AT THE LORD'S TABLE -- THINK!

Do you have this problem? I tend to do some things automatically, without thinking. For instance, I automatically close my garage door when I leave home and then a block or so away I wonder, 'Did I close the door?' Several times I have driven back to make sure the door was closed. Once, when we left on a trip, I left it open and didn't think to check it. there it was, wide open for anyone to take whatever they wanted. Fortunately, our neighbor knew we were leaving and closed it for us.

It can be risky to do things without thinking. This seems to be what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. He began by criticizing them for their divisions when they came together and then, after reminding them of how Jesus began the Lord's Supper in the upper room, he said to them, in effect -- THINK when you do this. Here is how he puts it in verses 28-29, "examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves." "Examine," "discern," he says -- in other words, THINK when you do this. But think about what?

First, he says, "examine yourselves" -- think about yourselves. This certainly means to look into your own heart, to be aware of motives, weaknesses, failures. It means being honest with yourself when you come to the table.

But he makes it clear in the next verse that examining yourselves is not a strictly private experience. He goes on to say that if you don't "discern the body you eat and drink judgment against yourselves." What does he mean by "the body?" Some say it refers to the body of Christ Himself as he hung on the cross. Certainly, that is involved. We do need to think about Christ on the cross. But if we had time to read this entire section, beginning in verse 17, you would see that he is thinking about the church as the body of Christ.

Specifically, he is thinking about the unity of the church. When the Corinthian church came together they had so many cliques and divisions among them (see chapters 1-4) that it destroyed the meaning of the meal. He actually says, "when you come together it is not really to eat the Lord's Supper."

I have always been thankful that ours is a thinking church. We think about each other. When we come to the table there is a strong sense of fellowship and unity. As we continue to grow it will be important that we maintain this by knowing each other, by caring for each other, praying for each other, and in many other ways, "discerning the body" as we come together.

Saying the confession of faith is one of the ways we express our unity of faith -- will you say it with me now.

Twin Oaks Christian Church, November 16, 2008.