Tuesday, September 06, 2005
A Man Must Examine Himself (and the Text): Eating in an Unworthy Manner
The early church originally celebrated what we know as the Lord's Supper as part of a whole meal. But the bread and the cup aren't the only things that have been isolated from their original context. Many Protestant churches have divorced Paul's warnings about eating in an unworthy manner and the need for self-examination (1 Cor. 11:27-28) from the context of his teaching in 1 Corinthians 10 and 11. My good friend Jerry tackles a communion tradition with which many of us are familiar and analyzes it in light of the big picture. "Feast" on his reflections at Read With Open Eyes.
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You know, it isn't clear to me what "self-examination" entails in this context. One could argue that you ought to examine yourself to make sure you don't have any sin you haven't confessed or repented of. But it could mean something more specific. It could mean that you ought to examine yourself to make sure you aren't eating the Lord's supper in an unworthy manner. But then you have to figure out what "eating in an unworthy manner" consists of. It seems, from the context, that it entails "not recognizing the body of the Lord," butting in in front of people, trying to eat more than them, trying to get the best seat in the house, etc.
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