“So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private supper. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.” 1 Corinthians 11:20–21, NIV
When the believers at Corinth came together, Paul told them plainly that it was not the Lord’s Supper they were eating. Each one hurried ahead with his own meal. One went home hungry while another drank too much. They had the bread and the cup, the gathering, the outward form of the table, and none of its heart.
A Room Full of Strangers
What Paul describes is a room full of strangers coming together for a special meal, one they don’t understand. The whole occasion lacks the Spirit of Christ. His loving act, His intentions, are lost on them. They are there for the food, regardless of the needs or cares of anyone else. It is not the Lord’s Supper they are celebrating; it is only a feeding they are having together.
The remedy is simple. Remember that when you come together, it is from the Lord’s table that you are eating, so be like Him. He served His disciples. Yet at Corinth it was everyone for themselves, one rushing ahead of another, no one serving anyone. It was all about gratifying self.
What the Table Was Meant to Be
The Lord’s Supper, or any meal taken with believers, can be an uplifting time where topics are discussed, testimonies are shared, and encouragement is offered. In a family, time at the table is special, set apart from other activities just for the family to share and reconnect. Many homes don’t do this any longer, but those who hold to it find a true blessing: a chance to truly know your family and be a part of their day.
The Lord’s Supper was a missed opportunity for that infant church to bless each other and be blessed themselves. Instead it had become a meal the tender-hearted would avoid.
Our Presence Is a Statement
This morning I tried to put myself in that congregation, to imagine what it would have felt like to walk into that room. And I realized I would have refused to attend. It is not a place I would have sanctioned with my presence.
Sometimes our actions say more than words could convey. By attending, we add our endorsement to what is practiced there. At times, absenting ourselves is our only choice, when to attend would put our endorsement on the wrong side.
But it depends on who you are in that congregation. Someone of noble bearing or strong personality might stand up and turn the direction of the meeting. Corinth, though, was already torn by factions. Paul had heard of the divisions, and the hostility between the cliques ran strong right alongside this sacrilege of the Lord’s Supper. In a room that bitter, even a gracious example would likely be read as taking a side. Nothing could be accomplished by showing up.
That is why Paul’s admonition was so needed. Someone from the outside, someone they all respected, had to speak up and clean out the misunderstandings and pettiness. Even Paul knew a letter would not be enough; the rest, he said, he would set in order when he came.
The sad part is that when the wise stop attending, the table is left even more empty of the love of Christ.
From the Inside Looking Out
I did not have to imagine all of this. I grew up close to the center of a very conservative church community, and I saw much from the inside looking out, things I could have lived my whole life without knowing. I watched men kneel on the platform on Sabbath morning whose lives behind the scenes told a very different story. As a young girl I had no standing and no voice. The only statement in my power was to quietly absent myself when I knew a situation would be wrong.
It confused me for a long time. But the Lord kept loving me, kept showing me there was something better, and I kept choosing to go toward the light and the good.
Our Choices Are What We Have
That is all we have in this life: our choices. We cannot always stop the bad from happening to us, but we can choose the good. If in our hearts we choose and want the good, Christ counts us as good.
The ones in the outward places of honor may have every form of the table and none of His heart. The one with no standing at all may have none of the form and all of the choosing. Christ sees the heart. That is what this passage tells me about God.
