"Several years ago popular church of Christ author Carl Ketcherside told of two elders who shattered the morning worship service when the got into a fist fight at the communion table. They not only belonged to the same central Missouri church, but they were sons of the same parents. Theirs was a classic case of sibling rivalry gone amok. They had been growing angrier with each other for several months as each man accused his brother of pressuring their aged mother to change her will in favor of himself.
On this Sunday, when one went forward to serve at the Lord's Table, the other also went forward -- to accuse him of being unfit and to order him to sit down. Before the members could quite grasp what was happening the brothers' fists were flying. They had to be physically separated. The church chose up sides, some favoring one brother, some the other. It took a generation to repair the damage."*
Paul doesn't mention fist fights in his letter to the Corinthians but he is dealing with a similar situation. He refers in chapter one to how they were choosing up sides and pleads with them to be united in one mind. Their divisions were bound to affect their observance of the Lord's Supper. It was their custom to observe it as part of a communal meal but they had robbed it of any meaning by their divisions. Thus, he wrote in 11:20, Therefore, when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. The way they conducted the meal and the communion actually perpetuated the divisions. Consequently, he drew a radical conclusion in 11:27, Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. To partake in an unworthy manner is to join with those who are guilty of crucifying the Lord.
He goes on to give this urgent advice to all who would escape being guilty of crucifying the Lord, Let a person examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup, for he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not discern the body rightly.
His use of the word "body" here does not refer to the physical body of Christ but to the church as the body of Christ. To discern the body rightly is to see it in its beautiful unity and harmony. One of the founders of the Christian Churches, Thomas Campbell, back in 1809, used this imagery of the body in a foundational document to describe the effect of division in the church of his day. He saw the divisions as a sword thrust into the body of Christ mangling and rending it to shreds. He too was pleading for the unity of Christ's body.
The divided, warring world we live in today needs a model of unity, of peace and harmony. May it see this in us when we gather around this table as the body of Christ.
*Carl Ketcherside related this story in Christian Standard (Oct 30, 1977). LeRoy Lawson used it in a communion meditation in Christian Standard (Feb 4, 2007).
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Saturday, August 2, 2014
"Be Still and Know ..."
If I came to this communion table barefooted and with my hat on yo might wonder what was wrong with me. It would be a sign of something but probably not of reverence. But when Jewish men go to synagogue or to pray at the Western wall in Jerusalem it would be most irreverent to go with head uncovered. When Muslims enter the Mosque they leave their shoes outside. Muslims consider this a form of reverence and trace it back to Moses. They point to Exodus 3 where the Lord told Moses, "Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground."
Certainly, it is not the only sacred place where we can meet God but, if we are indeed standing on holy ground when we meet our Lord at the communion table, what does reverence require of us? Are certain ways of dressing more or less reverent than others? Or are certain behaviors more or less reverent than others? Should we adopt certain actions like kneeling, genuflecting, or bowing our heads to the floor? Is standing all of the time more reverent than sitting? How do we express reverence, or do we even think about it? Maybe that is the most important question. Have we forgotten all about being reverent? How should we "remove our sandals" and acknowledge that we are on holy ground?
Think of Moses again. Before removing his sandals he had to pay attention. Apparently, the bush was not directly in front of Moses because he said, "I must turn aside and see this great sight." He could have kept right on leading his sheep and not taken the time to pay attention. He could have thought, "Oh, how pretty. I will have to come back some time and look at this more closely." Turning aside from our every-day activities and putting ourselves in a receptive position is an appropriate, even essential, act of reverence.
But he also had to listen. The bush did not explain itself; it had no subtitles. He had to listen to the word from God. And to listen he had to shut up, to be quiet. Maybe this is one key way to express reverence. When you are in the presence of God be quiet and listen. Be silent, get rid of the world's noise and distractions. That's what I have to do if I want to hear Frances. We sit only a few feet apart in our family room but for me to hear what she says the TV sound must be turned off. Distractions and competing noise is more than my hearing can handle. I think we all may have a similar problem when it comes to hearing God speak to us. We need to turn off competing noises and listen carefully.
That may be why the Lord says to us in Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God." And the prophet Habakkuk reminds us, "The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him." Or, as Ecclesiastes 3:7 says, "There is a time to keep silent, and a time to speak."
Perhaps when we come to the Lord's Table it is a time to be silent, to listen, to focus on the Lord, to think about our relationship with him. Must we always have some music playing, or something else to distract us, or in a sense, entertain us? Can we not sit quietly before the Lord and listen for his still, small voice?
This is holy ground. Please join me in listening, in being quiet before the Lord, as we remember the one whose pierced body and blood are represented in these elements.
Certainly, it is not the only sacred place where we can meet God but, if we are indeed standing on holy ground when we meet our Lord at the communion table, what does reverence require of us? Are certain ways of dressing more or less reverent than others? Or are certain behaviors more or less reverent than others? Should we adopt certain actions like kneeling, genuflecting, or bowing our heads to the floor? Is standing all of the time more reverent than sitting? How do we express reverence, or do we even think about it? Maybe that is the most important question. Have we forgotten all about being reverent? How should we "remove our sandals" and acknowledge that we are on holy ground?
Think of Moses again. Before removing his sandals he had to pay attention. Apparently, the bush was not directly in front of Moses because he said, "I must turn aside and see this great sight." He could have kept right on leading his sheep and not taken the time to pay attention. He could have thought, "Oh, how pretty. I will have to come back some time and look at this more closely." Turning aside from our every-day activities and putting ourselves in a receptive position is an appropriate, even essential, act of reverence.
But he also had to listen. The bush did not explain itself; it had no subtitles. He had to listen to the word from God. And to listen he had to shut up, to be quiet. Maybe this is one key way to express reverence. When you are in the presence of God be quiet and listen. Be silent, get rid of the world's noise and distractions. That's what I have to do if I want to hear Frances. We sit only a few feet apart in our family room but for me to hear what she says the TV sound must be turned off. Distractions and competing noise is more than my hearing can handle. I think we all may have a similar problem when it comes to hearing God speak to us. We need to turn off competing noises and listen carefully.
That may be why the Lord says to us in Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God." And the prophet Habakkuk reminds us, "The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him." Or, as Ecclesiastes 3:7 says, "There is a time to keep silent, and a time to speak."
Perhaps when we come to the Lord's Table it is a time to be silent, to listen, to focus on the Lord, to think about our relationship with him. Must we always have some music playing, or something else to distract us, or in a sense, entertain us? Can we not sit quietly before the Lord and listen for his still, small voice?
This is holy ground. Please join me in listening, in being quiet before the Lord, as we remember the one whose pierced body and blood are represented in these elements.
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