In my experience, one of the more solemn if not morose moments in church worship is the Communion service. Whether intended or not, the emphasis on introspection and confession of sin seems to have shifted the nature of the practice from praise and thanksgiving to fear. I am not saying that there should be no examination before partaking of the body and blood; but rather, that such introspective examination should not steal the show. One reason such thievery pervades some churches’ practice of Communion may come from an over extension of Paul’s words to the Corinthians to examine themselves before the Eucharistic meal lest they be judged. Did Paul intend to communicate that every individual sin must be confessed before partaking? That doesn't seem to be the case given the broader context of 1 Corinthians 11. Paul seems to be confronting an abuse of the Lord’s Supper that struck at the very nature and shape of the Gospel. In the Eucharist we remember through dramatic re-portrayal that Jesus, the divine Son, became flesh and blood humbling himself to die a cursed death on a cross for others. Some of the more well to do Corinthian believers were treating the Lord’s Supper as their own little feast at the expense of their brothers and sisters of lesser means. These believers served their gluttonous appetites instead of embodying the crucified Lord and humbly serving others in the community. They denied in practice the very way of life they were there to celebrate and imitate. Paul’s desire it seems was for the Corinthians to examine themselves so that they would not take the Lord’s Supper in a manner that denied and undercut the very message and power of the meal.
Instead of a focus on introspection, Communion should focus of the joys of the new covenant that Jesus instituted by the breaking of his body and the shedding of his blood. Listen to these words from the writer of Hebrews and note the contrast between the old covenant and the new covenant.
Instead of a focus on introspection, Communion should focus of the joys of the new covenant that Jesus instituted by the breaking of his body and the shedding of his blood. Listen to these words from the writer of Hebrews and note the contrast between the old covenant and the new covenant.
You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them…. The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear." But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Heb 12:18-24 NIV).
The Eucharist isn't a glum assembly of the body; but rather, it is a joyful one where we eat the meal in jubilant praise to our God and Savior who humbled and sacrificed himself for us so that we might be reconciled to him (“You have come to God… to Jesus”)!
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