Troubleshooting

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

¹⁷ But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. ¹⁸ First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it. ¹⁹ But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized!

²⁰ When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. ²¹ For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. ²² What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this!

²³ For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread ²⁴ and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” ²⁶ For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

²⁷ So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. ²⁹ For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. ³⁰ That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.

³¹ But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. ³² Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

³³ So, my dear brothers and sisters, when you gather for the Lord’s Supper, wait for each other. ³⁴ If you are really hungry, eat at home so you won’t bring judgment upon yourselves when you meet together. I’ll give you instructions about the other matters after I arrive.

I love troubleshooting defects. It’s my job, and it can be very challenging. But restoring a situation is satisfying when the right reason is found for why something isn’t working the way it should.

Paul did some troubleshooting in this passage – why some of the Corinthian Christians were getting sick and even dying, and his conclusion is startling – their attitude toward communion, the Lord’s Supper. They were continually taking Communion with the “wrong spirit” and with “insensitivity” (see verse 29-30 The Passion Translation).

In what “spirit” am I taking communion? Am I remembering Jesus and His body given for me? (See verse 24) Am I remembering His blood shed – that proves a new covenant, a new promise that my sins are forgiven when I repent, turn my life toward Him and believe? (See verse 25) Or am I allowing myself to be eaten up inside with jealousy, with greed, refusing to forgive someone (see verse 18), even though Jesus has forgiven me? If this is the case, and this is the state of my spirit, is it any wonder when physical ramifications become evident?

Lord, I do away with bitter jealousies and resentful divisions. I will forgive. When I take Communion, I will remember your body and your blood – that I am forgiven. And therefore, I am free to forgive.

Amen

Written by B van Noppen