Wait for One Another
Originally scheduled for September 20
Have you ever wondered why we take the Lord’s supper
together, at the same time? Paul here tells the Corinthian church
that’s exactly what they’re supposed to do. If you read the
preceding verses, you will see that he is trying to prevent the
Corinthians from taking the Lord’s supper in “an unworthy manner.”
To see why this is so, you need only consider doing it in an
opposite way.
Imagine, for a moment, that we gave communion by means of a
“drive-through” kiosk. Think of the advantages!
·
You can “do communion” in the privacy of your car. Confession,
repentance would be behind glass. Absolutely perfect for Los
Angeles!
·
Communion would no longer interfere with the service. We could have
longer sermons and more time for announcements.
·
Best of all, it would require almost no one to assist in the
serving of communion. We could have it done by a machine — just push
the button!
You may have noticed that your church does not do it this
way. You don’t have communion kiosks: you don’t send out mail order
kits for communion. You do it together.
You do it together, and you do it at the same time. Why?
·
Taking communion together is an important part of maintaining the
unity of the church. Christ prayed that we might be one.
·
We do it at a scheduled time, regularly, so that we might not go a
long period of time without the opportunity for self-examination and
repentance.
·
We do it together in public, which forces us to mind our manners be
serious about it. Communion is not trivial; therefore it is right to
make it a solemn ceremony.
You might think that taking the communion to a hospital
patient is an exception to that. It is not; it reminds the patient
that he or she is still in unity with the rest of us.
Therefore, may I recommend to you the following:
·
Take communion with a deliberate reverence. It is a serious thing
and should be taken seriously.
·
Take it with proper self-examination. If the Holy Spirit brings
anything to your mind needing repentance, then repent. When you
leave, take action on that repentance, whatever that might be. In
particular, grant forgiveness where it is needed — for your Lord
forgave you.
·
Take communion looking back to the past — to the sacrifice of
Christ. Take it in the present, with repentance. Take it looking
forward to the future — when He comes again.
Wait for one another – we’re all in this together.
