1 Corinthians 11:23-34 (NIV)
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 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.” 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.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
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. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 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.
So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
And when I come I will give further directions.
Paul received his instructions on the Lord’s Supper, what had been said and done at Jesus’ final Passover meal, its significance and how it was to be memorialized, not from the other apostles but from the Lord Himself. This was what he had passed on to the Corinthians while he had been with them, and what they were now deviating from.
The first thing he notes is that the Lord’s Supper was not simply a ritual, but a commemoration of the final meal Jesus had with his closest followers. Thus, it should be completed with solemnity and close attention to the history it commemorates.
Second, the bread and wine were not to be consumed as mere food to satisfy one’s physical hunger. They represented the body and blood of Jesus Himself.
In view of both these truths, Paul urges the Corinthians to reevaluate what they were doing, and how they were approaching the solemn remembrance ceremony. If anyone disregarded that solemnity, pushing to the front of the line and eating and drinking so much that none was left for those at the end of the line, they were actually eating and drinking judgment on themselves, showing a lack of love for their brothers and sisters in Christ, and ignoring the sanctity of the symbols which they so carelessly consume.
Paul sees this disregard for the body and blood of Jesus as not only robbing the commemoration of its spiritual impact, but he sees it as actually calling down God’s judgment on those who treat the body and blood of Jesus with such carelessness, bringing diseases on them, and robbing them of the power needed to heal them. But his solution is simple: recapture their awareness of what the Lord’s Supper was for, and show genuine love and care for each other, waiting for everyone to be served before eating and drinking to ensure that everyone had received a portion. He even points out that if people are approaching the Lord’s Supper with overwhelming hunger, they should eat at home before they come instead of seeing the commemoration as a free meal.
Father, it really is simple. The Lord’s Supper is supposed to unite us around the central truths of our faith, the willing sacrifice made by Jesus of His own body and blood. And if it does anything other than unite us, the fault lies not in the commemoration, but in us, how we are approaching it, and the attitudes of our hearts. Thank you, Lord, for helping us to see more clearly. Amen.