Monday, August 27
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Most people are familiar with the joke about the young bride who fixed ham for her husband. Before putting it in the oven she sliced off the ends. When her husband asked why, she said she did it because that was how her mother had done it.
The curious husband asked his mother-in-law about cutting off the ends of the ham. She did it that way because her mother had done it that way. Now, really curious, the man inquired of grandma, why cut the ends off the ham?
“My baking dish is too small. It’s the only way to make the ham fit.”
So often we do things out of habit or custom or because it is what is expected. We may even really enjoy what we are doing, but do we know why we are doing it? Paul is writing to the church at Corinth, a body of worshipers who seem to have forgotten the meaning and purpose of their actions (see 1 Corinthians 11:17). He reminds them of what they are doing in observing the Lord’s Supper and what it all means.
Where did Paul get this information? What is the bread of Communion? What does that mean to you?
What does the cup represent? What does that mean to you? Why are we to do these things?
Worship services can be full of tradition and ritual, and sometimes it loses meaning. There is nothing wrong with ritual and tradition. They can bring a richness and depth to worship and to life in general. They can be a strong connection from the present to the past.
But meaningless ritual should be avoided. Habitual worship can be empty. A healthy church knows why the ritual is there and a person with healthy faith knows what it all means. The first step in breathing life into our actions in worship is to remember the source of these actions. Paul said “I received from the Lord” what was being passed on. Our ritual and worship should connect us back to Christ.
DAILY CHALLENGE: Which rituals in your church service do you not fully understand? How can you learn what they mean?
3 comments:
Welcome back. A familiar friend on my screen. I enjoy your messages.
I am glad God kept you save through your summer vacation.....
It seems to me that Communion in the Methodist Church was sacred because it remembered Christ's death and was to be used by us to let the world know that we remembered and the meaning therof.
Now it is a ritual where even little kids who know nothing of the value of Christs death yet can partake
Glad to be back and glad we indeed had a safe summer.
I always view Communion as the tangible evidence of the sacrifice (death) but also as bringing the Spirit of Christ into ourselves.
I try to explain the meaning of Communion and the first sharing at the Last Supper every time we partake of it, so children (and adults) will know what it all means.
I make it a point to include children because Christ is for all people, all races, all ages - even if we do not understand.
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