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REFLECTION

Meeting together is the theme for our reflection. Paul addressed the problem of division caused by some affluent members of the Corinthian Church. They abuse the Lord’s Supper by perceiving it to be a physical meal where they eat and drink to the point of getting drunk while others are left out. The Lord’s Supper at the time was eaten as a whole meal sitting at a large table, it was not as scanty as the wafer and the small cup of wine in our time. For this reason, Paul admonished them, “So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home…” (1 Corinthians 11:33-34). Paul also observed that some of the people who partook in the Lord’s supper do so with unrepentance and impunity, not recognising the redemptive significance of the Lord’s Supper. Paul warned them about the ramification of such actions. “But in the following instructions, I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, and another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you on this? No, I will not.” (1 Corinthians 11:17-22)

Dear friend in the Lord, the communal importance of the Lord’s Supper is that it keeps us united as believers because of its nature of togetherness and mutual participation. Again, the Lord’s Supper has the spiritual significance of remembering the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross and an expression of our thanksgiving as a community of faith. Christ Jesus is at the centre of Christian fellowship and the Lord’s Supper. He is the only reason for which the rich and the poor, literate and illiterate, privileged and less privileged, royals and commoners can meet together as one people without any divisive social, economic and political barrier. It is for this reason, we are not to make light of the significance of our Christian fellowship and the Lord’s Supper anytime we meet together. Paul warns, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:27-32) Consuming the bread (wafer) and wine in an unworthy manner means taking the Lord’s Supper as an ordinary meal without reflecting on its significance to our spirituality and salvation in Christ Jesus and its impact on the unity of the body of Christ. Paul warns us of the ramification or consequences thereof! Dear friend, Let us approach the Lord’s Supper with sober, repentant and thanksgiving hearts even as we regard other believers as our brothers and sisters in Christ worthy of our love and fellowship. Shalom.

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, help us to approach the Lord’s Supper with a repentant and thanksgiving heart to acknowledge the redemptive Sacrifice Jesus made on the Cross for our Salvation, and may our meeting together strengthen the bond of our Christian Fellowship. Amen.