Oh, the people of the 1st-century church…how they struggled. Man, they argued about all kinds of things…old ways vs new ways, the traditions of veteran members vs crazy ways of new people, personality conflicts, culture wars. Oh, how primitive they were….it’s good we don’t struggle with differences of belief, or priority, or rules of inclusion. We’ve come so far in 2000 years!!
Oh y’all, there’s good news and there’s bad news…which do you want first? I always lean for bad news…so then the good can lift you up. The bad news is the problems of the first-century church are still the problems of the 21st-century church. We may not argue about circumcision or
gorge ourselves at the communion table, but traditions and values, we still struggle to be together as one church holding together all of our diversity.
The good news is…the hope and promise that was true for those who struggled in Corinth is still offered and available to us who struggle in Moscow, or on the Palouse, or wherever we are. The good news is that our humanness doesn’t serve as a detractor from the abundance of God’s grace.
Now, remember 14 of the “books” of the New Testament, are actually letters…by Paul (or a subsequent apostle) to churches or people. Like ______ said, the book of Corinthians is Paul’s way of responding to the needs and complaints of the church in Corinth. And from Paul’s response, we can gather that the church was struggling in a couple of ways.
1) They came together to worship but were fighting with each other.
2) Some people would come to the “meal” of communion and bring a feast---but wouldn’t share….they’d just feast themselves.
3) Some people would enjoy too much of the wine and end up leaving drunk.
Paul hears those things and he is frustrated. He sort of response with “Let’s go back to the basics”. Look, Jesus told me how this happened and what he did and that’s what I shared with you. He took the bread of the Passover meal…the bread that represented the Passover lamb…the one whose blood spared the Israelites when the angel of death passed over. And he said, “this is my body broken for you, do this in remembrance of me.” In other words, “I am the sacrificial lamb. I am the one broken for you. I am the one that will save you.” And at the end of the Passover meal, he took the 4th cup, the cup of Elijah, the cup of hope and said, this is my blood, the cup of the new covenant…each time you drink this cup, remember me.”
Simple. Basic. And, holy.
Paul is kind of incredulous, “have you forgotten yourselves and what are you doing when you gather?!? You’re remembering Jesus…his sacrifice for YOU!! This isn’t random. This isn’t worthless. This is life-changing and powerful and when you come together to share in holy communion—FOCUS!!!!
Surrender yourselves. Set your agenda aside. This meal isn’t about you. If you’re hungry…go grab a snack from the kitchen!!! But when you come and eat this bread and drink this juice, you come as the community of faith—you come as the body of Christ—you are the church, you should be coming together to share with one another and be blessed by one another. You should be praying for one another that you get the gift of Jesus. Don’t be greedy. Don’t be selfish. Don’t act entitled.
If this meal feels like an afterthought. If you’re thinking you’ll just grab and go as you walk out the door—then wait. Save it for later. Make sure you make time to be in the right headspace. Pray to get yourself in the right heart space.
God can certainly work through our sin, our hard-heartedness, even our ambivalence. AND….God can do infinitely more if we are ready—if we’re open, hopeful, and full of anticipation.
Before we move into communion today, I want us to pause. I want to give us a chance to clear our headspace and open our hearts. If you’re distracted, if you’re multi-tasking, if you have multiple tabs open, if you’re texting or emailing, I invite you to pause on those things. Take a deep breath focus on the bread and the juice, on the light of Christ, and pray to ask for God to move in you and through you and for you today.
<<SILENCE>>