Thoughts for the Day

Now 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, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and to some extent I believe it. Indeed, there have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you are genuine. When you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s supper. For when the time comes to eat, each of you goes ahead with your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk. What! Do you not have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I commend you? In this matter I do not commend you!

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If you are hungry, eat at home, so that when you come together, it will not be for your condemnation.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Paul continues his criticism against the Corinthian Christians pointing out the way those who are wealthy take plenty of food to church, but the poor go hungry. He is perhaps thinking of the Agape, a feast where food was shared. This custom This would have been an important way of bringing the community together, but instead it has been misused to the detriment of the poorer members. The early Church was soon to separate the Lord's Supper from the Agape.

We now begin a passage that is one of the most important sections of the New Testament for it gives us the framework for the Lord's Supper. Remembering that this Epistle was written before the Gospels, it is the earliest written account we have of this Sacrament, whether we call it 'The Eucharist', 'The Mass', 'Holy Communion' or indeed the 'Lord's Supper'. This act of worship will be different for each one of us today. It may have different meanings and different symbols, but it is at the heart of our worship for it reminds us of of why we meet to share a meal together. We don't need to know the ingredients of bread and wine, or even to know how they are made, to understand that they feed and nourish us. When we eat and drink the bread and wine in church with faith, it reminds us of what Jesus has done for us, but even more importantly it reunites us with the living Christ. As the Orthodox Church understands it, it opens a "portal" (as it were) where heaven and earth, past, present and future, come together.

Perhaps it's time to go back to the basics learnt by many of us at our Confirmation (or as adults at our Baptism), and spend time in prayer before the service; let it be the first "meal" of our day (where this is possible); and study the scripture readings before we begin our worship. The Lord's Supper needs to be celebrated fully not pushed out in the cold. After all it was the only thing Jesus asked us to do in remembrance of him!

Lord Jesus Christ,
as we eat a meal to nourish our body,
so may we feed from Your supper
to nourish our soul.
As we carefully prepare our meals,
so may we prepare for the Lord's Supper.
Help us to value the feeding of our soul
as much as the feeding of our body,
making sure we meet You regularly.
Let our worship be one of remembrance
and of encounter,
so that we may be strengthened for the days ahead.
Amen.