a communion meditation

1 Corinthians 11 is the greatest text on the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul wrote this to the Christians in Corinth, for they were participating in the Lord’s Supper in a way that profaned the cross of Christ. The Lord’s Supper in the days of the early church was much different than it is today. Back then, the Supper took part during an actual meal, and real food was served alongside the bread and wine. In Corinth, the wealthy, prominent, and socially elite Christians were hoarding all the good food for themselves, getting drunk on the wine, and leaving the poorer Corinthian Christians with scraps and leftovers. When Paul heard about this, he became enraged, for such actions go completely against the teaching that in Christ, all people—regardless of ethnicity, political affiliation, gender, or socio-economic status—are equal. Paul writes, 

Therefore, 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. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment upon himself. (1 Corinthians 11.27-29) 

Paul is saying, “When you fail to treat your fellow Christians as equals in Christ, and then partake in the Lord’s Supper, you are profaning and cursing the cross of Christ.” As we prepare to take the Lord’s Supper, we must examine how we are treating those within the church of God. Are we treating everyone as equals, regardless of who they are in the eyes of the world? Are we excluding, rejecting, or ostracizing fellow Christians? Sometimes it is difficult to answer these questions. Even on a Christian campus, where I am currently a student, there are cliques that are exclusive, self-righteous, and egotistical. Can we honestly say that there is no danger of this in our own congregation? I am hopeful that this is not the case, yet at the same time, I am not naïve. So let us examine ourselves, and may we make changes were changes are necessary. For if we disregard this, and fail to treat all Christians as our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, then we are guilty of profaning the cross of Christ.