Preached by Gregory W. Lee
20 April 2008
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 1 Corinthians 11
17. In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.
18. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
19. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.
20. When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat,
21. for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.
22. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!
23. For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
24. and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
25. In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
26. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
27. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
28. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
29. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
30. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
31. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
32. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
33. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.
34. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.
-- when little kids come up for communion, I try to change what I say from "the blood of Christ shed for you" to "take this juice and know that Jesus loves you" -- well, I read about this little 2-1/2 year old girl that went to church and had communion for the first time ever, and her pastor did the same thing -- when she went up to take the bread, he knelt down to her level, gave her the bread, and said, "God be with you"
-- apparently, this made a big impression on this little girl -- at lunch that day, they were having sandwiches -- so she took a piece of bread from her sandwich and told her mother to cup her hands and bend down -- when her mother did that, the little girl put the bread in her hands and whispered in her ear with her most angelic voice, "God will get you"
-- maybe this little girl misunderstood what the pastor had said, but she hit the nail on the head when it comes to the way a lot of us approach communion -- out of all that we do in the church, the sacrament of communion is one that never ceases to amaze me -- it is the one act that we do together as a body of believers that elicits more fear and misunderstanding than anything else
-- I have actually seen grown men get up and run for the back door when the bread and wine were uncovered on the altar
-- what is it about this simple act of sharing bread and wine that elicits such a response? -- what is it about this simple act that causes such fear and misunderstanding?
-- I think it is because we know, in our heart of hearts, that there is a great power and mystery imbedded in this sacrament -- that in the act of sharing together the Lord's Supper -- in joining as one to share the bread and the wine -- that we are ushered into the living presence of the Lord and it literally shakes us to our core
-- this morning, we are going to continue in our series on the Apostle's Creed -- and we are going to look at the next line in the creed, "I believe in the communion of saints"
-- last week, we talked about what it means when we say we believe in the holy catholic church -- how we believe that all Christians are joined together through the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit into one body -- the church of Christ
-- and as part of that message, we talked about how this holy catholic church includes the saints who have died and gone on before us -- the cloud of witnesses mentioned in Hebrews Chapter 12 and who are included in this phrase, "the communion of saints"
-- today, we are going to look at another aspect of this communion of the saints -- the mystical joining of believers into the body of Christ through the sacrament of holy communion
II. Scripture Lesson
-- before we look again at this passage from 1 Corinthians 11, let me share with you a couple of thoughts about the importance of communion -- I read one time about this couple who were running late to church -- and when they walked in through the back door, they looked up and saw that the altar was set for communion -- they turned to each other and said, "Great, we rushed here for another communion service"
-- out of all that we do in the church, there is little that is as sacred and as moving as holy communion -- in this act, we enter into a sacred moment with the Lord God Almighty
-- during this sacrament, the grace of God is poured out on us as we remember again the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior on our behalf -- how Jesus died on the cross and gave His very own body and blood to save us from hell
-- during this sacrament, we are bound together as one -- when we share in the Lord's Supper -- when we share our common experience of salvation through Christ -- we are joined together again as one body without division -- we become the church, and all the things that might separate us in the eyes of the world -- race, nationality, gender, social status, class -- these all cease to exist when God's grace comes to us through this sacrament
-- and during this sacrament, we are making a bold statement of faith -- by participating in holy communion, we are proclaiming to a watching world that we believe in Christ Jesus -- that we trust in Him and Him alone for our salvation -- and we witness to His continuing presence in our lives
-- let me give you another example of the way communion is important to us -- you might remember that last August, the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis collapsed killing thirteen people and injuring many others -- As engineers tried to find out why this eight-lane bridge failed, they noted one key component -- When the bridge was completed in 1967, "redundancy" was not a federal requirement -- In engineering, redundancy means that you double-up on supports to ensure safety -- for example, if you only need one bolt to hold a support in place, you actually use two bolts instead -- that way, if one bolt fails the other bolt can still keep the bridge standing -- in this case, the 1900-foot bridge in Minneapolis was not built with redundancy -- and when one part failed, the whole bridge collapsed
-- the sacrament of communion is a form of redundancy in the church -- it allows our relationships and our bonds with each other to be strengthened and renewed on a regular basis -- it imparts to us God's grace and the presence of the Holy Spirit on a regular basis -- and it makes it so that if one of us starts to fall -- if one of us starts to fail -- the rest of us can hold them up and keep them strong
-- through holy communion, we become the church at its best -- for that reason, we should never regard the sharing of the Lord's Supper as "just another communion service"
-- let's look back at this passage and discuss a few of the major points -- look back at verse 17
17. In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.
18. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
19. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.
20. When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat,
21. for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.
22. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!
-- in this passage, Paul is rebuking the church at Corinth for the way they were participating in the Lord's Supper
-- in the early days of the church, they would come together on the Lord's Day -- on Sunday and would share a meal together -- kind of like a covered dish dinner -- and, then, following the meal, they would participate in holy communion just like we practice it -- with the sharing of the bread and the wine
-- the church at Corinth was coming together for this sacred meal, but they were not treating it as sacred -- they would come to the supper -- called the agape meal or love feast -- and there was no sharing -- some would bring a lot of food or a lot of wine and wouldn't share with the others
-- and this was causing division in the body of believers -- it was separating people into classes -- those who had the money or the status to bring food and wine -- and those who did not -- Paul was saying, "This is not the way it should be -- this sacrament was given to the church to unite us -- to make us one -- to remove from us the divisions of the world -- but yet when you celebrate the Lord's Supper, you are causing these divisions in the church"
-- verse 23
23. For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
24. and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
25. In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
26. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
-- Paul reminds them that the Lord's Supper was started as a means of remembering Christ -- of remembering our shared experiences in Christ -- so that when we celebrate communion, we might be joined afresh with Him and with each other -- so that these very divisions that exist outside the church should be erased and that we would truly be Christ's body on earth
-- verse 27
27. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
28. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
29. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
30. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
31. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
32. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
-- in a stinging rebuke to the church at Corinth, Paul told them that they were taking communion in an unworthy manner -- that instead of coming together as one body -- instead of being infused with the living presence of God and becoming renewed and refreshed as His church -- they were actually creating division in the church and were weakening the church and their proclamation of faith in Christ
-- Paul tells them in verse 28 that they should examine themselves before they participate in holy communion -- now don't misunderstand what Paul is saying here -- verses 27 and 28 have been used in harmful ways to keep people from the Lord's table by making them feel unworthy, and that's not Paul's intent here
-- Tony Campolo wrote about an experience he had as a young boy during a communion service --the pastor had read these verses about not taking communion in an unworthy manner -- and as the church started sharing communion by passing the bread and wine among the pews, a young woman in the pew in front of him began to weep -- as the bread was passed her way, she waved it away and lowered her head in despair
-- Campolo's father leaned over the pew and spoke to her sternly, "Take it, girl! It was meant for you. Do you hear me?" -- she nodded her head and then reached for the bread and shared in communion with the church
-- Paul's rebuke here does not mean that we have to be clean and sinless to share in the Lord's Table -- Communion is a powerful reminder that God's grace is greater than our sin, and by sharing in holy communion, we are renewed and refreshed with the living presence of the Lord God Almighty Himself -- the sacrament of communion was made for people like this young woman -- for people like you and like me
-- Paul was not saying that the people had to clean themselves up before they came to the Lord's Table -- Paul was trying to get the people in Corinth to look at their hearts -- to look at their motives -- as they came before the Lord in this sacrament
-- some in the church of Corinth were approaching holy communion -- not as a sacred moment with God -- not as a time for the church to be strengthened and renewed as one body of believers -- not as a means of grace -- but as a meaningless ritual
-- they were going through the motions without fully understanding why they were doing it -- and Paul was condemning them for turning this sacrament into just another meaningless religious act
-- verse 33
33. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.
34. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.
-- Paul points the believers at Corinth back to the way communion binds us together and reunites us as one body and as one believer -- "Don't take communion in this way -- don't take it in such as way that you forget the others -- don't be selfish -- but wait for the others -- join with them as you join with the Lord"
III. Closing
-- holy communion should be a sacred moment with God -- a time when we come before God in remembrance of what Christ did and continues to do for us -- a reminder of Jesus' death on the cross -- of His presence in our lives -- and of the blessed hope we have of His coming again
-- communion should be a time of holiness and reflection -- a time when we recognize the presence of God and the grace that He imparts to us as we take the bread and the cup
-- as Paul pointed out in this passage, we need to examine ourselves and our motives before we take communion -- we need to make sure that we enter into this time knowing that it is not just another religious act, but a truly sacred moment with God -- a time when we are joining together with all the saints to proclaim to the world a living Savior -- to proclaim His presence in our lives and in our world -- and to proclaim that we are one body and one people -- united and created in Him to serve the world
-- when we share in holy communion with one another and with God, we are proclaiming with our actions, "I believe in God and I believe in the communion of saints"
-- I'm going to close in prayer and we'll go ahead and sing our last hymn as I prepare the Lord's table -- as I pray, I want to invite you to examine yourselves this morning and to prepare to celebrate Christ as we share in this sacrament together
-- I just want to remind everyone that in the Methodist Church we recognize this as the Lord's table and not ours -- and His table is open to all who would come with sincere and seeking hearts
-- let us pray
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