Are you a cannibal or are you just snacking? You heard me – are you a cannibal or are you just snacking? Or something else?
Ancient Christians were accused of cannibalism. Why? Because rumor had it that when they got together before sunrise on Sundays they drank blood and ate a body. It didn’t help that in some places they met in the catacombs.
There is a lot of misunderstanding about the Lord’s Supper.
A little girl who was used to going to children’s church, once decided that she was going to stay in big church to see what the grown-ups did after all the kids were gone.
On that particular Sunday they had the Lord’s Supper. Her only comment afterward was “I like the snack better in children’s church. You get more juice.”
We kind of chuckle and think, “Isn’t that cute.”
But I’ll tell you what isn’t cute – an adult who is still operating with an underdeveloped children’s view of the Lord’s Supper. I don’t want to put anyone down – and frankly, I know that this whole thing is a little strange – especially if you’re not used to be around church.
And many of you don’t have a personal church history. So you’re trying to figure out that little piece of bread and a little sip of grape juice or wine.
It is a little out of the ordinary – intentionally so.
This morning we’re going to take a look at a section of scripture which deals with this whole issue of Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper. Sometimes you might hear it referred to by the more technical name, Eucharist.
“For this is what the Lord himself said, and I pass it on to you just as I received it. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and you, sealed by the shedding of my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.’” (NLT)
The Corinthians had certainly heard these words which are recorded in vss. 23-26 before. Paul says, I have pass on to you what I have received.
“Received” and “passed on” are both technical terms for the transmission of something that is a part of a body of tradition. The apostle is saying, “I am reciting the tradition...” Which, of course, he would have given already given to the Corinthian church. But he felt that he should say it again – for apparently the Corinthians were missing the point!
They had become way too casual about the Lord’s Supper. As evidenced in vss. 17-19: “But now when I mention this next issue, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. First of all, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it.”
And division wasn’t the only problem! Verses 20-22 suggests that they were ignoring the poor believers who were a part of the church.
“It’s not the Lord’s Supper you are concerned about when you come together. For I am told that some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk.”
We’ll come back to this in a minute but for now it is helpful to know that in some places when the early church celebrated the Lord’s Supper it was a part of an larger potluck meal – the Agape Feast.
The problem in Corinth was that they had figured out how to stratify the whole thing. If anyone could turn a potluck into a social statement it was the Corinthians.
They had figured out how to serve two types of food. First class food for the wealthy enlightened Christians and budget mac and cheese for those stuck back in the cheap seats – the poor and the struggling. So Paul is taking this opportunity to remind them of their priorities.
This morning I would like to summarize the teaching here in 1 Corinthians 12:17-34 with 5 relatively quick points.
Now, our problems are a little different from those of the Corinthians but I do think that this will be helpful in developing a little more mature understanding of the Lord’s Supper.
First of all, THE LORD’S SUPPER SHOULD BE A SIGN OF OUR UNITY.
This was what was bothering Paul the most.
The ancient world was very class conscious. This is why Jesus and his merry band of followers were seen as so radical.
“In Christ there is no Jew, nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female...” That is, everywhere except in Corinth, where they were marching to the beat of their own drum. The church had become divided by wealth and social standing.
Thus the reminder in vs. 18 – “First of all, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it.” (Then note the synical tone here in vs. 19)“But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that those of you who are right will be recognized!”
Another one of the poke, poke, jab, jab comments. As the communion liturgy says: “Because there is one bread – we who are many are all one body.”
Some aren’t getting Swedish Rye from Old Tyme bakery while others get cheap white balloon bread off the shelf at Food Max.
We are one – equal participants in the body of Christ – all eating off the same plate. And when we share in the Lord’s Supper we are proclaiming our unity in Christ.
Secondly, AS WE SHARE IN THE LORD’S SUPPER WE ARE SHARING THE IN THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST’S PRESENCE.
...not in a crudely literal sense but not just in a casual symbolic sense either.
Christ is really present in the bread and the cup!
Vs. 24 – “This is my body...”
Vs. 27 – “So if anyone eats this bread and drinks this cup unworthily, that person is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.”
Now, some people will emphasize the symbolic nature of the body and blood.
“What Jesus really meant is that this is a symbol of my body and a symbol of my blood.”
And this is true. But in first century Jewish thinking (and Paul the writer of this is very Jewish) the line between symbol and reality is very blurry. We have a mechanical world view, which is a lot more rigid than that of Jesus and the apostles.
When Jesus says, “this is my body... this is my blood...” there is a reality to it.
Then Jesus adds, “do this in remembrance of me.”
In Hebrew thinking to remember is to enter into it.
The late F.F. Bruce, an English Bible scholar, says it well. “In the biblical sense remembrance is more than a mental exercise; it involves a realization of what is remembered. At the Passover feast the participants are one with their ancestors of the Exodus, at the Eucharist Christians experience the real presence of their Lord. As the Passover meal was, in the words of the paschal liturgy, ‘a memorial of the departure from Egypt’, so this breaking of bread was to be a memorial of Jesus after ‘his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem.’”
In other words, to remember is to become a participant in the reality. Thus in vs. 29 (ESV) “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.”
All of the language here suggests that the early Christians understood that they were in some sense really receiving the body and blood of Christ in communion.
This was a troubling idea to Greek and Roman ears – and thus they were accused of cannibalism at times.
Now, over the years some theological traditions have tried to pin down the mystery of this presence. For example, the Roman Catholics have developed a doctrine called “transubstantiation” which applied Aristotlean logic to describe a material transformation. But Aristotlean logic is also foreign to the biblical world view. Even the modern Catholic theologians are abandoning this kind of language.
There have been some other schemes, too. But they always get tangled up somewhere.
The more you try to demystify and define it, the more likely you’re going to muddle things.
Now, I know that this sounds kind of complicated. But I know that based on conversations people – even with our junior high students – that some of you have been exposed to some of these ideas. And that’s not bad.
However, rather than get hung up on the mechanics of how it could possibly be I think it’s best that we just say that as we eat and drink from the Lord’s Table we are sharing in the mystery of Christ’s presence.
And if Christ is truly present then we need to take what’s going on with great seriousness. If nothing is happening at the Lord’s Table then we can be casual about the whole thing – but Paul was trying to make the point that casualness is inappropriate!
Thirdly, I’d like you to note that THE LORD’S SUPPER IS THE SEAL OF THE NEW COVENANT.
Vs. 25 – “In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and you, sealed by the shedding of my blood...”
A covenant is an agreement or contract – a promise. God made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants. But with the coming of Jesus there is a new covenant, and the blood of Jesus is the seal of that agreement.
William Barclay, the great Scottish biblical scholar says, “Under the old covenant a man could do nothing other than fear God for he was ever in default since he could never perfectly keep the law; under the new covenant he comes to God as a child to a father.”
In other words, through the blood of Jesus we are participating in a new family relationship with God. This is why communion, while serious, isn’t pensive or morose. Remembering the death of Christ is not a solon activity for us – because we’re marking something new and wonderful that came out of it – a new relationship with God.
Fourth, THE LORD’S SUPPER IS A SENSORY PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL.
Vs. 26 – “For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.”
The Jewish Passover meal is a retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The Christian communion meal is a retelling of the story of the Exodus from the dominion of sin. Your eating and your drinking at this table is a public testimony of your faith in Christ and what he has done.
Fifth, THERE IS DANGER IN ABUSING THE LORD’S SUPPER.
Vs. 27 – “So if anyone eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily, that person is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking from the cup. For if you eat the bread and drink the cup unworthily, not honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. That is why many of you are weak and some have even died.”
Wow, that’s scarey – the idea that somehow God might be judging those who are in God’s face. And really that’s what this is.
Some people have read this and thought – it’s probably better if I don’t take communion because I’m probably not worthy. They are acutely aware of their sin.
And some people are worried that their children might take it unworthily because their understanding of Christ isn’t very deep. But that’s not really what Paul is saying here.
When Paul calls on the Corinthians to examine themselves – to consider whether they are taking the Lord’s Supper unworthily – he is talking about reverence. You see, without reverence the sacrament becomes the context for division.
Paul isn’t saying that if you are a sinner you should stay away. It’s not the sinners who need to be worried about this. Rather it’s those who pretend that they aren’t sinners – those who are pretending to be worthy – or in the Corinthian context – more worthy than everyone else – because they had these esoteric spiritual experiences.
In other words, a little humility goes a long way when you partake in the Lord’s Supper. And this is what Paul is calling the Corinthians and us to – humble reverence.
There is a great paragraph that we often use in the communion liturgy. It can actually be found on p. 571 in the hymnal (A Covenant Hymnal: a Worshipbook, Chicago: Covenant Publications, 1996)– get it out and follow along as I read it.
“Come to this sacred table, not because you must, but because you may; come to testify not that you are righteous, but that you sincerely love our Lord Jesus Christ, and desire to be his true disciples; come not because you are strong but because you are weak; not because you have any claim on the grace of God, but because in your frailty and sin you stand in constant need of his mercy and help; come, not to express an opinion, but to seek his presence and pray for his Spirit.”
The Lord’s Supper isn’t a snack. Nor is it really a cause for charges of cannibalism. But somewhere in between the two is the mystery of Christ present in the bread and cup that we share together. And if Christ is somehow really present in these elements – then with humility we ought to move cautiously, yet confidently, toward the table of the Lord.
In preparation for the Lord’s Supper, let’s join together in reciting the Apostles’ Creed.
