communion
Water cooler conversation:
What was your biggest win this week? What was your biggest challenge?
Would you rather go into the past and meet your ancestors or go into the future and meet your great-great-grandchildren?
Unpack the Message:
The city of Corinth was important during Jesus’ day because of its geography, wealth, and its regional influence. It’s also significant because of its connection with the apostle Paul’s missionary work. He visited Corinth at least three times, founded churches, and wrote at least four letters to Christians in Corinth.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul admonishes a community of believers for bad habits they had fallen into as a church community. They had become cliquish and judgemental of one another and had fallen into a very casual attitude toward communion. In 1 Corinthians 11:26-32, he further cautions them that it is imperative to approach the Lord’s Table with a humble heart, recognizing the magnitude of Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice. Failure to do so means God will humble you, a much more painful process.
The first step to self-reflection and humility is to invite the Holy Spirit to investigate. As sinful people, we need to allow God to reveal those areas of our lives that require repentance. For example, there are sins of omission and commission. We cannot remember every wrong we’ve ever done. That’s why we need to invite the Holy Spirit to reveal those sins to us so that we can approach communion with a pure heart. In Psalm 139:23-24, King David teaches us how through a simple prayer of surrender. In verses 3-4, he says, “You read my heart like an open book.” God knows us far better than we know ourselves.
Once God reveals our sin to us, we must surrender and release what the Holy Spirit reveals to us. Psalm 32, written after David’s sin with Bathsheba, is a “...Psalm of penitence, but it is also the song of a ransomed soul rejoicing in the wonders of the grace of God. Sin is dealt with; sorrow is comforted; ignorance is instructed.” David celebrates the blessing and peace of forgiveness versus the agony of unconfessed, hidden sin.
The world is constantly drawing our attention away from God and His plan for our lives. Every day brings new challenges and distractions. Our sinful nature makes us responsive to temptation and easily sidetracked by the temporal rather than the eternal. But, God is constant. He is never sidetracked or distracted, and His character is consistent. He forgives every sin - all we have to do is ask. When we prepare to take communion, we must humble ourselves, recognize that we are fallen, and need redemption.
Colossians 3:12 challenges us to “Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ.” We are never more like Christ than in the moments we forgive others for the harm they have done us.
Ultimately, communion is a time to remember as we come to the table. Puritan minister and author John Flavel distinguished between two types of remembering. The first type is speculative and passing, and the second is affectionate and permanent. “A speculative remembrance is only to call to mind the history of such a person and his sufferings: that Christ was once put to death in the flesh. An affectionate remembrance is when we so call Christ and his death to our minds as to feel the powerful impressions thereof upon our hearts.”
So as we come before the Lord with humility, cleansed from sin through confession and faith in Jesus Christ, may we also come with reverence for the magnitude of God’s great gift of salvation and the privilege of being invited into His presence.
Practically, how can we keep communion from becoming an empty ritual?
What is the significance of Paul reminding the church of the night before Jesus died
When does looking to ourselves go too far? How much introspection is healthy?
What is the point of Paul's teaching about the Lord's Supper and the Lord's discipline in verse 32?
Who should or should not participate in communion? Why?
Make a Move:
Reflect on the way you approach communion. Examine your heart and your attitude honestly. Identify at least one thing you will do differently the next time you participate.
Prayer Prompt:
Lord, even now I ask you to examine my heart and expose any sin that is hiding in dark corners. I know nothing is hidden from Your eyes. Help me to let go of anything that’s keeping me from perfect fellowship with You. May I never approach communion with anything other than complete surrender, remembering your abundant grace, forgiveness, and sacrifice. Amen