The Lord’s Supper
Our church is from the Pentecostal tradition. We used to have a woman who would bring a “word” from the congregation almost every week. It was becoming almost a tradition and not one with which I was comfortable. After speaking to her about this we finally settled on a process by which, if she thought she had a “word” for the congregation, she would come to me or one of the elders and tell us and we would try to make a place in the service for her. After this she cut back to bringing a “word” every other week.
This was getting to me and I finally prayed to the Lord and said, “Lord, if she really is bringing a word from you then show me by keeping her quiet for three weeks in a row.” Now, I don’t make a habit of “testing” the Lord in the manner of Gideon and his fleece, but this prayer seemed to come from deep in my spirit and I being it was inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The next two weeks she didn’t say a word. She also wasn’t at church. On the third week she showed up and we got through the usual parts of the service where she would bring her “word”. As I rose to preside over communion I was actually puzzling over whether this was the third week or the first week of my requested three weeks. That all became moot as she rose and came forward to tell me that she had a “word” from the Lord. When she got to the front, before she could say anything, I looked at her and said in a private voice, “Not this week. I’ll talk to you about it later.” She looked at me and said, “OK, but I just want you to know that there are people here taking this communion unworthily!” At that point I let out a silent but heart felt “Thank you, Jesus!”
Based on today’s passage many have been taught that if they have not been “worthy” in their lives then they had better not partake of the table of the Lord. Their idea of being “worthy” is not doing much obvious sinning lately. Nonsense! Such a perspective can only lead to pride. What Paul is clearly saying here is that to partake of the Lord’s Supper while displaying contempt for those around you is a false and shallow ritual. Being “worthy” to partake has more to do with recognizing how unworthy you are than it does with thinking you’ve been a good boy or girl. Also, being “worthy” is not an exercise in judging the hearts of those around you.
The table is a table of grace. The more you have sinned, if you recognize the need for repentance, the more you need to come to the table. God will not turn you away.
I never figured out if this was the first or third Sunday for this woman but it really didn’t matter. She never returned.
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