The Last Supper Examination
1
Corinthians 11:27-29
27 Whoever,
therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner
will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Examine
yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For all who
eat and drink[h] without discerning the body,[i] eat and drink judgment against themselves.
I have seen in church life the words of Paul misused
terribly at the Communion table.
“Examine yourselves,” says Paul.
“All who eat and drink without discerning the body eat and drink
judgment against themselves.” No one
wants to bring judgment down his or her own head, but what does it even mean to
discern the body? If I don’t know what
it means, how can I make sure I do it in such a way that I don’t bring judgment
down on myself?
I have known people in church who
are certain they know exactly what Paul is saying. These sure-minded believers read 1st
Corinthians 11, and they feel they know who can and cannot take the bread and
the cup. Oddly, they always point out
why others should not take Communion.
But they don’t check themselves.
They are quick to disqualify others, but they always participate.
Is the Communion table the place for
judgment and restriction? The meal Jesus
shared with his disciples was the last supper before he was crucified. Why did he die? Because we are all sinners in need of God’s
grace.
I am not suggesting we should be flippant about
the Lord’s Supper. It is very significant
and serious. I am not saying the ceremony
in and of itself is enough. Doing a
religious rite like taking Communion does not save, but rather it points to our
salvation. I am not supposing that we
can eat and drink at this table without regarding our behavior when we are away
from it. Repentance must accompany our
participation in Communion and repentance is only real when it is seen in our
relationships in daily life.
I am simply saying that we need to be careful
when thinking about putting a restrictive fence around the Communion
table. Jesus came inviting the world to
come to him. We are invited to the Lord
while we are still in our sin. The
broken bread, Jesus’ broken body, and the red wine or juice, Jesus’ spilled
blood, both show how sinful we are and how much we need Him.
For a deeper understanding of what Paul was
saying when he wrote that we have to examine ourselves and discern the body, I
think it helps to turn to the Gospel of Luke.
Luke 22:24-34
24 A dispute
also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the
greatest.25 But he said to them, “The kings of the
Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called
benefactors. 26 But not so with you; rather the
greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who
serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at
the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among
you as one who serves.
28 “You are
those who have stood by me in my trials; 29 and I
confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, 30 so
that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on
thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
31 “Simon,
Simon, listen! Satan has demanded[e] to
sift all of you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed
for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned
back, strengthen your brothers.” 33 And he said to
him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!” 34 Jesus[f]said, “I
tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three
times that you know me.”
In the phrase, “Kings of the Gentiles,” Jesus refers to
those who have not turned to him. People
who do not follow Jesus have not acknowledged their need for God and have not
accepted God’s grace. They are not in
the kingdom but in the world, living by the standards of the world. Those standards include the quest for power
and the eagerness to hold power over others.
True relationships of trust and love are impossible when we are driven
by power. In the world, we are out to
advance ourselves at the expense of those around us. It is very Darwinian. Our betterment is directly tied to the
regression of our neighbors.
“Not so with you,” Jesus says. “The greatest among you must become like the
youngest, and the leader like one who serves” (v.26). In the Gentile world, the world that is not
God’s Kingdom, we strive to be served by those we deem beneath us. But, Jesus turns that hierarchical economy
upside down. In His Kingdom, greatness
is seen in us serving each other. The
Lord, the one we worship and follow, Jesus, says, “I am among you as one who
serves.” One way of examining ourselves
as we come to the table is to look at our lives and see those places we are
serving others.
Along with this we note those areas we are not
serving. It becomes a matter of the
heart, which is what Jesus was attempting to change in each person. Our hearts, if we are following Him, are to
be set to serve others in love and humility seeing absolutely no one as being
beneath us.
Next, we hear Jesus say something
unexpected. “You are those who have
stood by me in my trials.” He knows each
of them will flee and hide in cowardice during his greatest trial. He will go to the cross alone. And yet, he declares the faithful witness of
the disciples and confers upon them the authority to judge.
How can this be?
Will we have the same declaration made of our faith and will we receive
the same authority? The disciples did in
fact become martyrs, those who declare “Jesus is Lord,” even when threatened
with death. They did this after the resurrection. We also live with the knowledge that Jesus
who was crucified has defeated death. The
key for us as for the 12 is not in aspiring to sit on thrones and judge
others. The key is faithfulness.
Living in the United States, it is unlikely we
will face imprisonment or death because of our faith in Jesus. But trials come into the lives of believers
because the world is rejecting the Kingdom of God. When we are for Jesus, the world is against
us. How that looks varies and I don’t
know how it will become real in your life.
But a way of examining ourselves when we pick up the broken bread and
sip from the cup that points to Jesus’ blood is for us to look at our lives and
think about when we have and have not been faithful to the ways of God. Have we compromised in speech or
integrity? Have we clearly known what
God wanted and then we did the exact opposite?
Examining our faithfulness is a way of knowing exactly where we stand
when we accept Jesus’ invitation to Communion.
When we know we have failed to be faithful, the appropriate action is
not to run away or skip Communion. No,
we take it, but first, with our hearts broken, we confess, repent, and receive
forgiveness.
One more word from Jesus on the night of his
betrayal as we consider what it means to discern the body. Peter pledges to go to prison and death with
Jesus and Jesus knows Peter will indeed do exactly that, but not this
night. This night, he will deny knowing
Jesus. Later, even after he has shown
himself to be faithful Peter will waffle on the issue of whether non-Jews can
follow Jesus. He will get caught between
Paul and the Jerusalem church. In short,
Peter’s amazing, inspiring witness rises and recedes. On one occasion he is the paragon of
faithfulness. On the next, he says
something so frustratingly stupid it seems he has not heard a thing Jesus has
said.
As we go over all that we know about Peter and
we hear Jesus say to him, “When once you have turned back, strengthen your
brothers,” then we know, we are him.
Each one of us is Peter. Each one
of us comes to Maundy Thursday and the Lord’s Supper table having at times served
Jesus. Maybe we are unaware of God’s
great pleasure in us when we are at our best, but we have those moments where
we shine.
Likewise, we sin as badly as Peter did the night
Jesus was arrested and he claimed he didn’t know him at all. In discerning the body, we give to ourselves
and to our neighbors the same measure of grace Jesus gives to us. We strive for excellence in our discipleship,
but we give grace when we fall far below that mark.
Paul’s guidelines for coming to the Lord’s
Supper table are meant to coat our community with humility not to keep people
away. We are a body of broken people who
are desperately dependent upon Jesus for life and for love. And he gives both in abundance. That is what Paul wants us to know. The judgment on us is that we are innocent
because we are in Christ. The very words
of Jesus when he instituted the bread and cup as a memorial to him help us
understand Paul’s teaching. We come
arm-in-arm, supporting each other and granting grace upon grace throughout
life.
The Communion table reveals that all –
presidents and peasants alike - are in need of Christ and in His Kingdom. And in him all are one and this unity extends
to all areas of life.
After the meal, when the forces of evil gathered
in the garden to arrest Jesus and take him to his death, his followers fled in
fear. We know how the story turned
out. In retelling it, we come together in
humility and love. We are brothers and
sisters, joined in Christ and inspired to share the love he has shared with
us.
AMEN
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