1 Corinthians 11:17-34
[Due to a technical glitch, this blog is a day late. Sorry!]
This passage gives us a valuable glimpse into one of the most important rituals of the earliest churches–the celebration of the Lord’s supper. Unfortunately, the Corinthian church is failing to celebrate the supper with integrity. Verse 33 may be the key to the problem: people are eating the meal whenever they show up rather than waiting for the whole congregation to be present. As a result, those who arrive early are stuffing themselves and getting drunk, and those who arrive late are going hungry!
We can perhaps assume that it is the wealthier members who are able to come “on time,” whereas the day laborers and slaves tend to arrive late because of their duties. So not only is the Lord’s supper being abused by those who get there earlier, but it’s also accentuating class differences and continuing oppression by the wealthy.
Paul is shocked. This is not at all how table fellowship was practiced in the ministry of Jesus. Jesus emphasized bringing diverse people and classes to the same table to eat together in gratefulness and mutual acceptance. His table fellowship displayed the coming kingdom, the breaking down of barriers and the creation of peace. The Corinthians’ table fellowship, on the other hand, is making a mockery of the meaning of this sacred meal.
Today, in most churches, the Lord’s supper is a strictly symbolic meal. Participants receive a bit of bread or a wafer, and a sip of wine or grape juice. Many churches practice this ritual only a few times a year–or perhaps only once a year. But in the early church, this meal was practiced at least weekly–every time the congregation gathered. And it was not just a symbolic meal; it was a real meal. It may have been simple–perhaps just bread and wine–but it was regarded as a meal nonetheless.
Perhaps this passage may challenge us to reform how we practice this meal in our own churches. Those churches that practice the Lord’s supper infrequently probably do so for two reasons: 1) they don’t want the meal to become a habit made meaningless through frequency, and 2) they want to make sure everyone is reconciled with each other before they celebrate the meal so they are not eating and drinking judgment against themselves (verse 29). But when Paul warns against eating the meal in an unworthy way, and to examine ourselves, he is not referring to everyone being reconciled to each other or having a blameless conscience; he is referring to the congregation practicing mutual respect and equality through their meal together. And the problem of rituals becoming empty habits is solved if the ritual is more than just a ritual–if it becomes an enactment of God’s good news of bringing diverse people together at a table of acceptance. This should be done every time we meet! Let the church actually embody its good news when it comes together, and let the Lord’s supper be a part of that embodiment.
Let’s also avoid celebrating the Lord’s supper in an individualistic fashion–coming forward individually to have our own individual experience of communion with God. That is not the meaning of Jesus’ meal. It is meant to be an experience of a transformed community, loving each other. So the Lord’s supper should be practiced corporately, experiencing each other together, and experiencing each other’s acceptance. Perhaps we should gather around tables when we celebrate this meal, and give a sign of peace and love to each other before we eat.
And could we do away with the tasteless wafers or the ity-bity bits of bread? Could we instead eat slices of tasty homemade bread with melted butter? Could we drink a glass of wine? That would be more like a meal–meaningful yet still simple.
Once again we see in this passage that the “earthly” Jesus was indeed important to Paul. The traditions of what Jesus said and did during his ministry are core to Paul’s own understanding of what it means to follow Jesus and be a faithful community. Paul is not just interested in the risen, timeless Christ.
The final meal Jesus had with his disciples was remembered as special–even by the standard of all of Jesus’ special meals! This is a meal to remember him specifically. This is a meal to remember his love and commitment that goes all the way to death. This is a meal to remember that God’s promised kingdom is indeed coming. So this is a meal for looking back and looking forward, remembering who we are and what our mission is. It is a meal to encourage and inspire and give us hope.
