One Body - One Life

.    I Corinthians 11:28-29: "But let a man examine himself, and in this way
eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  For the one who eats and drinks in the
wrong manner brings judgment upon himself, for he doesn't discern the Lord's
body."  (my paraphrase)

.    Communion is a sacrament of the Church that all Christians should observe
and celebrate on a regular basis.  It is meant to be a time when all of the
members of a local fellowship of believers participate together in remembering
in a dramatic way the fact that we only live because Christ laid down his body
and poured out his life for us.  It is a highly symbolic sacrament charged
with great significance for the Church, and Paul stresses the fact that it is
not to be observed lightly.

.    But what constitutes observing this sacrament in the wrong manner?  Many
of those whom I have heard teaching on this subject have stressed the fact
that the elements are, or are symbolic of, Christ's own body and blood.  They
therefore should not be approached or handled without a sincere awareness of
this truth.  Others that I've heard have warned of the presence of unconfessed
sin in a person's life, or of an unbeliever's partaking of something that
wasn't meant for him or her.

.    I have no disagreements with the above opinions, but it was something
else that made the Lord's Supper come to life and mean something for me.  I
see when I look at the context of the Communion passage in I Corinthians 11
that Paul begins by pointing out the unworthy manner in which Christian
brothers have been treating one another during the sacramental gathering, and
he goes so far as to deny, in verse 20, that they are even celebrating the
Lord's Supper in truth.  It is in this context that I see Paul speaking of
partaking of the Supper in the wrong manner, and of thus incurring judgment
upon one's self.

.    This is strengthened by an earlier statement that Paul had made in
chapter 10: "Is not the cup of blessing which we bless the communion of the
blood of Christ?  For though we are many, we are one bread, one body, being
all partakers of the one true bread."  (vv. 16-17)  This statement brought
home to me the truth that the Lord's Supper also signifies the fellowship that
we all have as members of His body.  Though Christ has not destroyed our
individuality ("though we are many"), yet He has brought us together into a
community and a society wherein we all partake of a common life and we all
relate to the same Master.  We are all members of the same body, and when one
member suffers, the whole body is adversely affected (ch. 12:26), and we all
should have the same sincere concern for one another's needs (12:25).

.    I therefore think that the most unworthy manner in which we can partake,
or "fellowship," in the body of Christ is one in which we fail to discern
other members of His body.  When we fail to realize that a fellow member is
suffering, or has need, and when we fail to do all that we can to alleviate
his problem.  Or even worse (and therefore rightly bringing judgment upon
us), when we are the cause of such suffering or need.

.    Christ wants for us to be so important to one another that in a very real
sense we are parts of one another.  Our relationships with one another should
be healing, intimate and growth-producing.  Though we are individuals, we are
not meant to be completely independent, nor totally dependent, but rather,
interdependent.  We need each other, and are needed by one another.  To
discern the Lord's body, for me, is to fully understand these truths about my
relationships with His people.

 Charles Shelton
 Computers for Christ - Chicago