Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Unworthy manner

1 Corinthians 11:27
Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

It is not always easy to simply lift New Testament practice from the pages of scripture and implement them in our 21st-century churches. The Lord’s Supper is a very good example of this problem.

In the New Testament times, the churches met primarily in the homes of members, “Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.” 1 Corinthians 16:19. And, “Likewise greet the church that is in their house.” Romans 16:5. “Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house.” Colossians 4:15. And at Philemon’s house as noted in verse 2. The numbers were smaller and so they gathered around a table, shared a meal and observed the Lord’s Supper.

Today, with Mega Churches, particularly in North America, and larger churches all over, we have developed a fast-food Styled Lord’s Supper with prefilled plastic communion cups with a wafer on top. Giving each person one and collect the trash. We get the job done but we have taken the love and fellowship out of what Jude called “love feasts.”

A few centuries ago theologians set their minds on the theology and doctrines of the Lord’s Supper and you could earn a PhD at a reputable seminary, college or university writing your thesis on issues of the presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, Lord’s Supper, Communion, Breaking of Bread or any of the other names by which it is called based on your tradition, theology or doctrine.

Theologians and students will debate whether we must use wine or grape juice, whether we must use leavened or unleavened bread, wafers or crackers.  And they will argue about whether the elements are merely memorial or if they actually become the body and blood of Jesus. And so on.

Paul, the apostle, who wrote the first record of the original event, who first called it the Lord’s Supper, and who first tackled issues related to its practice in the early churches particularly at Corinth, seemed unconcerned with the particular debates and arguments that we have now. Rather, he was concerned with personal piety and human relations in the church.

It seems clear from the available evidence that the churches in the New Testament participated in the Lord’s Supper every time they gathered on the first day of the week. The directive from Jesus was not specific to a time but because it was central to the gathering in His name and to the nature of fellowship it was almost natural for it to be observed each week.

There are wide and diverse variations and traditions today, some like Roman Catholics and Anglicans have communion every day, and at every service, even at funerals. Others, mostly of the evangelical and Pentecostal tradition, observe it once a month on the first Sunday. We, in our church and denomination, observe it on the first Sunday and I have no idea why the first Sunday is any different from the third.

It is amazing how we have disconnected the way we worship from who we are. When our friends and relatives have parties or celebrations we often take something over, we bake a cake, or we cook some food, or we carry over drinks or whatever. We man even call ahead so that the host could coordinate what various persons are bringing. But we go to fellowship with each other and take nothing. And if its first Sunday we wait to be served the fast-food Lord’s Supper.

This study got me thinking. When a relative of mine died not too long ago we were having a wake and while I was planning calls were coming in with offers of snacks, food and drinks. One friend from our church brought so many stuffed eggs that we were stuffed.

Also, there is a lady in our church, our oldest member I think, who we call Granny. Every Sunday Granny brings a collection of local snacks that she shares out to children and adults alike. I am beginning to think that there is more fellowship every Sunday around Granny’s snacks than anything else on offer all morning.

For the apostle Paul, an unworthy manner was a failure to recognise that we are making a statement of faith in Jesus as the person in whom we have redemption through His death on the cross, a failure to examine the condition of our hearts, and a failure to share in true fellowship by breaking down the social and economic barriers and showing genuine concern for brothers and sisters in different circumstances.

We may have to rethink how we observe the Lord’s Supper, how we create opportunities for genuine fellowship rather than efficient fast-food type participation. This, of course, would present practical management problems for larger churches, but with some deeper thinking, a solution could be found. For smaller churches like ours, we should build fellowship into the observance so that it becomes organic as we grow.

The less fellowship we have, the less we know about those with whom we worship, the less we are able to bear each other’s burdens; the more we are becoming like the world, the more we are losing the essence of being one body, for which Jesus’s body was broken as we remember at the Lord’s Table.

When this happens, we need to examine ourselves, we are partaking in an unworthy manner.

Think on these things:

1. What questions do you ask yourself when you are about to partake of the Lord’s Supper?
2. When partaking in the Lord’s Supper what would you talk to the person next to you about if the meal was conducted similarly to how we have other meals when we go out?
3. What would you suggest that your church changes about the practice of the Lord’s Supper in order to provide the opportunity for members to have fellowship and engagements with each other?

Prayer focus:

Let us pray today that we would find personal honesty and genuine fellowship with those around us as we partake of the Lord’s Supper next Sunday.

In His Grace
Pastor Alex