I Corinthians 11:17-34         The Lord’s Supper               Aug 3, 2008

       Once a month, Jermaine Washington and Michelle Stevens get together for what they call a "gratitude lunch." Washington donated a kidney to Stevens, whom he described as "just a friend." They met at work where they used to have lunch together. One day Michelle wept as she spoke about waiting on a kidney donor list for 11 months. She was being sustained by kidney dialysis, but suffered chronic fatigue and blackouts. Because Washington couldn't stand the thought of watching his friend die, he gave her one of his kidneys. When you've got something great to be thankful for, having a "gratitude lunch" is a great way to celebrate. 

We are continuing a summer series from I Corinthians in the NT and today I want to look at the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, our version of a gratitude lunch.  We too have something to be thankful for.  We have something to bring us joy.  But often we come to this table with little sense of what is here, of all we have to give thanks for.  Over the past weeks, we have already seen how the Corinthian church was a divided church.  The people had conflicts about whose leadership to follow.  They were divided over sin in their lives.  And now we see that they were arguing over the Lord’s Supper.  They did not understand what was here that could bring them such joy.  Therefore, the Apostle Paul gives them instructions on how to receive the true supper of the Lord.  He tells them that they can really experience God in this meal together. 

   Paul begins in vs. 23 by telling us that what he is passing onto us is what he received from the Lord Jesus Himself.  You see, the good news which we proclaim is not a man made message.  In Galatians 1:12, Paul says that he received the gospel “not from man, nor was I taught it, but it came as a revealing from Jesus Christ.”  Did you know that?  Our message is not one put together by a group of people.  I once heard that “God so loved the world, He did not send a committee.”  No, God sent His one true Son, Jesus Christ, and our message is from Jesus.  To the best of my ability, as your pastor, I want to speak to you and teach you not my opinions which cannot really change your life but to the best of my ability to teach you the message of Jesus Himself which is the source of all joy.   Paul emphasized that what he was telling them was from Jesus.

   So what does Jesus give us at this table?  What does Paul tell us?  He says that it is a serious thing to come to the Lord’s Table.   This Table gives us an opportunity for spiritual growth and blessings if we approach it in the proper manner.  However, Paul says that those who come in a false manner are looking for trouble.  Paul says in verse 30 that some have been made ill or have even died.  Now that is a serious matter.  Rev. Annie Dillard, a leader in Church Evangelism, says that most of us have no idea how serious worship is.  She writes, “Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we invoke when we call upon God?  Church is like TNT.  It is madness to wear ladies straw hats to church.  We should all be wearing crash helmets.  Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares.  We should be buckled into our pews because we are approaching the power of the universe.”  

    So how should we come to the Table of the Lord? We should take four looks.  First we should look back.  We are to remember the death of the Lord.  Often, we do not wish to remember the death of loved ones but Jesus tells us to remember.  This memory is no mere intellectual head trip.  This remembering is a re-participation in the event.  In the Jewish Passover meal to this day, when the children ask why they are having this meal, the oldest father says “because we were slaves in Egypt.”  It is not a meal about their ancestors.  It is about them today.  And the Lord’s Supper is not about something that happened long ago.  Jesus Christ is with us here, now, today.  To look back to Jesus is to remember Jesus and experience Him now.

  Secondly, when we come to the Lord’s Table, we look forward.  We do this until Jesus comes again says vs. 26.  As we come to take the Body and Blood of Christ, we remember not only that He died for us but that He will come again for us.  Whether it is when I die or whether it is at His earthly return, Jesus will come for me.  I am to rejoice in that.

  I am to look back.  I am to look forward.  Next, I am to look within.  This is most vital.  The Lord’s Supper is a time to examine ourselves.  The scripture says in verse 27 that to come to the table in an unworthy manner is to profane the body and blood of Christ.  What does this mean?  The Table of the Lord has great spiritual blessings for us but when we profane the Table, we are placing ourselves not in the company of those who share in the blessings, but we place ourselves in the company of those who are responsible for his crucifixion.  So we are to examine ourselves and come in a worthy manner. 

   Now it is important to see that the Bible never says that we have to be worthy to take the Lord’s Supper.  We are to come in a worthy manner.  None of us are worthy.  An older liturgy says that we are not worthy to pick up the crumbs from under the table.  We are not worthy and that is okay.  At a Communion service in Scotland, the pastor noted that a woman in the congregation did not accept the bread and cup but instead sat crying in her pew.  The pastor left the table and went to her side and said, “Take it, my dear, it is for sinners.”  The table is not for worthy people.  It is not for perfect people.  It is not for people who have it all together.  The table is for sinners.            But we are to come in a worthy manner.  We are to examine ourselves.  We are to confess our sin.  We are to be thankful for all God has done for us.  We can come with joy that we have such a blessing.  We are never worthy but we can come in a worthy manner. 

  I look back.  I look forward.  I look within.  Finally, I look around me.  Paul says in vs. 29 that we are to see the Lord’s Body when we come here.  Where is the Lord’s Body for me to see?  The body and blood of Christ is here in the bread and cup.  We must open our eyes to see that something powerful is happening here.  This is why we need crash helmets.  Christ is here in front of us and we make Him part of us.  And where else is the Lord’s Body for me to see?  The Body of Christ is right next to me in all my neighbors who kneel with me at the altar.  As I come, I am to look around me and see Jesus on the faces of all those who are here.  Vs 29 says to see the Lord’s body as we come here to the table.  Can you see?  Can you see?

    The table of the Lord is a serious matter, but it is not a time of spiritual autopsy.  It is ultimately a time of joy.  Here is where we receive blessing.  Here is where we can grow in grace.  Here is where we can feel happiness in God.  Come in a worthy manner but come rejoicing that Christ has given us His table.  He comes today to feed you.  He wants to fill you up until your cup runs over.  So come.  Come.   Amen.