False Supper

Originally scheduled for June 21

When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses 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 commend you in this? No, I will not.
(1 Corinthians 11:20-22 ESV)

Can you imagine such a scene in a modern church?  The token nature of our version of the Lord's Supper would make such behavior  laughable. But buried in these words is an imortant principle for the church of any age.

Whem you come together for the Lord's  Supper, you proclaim, symbolically at least, the fundamental equality of the members of the church.  There is no sense that certain members (or families, or civic officials, or whatever else) stand above the others by right.  We earn our rewards;  but we also acknowledge that all of us are sinners, claiming the grace of Christ given at the Cross.

Therer is a very good method given here to strengthen that equality.  Do you notice hunger in the eyes of your church's children?  Take it upon yourself to do what you can to remedy that.  Let me give you an example.  One minister I know makes it a habit to carry fast food gift cards.  You can't use them to buy drugs, and you get a lot of calories for the money.

At he foot of the cross we stand equal.  In communion we say this symbolically;  in the gift of charity we say it in the practical sense..  Long may this continue!