Wait FOR and ON Each Other

 

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

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.  That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.  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.  That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.  But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way.  Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.  So, my dear brothers and sisters, when you gather for the Lord’s Supper, wait for each other.                          1 Corinthians 11:27-33

As a pastor, I’ve served communion to many people. 

One of the things I’ve hated about the last two years of COVID-19, is missing that holy moment of looking into the eyes of the people who come to the table.  It was always an honor and high privilege to break the bread and place it into the hands of those who loved Christ, and humbly held out a hand to receive.

I belong to a group of fellow-pastors that meets monthly for fellowship and accountability.  We share ministry ideas, discuss current events in church life, and try hard to offer each other “support space”.  We don’t solve problems or leap tall buildings in a single bound.  Of course, we DO eat!  Invariably we share the loaf and cup as the finale to our meeting.  

We serve each other, face to face, uttering those treasured words, the body of Christ, given for you; the cup of Christ shed for your healing.  And it is certainly a healing moment for spiritual strength.  I have never left such a time without a sense of renewed spiritual energy and joy. 

For that reason (among many others) I am certain the enemy, that old slew-footed serpent, Lucifer, has relished COVID-19 social distancing.  It has not only crippled the intimate nature of fellowship around the table, but in some cases derailed many local churches from meeting together for worship.

On a more positive note, I believe the church has found something exists that needed to surface…determination, perseverance – that intangible spiritual toughness that takes-on the challenges God’s enemy throws in our pathway.  It is that nearly undefinable quality of spiritual fortitude, a reserve called-forth in response to the Spirit’s bidding which says, we’re going to serve Him, no matter what!

The church of the roaring, troubled 20’s reminds me of Job, sitting in the ashes of grieving, covered with boils, ridiculed by most everyone who knew him, being questioned as to why God was punishing him, and why he would even consider continuing to breathe.  Job’s answer was a resounding stone-faced glare of steel:

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:                              Job 13:15

For You Today

There are two reminders for each of us in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian believers, as well as Job’s faithful response to his critics:

     1.    We need to wait FOR each other…don’t forget that the body moves together, or it comes apart.

     2.  We need to wait ON each other…the strength I need is something you exhibit and share with me…and, that which keeps you going does not entirely come from within you...thou and I share the same pulse when we consider:  one loaf, one body.  Life is in the blood, brother!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title & other images:  Russell Brownworth (own work)   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©