meant “we are family” in the vein of Exodus 24:8-11.
8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.
It was the Wedding Feastto come and points us to Christ’s future glory where Jesus will preside over an incredible wedding feast.
The Lord's Supper is a feast..right?
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:1-14
It Transcends Time. (I Corinthians 11:26)
It Describes the Relationship between Father and Son. God the Father is food to God the Son. (Matthew 4:4, John 4:31ff)
Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
More is coming on communion and how we share in it. In light of today’s article, however, are we participating in this meal as it was designed? Does it have the role in our life and in our church life as God would want it to have? These are just thoughts for your consideration.
A Comment on Christian Life Coaching
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