The Bridge
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
To this day there are those who think that
matters of divine ritual are of trivial importance. It is sad
enough to see this at a wedding; how much more so at the Lord’s
Supper.
(1 Cor 11:17-34 NIV) In the following
directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more
harm than good. {18} In the first place, I hear that when you
come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to
some extent I believe it. {19} No doubt there have to be
differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.
{20} When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you
eat, {21} for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting
for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. {22}
Don't you have homes 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 praise you for this? Certainly not! {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} 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. {28} A man ought to examine himself
before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. {29} For
anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the
Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. {30} That is why many
among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen
asleep. {31} But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under
judgment. {32} When we are judged by the Lord, we are being
disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
{33} So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait
for each other. {34} If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home,
so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
And when I come I will give further directions.
The Original Problem
We are some distance from the original
customs of the church. Therefore, we must review what was going
on in their culture so that we may translate the message into
our own.
This is a corruption of a good thing
You will remember that the early church, in
its days in Jerusalem, took its meals in common. Indeed, they
shared all things in common. This – especially as it relates to
the Lord’s Supper – has some enormous advantages. In so doing,
the rich could feed the poor without embarrassment. It was, if
you will, the early version of the church pot luck supper.
Some might think this a strange way to take
Communion. But consider: the Passover was a full meal – not just
a ceremonial one. You ate a complete lamb, with bread, herbs,
and other prescribed items. We have since made it into a
completely ceremonial meal – largely to correct the abuses seen
here, as well as to make it easier to complete in a time when a
one hour church service seems a long thing. But (just to use a
local example) we still have communion at our “prayer and share”
suppers. It is not required; but it is not forbidden either.
Differences
Paul is careful not to condemn differences in
the members of the church:
·
There will always be the
difference between the mature and the immature in the
faith, for example.
·
Indeed, he will shortly
begin to talk about the difference in spiritual gifts.
His point is, however, that some differences
– rich and poor, for example – should be of no consequence, lest
factions develop. This is particularly true at the Lord’s
Supper, which is a source of unity in the church.
“To some extent I believe it.”
Paul wants to correct a most serious
difficulty. He also wants to make it clear that not everyone is
part of the problem – but that everyone must be part of the
solution. Some of these Corinthians were trying to do it right.
Others were sinners as they participated:
·
Some were sinners in the
sense of greed and drunkenness.
·
Others made things worse: by
their actions, they humiliated the poor.
·
Worst of all, some disgraced
the very body and blood of Christ.
It is this last which brings Paul’s most
serious rebuke.
An Utterly Serious Rebuke
The serious nature of the offense can be seen
in the rebuke. Paul does not give this rebuke on his authority
as an Apostle – as great as that is. Indeed, he takes the matter
back to first principles; the rebuke is made by referring to the
specific instruction of Christ himself. The teaching given
concerns the ritual which is at the center of the faith. If we
are to understand the gravity of the offense, we must understand
the grandeur of the offended.
For that purpose, I offer to you a picture,
an analogy. It is often said that Jesus is the bridge between
God and man. Picture, then, a bridge – a suspension bridge over
a “great gulf fixed.” It has two towers, and a span between.
The near tower: “my body”
“This is for you” – it represents the body of
Christ. The body, his human nature, is sacrificed for us. The
church has always insisted on the full humanity of Christ, for
without a physical, bodily sacrifice the atonement is of no
effect. In Communion, we can see the body (represented by the
bread) in two ways:
·
We still use the phrase
“break bread together” to mean a common meal. What more
plain, more common symbol could be used for the unity of
the church?
·
Moreover, his body is that
which we have in common; he is like us. That’s why it’s
the “near tower” – we can understand that.
The far tower: “my blood”
Christ tells us that this is the “new
covenant” which is “in his blood.” What does that mean?
·
A covenant is an agreement
offered by God – and unchangeable by man. It is the
relationship between man and God – starting with God’s
side of the bridge.
·
The Old Testament tells us
that “the life is in the blood” – which was why the
Israelites were required to drain the blood from their
sacrifices before presenting them. But who gives life?
So here we have the picture of God’s side of
the bridge – the side with an unchangeable, eternal covenant –
the one which gives eternal life.
The path between: Jesus
“I am the way, the truth, the life – no one
comes to the Father except by me.” If you wish to pass over the
gulf from this side to God’s side, you must cross the bridge; no
other way exists. That way is Jesus Christ.
It is not just a matter of being exclusive.
It is a matter of holiness. Only the holy can approach the holy
God; he will tolerate none other. But how can we be completely
holy? Only in Christ.
Therefore…
Now you see it: in Communion, you proclaim
the path between man and God – you proclaim the atonement of
Christ. Without his atonement, there is no path.
Note also that you proclaim it “until he
comes.” Communion looks back to the atonement; it looks forward
to his return, too.
The Approach Reveals the Man
We so often think that we need not prepare in
the small things because “I’ll rise to the occasion when the
occasion arises.” I used to caution my Little Leaguers against
such thinking: “you play like you practice.” So let’s see how we
practice.
If unworthy –
If you are one who takes the Lord’s Supper
lightly, in an unworthy manner, you are indeed a sinner:
·
You sin against the body of
Christ. That means you offend against the unity of the
church, for the church is the body of Christ. That’s
what happened here as the rich humiliated the poor. But
at the same time you dishonor the suffering in the body
which your Lord endured – you treat it as if it were
nothing.
·
You sin against the blood of
Christ. You sin against the very life of the church, for
the life is in the blood. You sin against the atonement
of Christ, for the new covenant is in his blood. This is
indeed very grave.
But – you might ask – how can a man prevent
such a thing from happening? Surely there are some precautions
which might be taken?
Prevention
Indeed there are such precautions. The first
is to examine yourself.
·
Know what sins you have
committed – and ask for forgiveness. Remember, if you
would cross that bridge, only the holy make it to the
other side.
·
Know what sins you must
forgive – so that you may be at peace when you approach
the throne of grace. Only those who forgive are
forgiven.
The matter is one of judgment. One way or
another, we are all going to be judged. But as Christians, we
get to select the method:
·
The easiest method is to
judge ourselves. If we will examine ourselves; discern
our sins, confess them and repent of them, then our Lord
has no need to judge further.
·
If we will not, our Lord
will judge us – in love, disciplining us for our
transgressions. Isn’t this what a loving father does for
his children?
·
But if we will not heed his
discipline, if we reject it, then – as Paul clearly
tells us – we will be condemned with the rest of the
world.
Paul asks the Corinthians here to take such
simple precautions. They were to wait for each other in
Communion; they were to prevent problems of greed and gluttony
by eating at home, first. This does not seem so difficult, does
it?
My doctor is of the same opinion. He tells me
to take my blood pressure at regular intervals and examine
myself. A little correction now is worth much surgery later. If
this is true with the body – how much more so with the Body?
