12 September 2022
Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and to some extent I believe it.
From 1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33 NRSV
In today’s reading we hear Paul admonishing the church at Corinth for the ways in which they had been behaving in their celebrations of the Lord’s Supper. In the early church, it was the custom to combine the Agape, or love feast, and the Lord’s Supper. Paul had noticed that there were factions and divisions that were affecting how they behaved. He commented on the way in which some people were in such a hurry to eat that they thought only of themselves whilst others went hungry. Even worse, some were actually getting drunk and treating the occasion in the same way as those who gathered to celebrate pagan gods. Paul reminded his audience of what the Lord had done at the Last Supper and of what this meant. He also instructed them to “wait for one another” when meeting to remember this.
- How do you suppose Pau’s words affected the members of the church in Corinth?
- How can we ensure that we “wait for one another” in our own celebrations of Eucharist?
When you are next part of a celebration of the Eucharist, be aware of and pray for those with whom you celebrate.
