“A need for self-appraisal”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Wednesday, October 11, 2023

1 Corinthians 11:23-34 (Forward, p. 74) CEV p. 1198

Here the apostle Paul touches on a touchy and rather delicate subject that undoubtedly been reported to him by his ‘informants’. Indeed, much of this letter to the Corinthians has to do with issues that were reported to him and that he feels that he needs to comment on. As such, we only have one side of the conversation—namely, Paul’s response—and not what was originally reported to him. What exactly that was we can only guess.

Today’s response has to do with some difficulties that the Corinthian church was having with regards to the Lord’s Supper. (Here the conversation actually goes back to verse 17 of the same chapter). He begins today’s passage with a review of Jesus’ actual words of institution on the night that He was betrayed. It is a way of participating in the new covenant that God has made with His people and a way of remembering Jesus’ death until He returns.

However, the behaviour of certain people among that local body is threatening that fellowship and remembrance, and indeed ‘sinning against his body and blood’. They have been partaking of this sacrament in a way that is unworthy of it. And so, Paul counsels them to examine themselves and the way they live prior to partaking. Indeed, he says, if you do not do this and eat and drink unworthily, you condemn yourselves to sickness—or worse.

However, here we run into a problem: we are never told explicitly what ‘eating and drinking unworthily’ actually means. However, from verses 21-22, 33-34, we get one indication. It appears that their celebrations of the Lord’s Supper are more of what we today would call an Agape, that is, an actual sit-down type of meal, a communal meal, and presumably something that either catered or potluck. And, what was happening was that some people would come and ‘pig out’, help themselves long before anyone else—even to the extent that there was little left over for those who came a bit later. And so, this was a real source of embarrassment for these ‘late comers’, especially seeing that they were often the very people who could have used a community meal--not to mention a source of argument and dispute as well. Indeed, it is alleged that some of those earlier ones

actually overindulged and got drunk. And so, my guess is, that in so doing they were dishonouring themselves, and each other—the Body of Christ. And, presumably by dishonouring the Body of Christ, the Church, that Jesus died for, they were also dishonouring His sacrifice, His body and His blood. I cannot categorically prove that this was what Paul was getting at, but this would seem to be the inference by what is said here. Anyway, whatever he was indeed hinting at, his inference was clear: we should examine ourselves and our lives carefully before receiving and try to make sure that there is nothing that is offensive or unworthy of our Lord’s sacrifice, or that is stoking offence and trouble with our fellow Christians. This is something important for all of us to consider.

Forward notes: “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (verse 24).

“We hear these words from 1 Corinthians every time we participate in the Eucharist, the story of Jesus sharing a meal with his friends the night before he dies. Jesus tells his friends that whenever they eat the bread or drink the wine, they should remember him.

“In our modern-day society, people often have memories associated with food and drink and their loved ones. When my family gathers for holidays, it is potluck style, and we mostly know the menu because people bring the same thing they’ve brought for years.

“There have been a few changes over the years, though. Ever since my grandmother died, no one in the family has been able to master the cranberry jelly for Thanksgiving. We still have some form of cranberry on the table, but inevitably someone says something like, ‘Well, it’s not Grandma’s. Maybe we’ll never figure it out.’ And maybe that’s okay. We still remember Grandma each year, even if it’s a recurring ‘food fail.’ Her memory stays alive.”

Moving Forward: “What foods summon special memories for you?”