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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 11:27-30
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Jesus commanded His disciples to continue eating the bread and drinking from the wine cup while reenacting His last supper before His death. They were told to do it in remembrance of Him and all He endured to bring them salvation.
But as we see in today’s scripture passage and our continued study of 1 Corinthians 11, this sacramental observance wasn’t to be treated as a mundane repeating of a ritual. Rather, every instance of celebrating the Lord’s Supper, Communion, or Eucharist (whichever term your church uses) was to be treated as a holy, divine, reflective time focused solely on Jesus and the great sacrifice and suffering He experienced to bear the sins of the world to death before conquering death and the grave in glorious resurrection.
In support of this, we see how God’s word emphasizes the importance of self examination. Look again at these words from the Apostle Paul as he writes to the church in Corinth:
So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians 11:27-30
Before partaking in the elements of Jesus’ Last Supper, believers are to examine themselves to make sure they are in the proper frame of mind. To not do so would be akin to eating the bread and drinking from the cup in an unworthy manner, disrespecting and dishonoring the Savior Jesus who God places in authority over everything in heaven and on earth. This would result in a person bring judgment on themselves and no one should ever intentionally ask for that.
So how does one examine themselves in a way that is worthy of receiving and consuming the sacrament elements?
Here’s an approach I use.
Before I take the bread, I ask Jesus to break my body in any place where sin abides so it is exposed. This is an acknowledgement that I am a sinner and it was my sin that led Him to have to suffer as He did. His body was broken in place of mine but I want to be broken myself so I can be reformed and changed to be more like Jesus in every way.
Once I ask Jesus to break me and expose my sin, I turn to the cup which is symbolic of the New Covenant sealed in His blood. That blood, poured into my broken, sin-exposed areas, brings cleansing and leaves me white as snow, washed by the precious blood of the Christ, the Lamb of God.
In the end translation, I am far better prepared spiritually to go forth and represent Jesus after I have self examined myself before eating the bread and drinking from the cup than I was before. By centering on Christ and all He did to save me, I am ready to properly go forward to share the Gospel message with others.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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